Short Version:
My name is Chris Wice, born and raised in Michigan, and I enjoy taking pictures.
 

I've-Got-A-Few-Minutes-To-Kill Version:
Growing up I had two very artistically gifted parents and older sister. I could always appreciate beautiful, artistic creations, but was never able to replicate or create my own. To this day, my drawing of any simple subject such as a human, dog, house, or even the sun, would look the same as it did 30 years ago.
 

Portland, MI is a unique and beautiful area that I'm thankful I stumbled upon. This city has a rich story to tell in the history of Michigan and our landscape is complimented by the Grand River and the Looking Glass River. We are just outside of the city of Lansing, on the outskirts of the country, and have easy access to the expressway and shopping...perfect.
 

After moving here I started to see wildlife that I had never seen before living in Lansing and Detroit (they all turned out to be pretty common for our state). I wanted to be able to take pictures, document it, and share with my family. I had an opportunity when I referred a candidate to my company and got a referral bonus. I used that money to buy a Canon Powershot SX50 HS. After realizing family and friends really liked my pictures I thought I might be on to something.
 

I moved on to the Nikon D610 to be able to better capture the nature sights I was finding. This camera has allowed me to get many of the bird-in-flight shots that you will see. The vast majority of images you will find on this site have been taken within the past year from within Portland and from this D610.
 

For those of you who are photographers, you can understand how expensive this hobby can be. I've equated it to the story I remember reading growing up, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Basically, if you buy a component camera, you're going to need a lens. Then, you're going to want a zoom lens. Next you're going to realize how cool macro pictures look and want to get one of those lenses. To get around you're going to need a good backpack to safely carry everything. Oh, and extended shutter pictures look pretty cool too so throw in a tripod.
 

Now comes into play my wife and truly better half. I received the gentle nudge that a) I'm told I take enjoyable pictures and,  b) I have an expensive hobby, so c) start making some money off of it to support my hobby. So here I am, presenting my pictures from the past few years, to the masses, inviting you to don your walls with my photos.
 

I've attended a few craft shows and have enjoyed the feedback I've received. I've also submitted several items to the Lansing Art Gallery (LAG). My first submission, Dancing Downies, won first place in their Time|Place exhibit. Coincidently when I told my mom (reference above the artistic comment) about my first submission to LAG she surprised me by telling me she once had work there in the 70's. I thought it was pretty neat knowing I was able to display my "art" at the same place my mom did decades ago.
 

I love Portland. The vast majority of photos on this page are from here, it shows how beautiful this town is. If there is something you would like to have a picture of, please feel free to email me through the Contact link at the top or bottom of this page and I will do my best to see what I can do.
 

If you can enjoy at the very least one of the pictures I've taken, I feel like I've been a success.
 

Thank you for taking the time to read about me and I hope you enjoy the picture galleries.