Michael D. McGuire's Page

I am currently in Salt Lake City, Utah, taking part in a trombone festival with a great many trombonists and makers of trombones. What does this have to do with gasoline?, you might ask. That fact alone has nothing to do with it, except that gasoline, in a place where there are no refineries and all fuel is either piped or driven in, costs but $3.78 per gallon for regular, and a mere $4.02 for premium. Could someone explain why it costs less for a gallon of gas here than it does in California, w… Continue

It occurred to me very recently that convenience, and its opposite, inconvenience, comprise a great deal of how we all live. Most of us want things to be as convenient as possible and have spent most of our lives trying to make that happen. Now comes Mr. Gore and his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," and what do most folks do? Ignore it, or try to. Well, as far as I have been able to determine from all I have read and heard, there is, indeed, a lot of truth there. The truth is that we are going t… Continue

Books that truly have something meaningful to say that we can actually use can be amazing things to read. MY most recent foray into this realm came in the form of a psychologist named Martin Seligman, PhD, who is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. I first met Dr. Seligman almost 30 years ago when I photographed his wedding on the Main Line of Philadelphia. I had no idea that he was in the process of helping to turn psychology and therapy on its head. He helped create something calle… Continue

This will be short - As if it weren't enough, I do have another blog: http://realphotographer.blogspot.com/ I ramble on about whatever crosses my mind, so if you're bored with stuff you already know or have read, you can always try this one, eh? Michael

I do hope that all of you remember that a sense of humor is one of the best tools in getting through all times, not just the good times. Even if the humor is a bit dark, if it causes laughter that's real, it lifts the spirit and helps us all get through all the crap that comes our way. For me, humor happens everywhere. It comes through almost everything I do. Life is way too short to spend time moping and/or angry. I work at finding the humor everywhere, and it pops up sometimes when I least exp… Continue

Tomorrow is Saturday, and instead of going off to a rehearsal with Bone West, I'm going to photograph a wedding. A small wedding in Laguna Beach. I don't do many weddings, mostly because I just don't have the style of most of today's OC wedding photographers: It's all digital, so shoot as many images as possible, say a couple of thousand, because if I shoot enough, I'm bound to get enough good ones. No, I'm "old school," where every shot counts, and if you shoot a couple of hundred, it's a lot.… Continue

As I am moving into the business of selling what I believe are the best protective and lightweight cases for brass instruments and guitars anywhere, I also find myself moving back into the realm of music more and more. I am still teaching, primarily trombone students how to do better at that weird thing we call "playing" an instrument. The body and mind do odd things when you become more proficient at making music - and it all feels so good! I have been playing, or performing on bass trombone f… Continue