Bill Schwab's left us.

Bill Schwab, Photostock 2008

Bill Schwab 1959-2025 

To say that someone left us too early is an understatement.  Bill Schwab, a Michigan-based photographer, died in Scotland yesterday from cardiac arrest while leading one of his photo workshops in Scotland.  Kerik Kouklis, Bill’s closest friend, gave the awful news via his Instagram account. It was heartbreaking news, for sure.  I have known Bill only since 2008, when I went to the second Photostock event in Emmet County, MI. Over the years, as he made Photostock an annual gathering for photographers, it was clear that he valued the spirit of photographic exploration, welcoming photographers of all skill levels, and as he often announced, to leave your ego at the door. Bill put a lot of time and energy and money into hosting Photostock, and because of his work, we were able to meet and listen to some very amazing photographers from all over North America.  Bill, who was from Detroit, gradually moved his base of operations into very rural Emmet County, near Harbor Springs.  I remember those early Photostock events when we basically camped in his woods.  As the annual gatherings grew larger, the Birchwood Inn became the place to be, with those evenings around the fire pits, lots of good conversation and often music with new and old friends, and a good amount of alcohol to keep things lively.  In 2022, he moved the event to Cross Village. The one person responsible for building that great photographic community was Bill Schwab.   I didn’t go every year, but I did attend many of them, the last being in 2022.  When I lived in Michigan, it was just a few hours on the road, but going from NC to northern Michigan is a much longer trip.  

Bill was an alt-process advocate, and when you were at a Photostock, you were likely to be smelling ether with all the tintype practitioners that were there. That was one of the fun aspects - bringing all types of photographers together so that we all learn something new, and in the end, it was the image that matters.  He recognized that photography IS a big tent, and made efforts to be as inclusive as possible.  If it wasn’t for those Photostock gatherings, I would never have met a lot of the people that I now know.  Bill used whatever new technology that became available that would add new dimensions to exploring what photography could do.  I enjoyed his videos on YouTube, and he reached a lot of people through that medium. Best of all though, it was just good to sit down and have a beer with him and talk.  All of us that knew Bill saw his love for photography and how he enjoyed sharing that enthusiasm.  I believe that he made me think more about my photographic practice, and to trust my instincts.

Losing someone like Bill really hurts.  He will be missed most of all by his family.  The photography world lost a good man,  a teacher, a hard-working photographer, and a friend.  

Photostock 2009

Photostock 2013

Photostock 2018

Photostock 2022

Photostock 2022. Everyone in this photo lost a friend. Rest in peace, Bill.

The Mark and Marc trip to Photostock 2013...and beyond.

Bill Schwab has been hosting an annual gathering of film photographers in Northern Michigan near Harbor Springs for the past 7 years or so.  The gathering, Photostock ( a photographic Woodstock of sorts), originally took place in the woods at Bill's site SE of Cross Village. It became necessary to move most of the events to the Birchwood Inn N of Harbor Springs as the event became more multifaceted and the crowds grew. This year, part of the event was a christening of Bill's newly-built workshop building that was launched with funding from Kickstarter.  About 70 people showed up throughout the 3-day affair and like any annual event, it becomes a time to renew acquaintances and make new friends.
Getting ready to make the trip, I assembled my photographic gear...a few cameras (not shown are the additional lenses, tripods, etc., that also went).

My good friend Marc Akemann and I drove up to attend Photostock 2013 last Thursday, and along the way did what photographers do -- eat and shoot photos.  We drove up M-52 to Owosso aand then went W until we hit US-127 and took that to I-75 and then to Mackinaw City where we stayed for the thee nights of Photostock, as we did not make our plans early enough to get a room at the Birchwood Inn.   However, it all worked out pretty well, and we had a great time seeing everyone and talking about photography.  It's always a very good-natured crowd, and I always come away with having learned something new, and new contacts.

Marc and I did some night shooting, too, as we were able to get some images of the Mackinac Bridge at night in the fog.  Morning fog was pretty good, too, but the coffee quickly took care of that :). Oh, and the fog over the water was nice, as well.

Mighty Mac at Night

Mighty Mac in fog.
I shot extensively with my N90s abd N2000 cameras, my Rolleiflex, the Debonair, and my Olympus Pen E-PL1 (which accounts for most of the digital images here).  I have 19 rolls of film to process, so these digi shots will have to suffice for now.  Having said that, the CCTV lens on my Olympus Pen really gave me a look that I like, especially at Fayette State Park.  I am posting a few shots of our Photostock trip here, but it's easier to go to the set on Flickr for all of them.

 Checking out Jamie Young's amazing prints from his panoramic cameras.  They really are quite spectacular. Jamie gave an engrossing presentation on the history of panoramic photography Friday night at the Birchwood Inn.

Marc (L) and Mark (R) at Wilderness State Park.  I was amazed to find that my cheap smartphone had a self-timer for the camera.  We spent a lot of time in Emmet County, and then went across the bridge to the UP for the second part of our trip.  I think that we put over 1,000 miles on the vehicle for this trip.

One highlight was seeing my daughter and her partner Stephanie in Marquette.  A visit there isn't complete without a few photographs from Presque Isle, and I know Marc really enjoyed being there at sunset.  I could shoot there every week and come away with something different each time.

The Black Rocks at Presque Isle are especially worthy of a few hours (days?) of a photographer's time.  Maybe that would be a good destination for a photo workshop in the future.










Snail Shell Harbor and the iron foundry at Fayette State Park.


Just a few of the fine photographers at Photostock.

Photostock 2008 - Fun Time in the Woods

I had hoped to have had this posted a few days earlier, but I'd also hoped to have more of my film developed by now. Last Wednesday, I was up north at Bill Schwab's place near Cross Village for Photostock 2008 -- a gathering of photographers, mostly all of which are members of the Analog Photography User's Group (APUG) on the web. Bill has been offering some interesting wet-plate workshops, and his collodion workshop preceded the gathering. I arrived for Photostock on the 25, and had a great time meeting a lot of photographers. I only knew a couple previously, and a few I knew by their APUG names, but still, it took me the whole 4 days to associate names with most of the people -- as there were around 30 at any given day. I camped out at Bill's woodlot, as did a few others, and it was pretty darn nice to wake up to the birds in the woods in the morning, make some coffee, and think about little but photography for several days.



Marc Akemann and I teamed up for our excursions, and we got along really well - he's an excellent and very dedicated film shooter, and like me, shoots a lot of 35mm and some medium format. Probably the worst combo would be a large format and a 35mm shooter, since our approaches are so different. We had a great time going down to Sleeping bear Dunes on the Thursday and finding lots to occupy our time -- especially the ghost forest, which was the purpose of the trip. Driving around and photographing anywhere in that part of Michigan virtually guarantees that the trip will be lengthy, and we shot until after sunset.


In the evenings, we viewed other photographers' portfolios, and it was a real eye-opener. There are some really talented photographers out there and most of us don't see their work. From 35mm to Cirkut cameras (a specialized panoramic camera), the quality of work was astounding. It also made me realize that I need to get my ass in the darkroom and start printing. A LOT.





The relaxed atmosphere and sharing spirit of the Photostock was really refreshing, and getting out into the area and shooting so much film (over 20 rolls) was very rewarding. I've just processed a few rolls already, and the shots from the Ghost Forest on TechPan look excellent and surreal. I had a great time partnering with Marc, and made a new friend or two during those 4 days.