It Shouldn't Be This Hard Tour

Lynn Bernardi • September 11, 2026

It Shouldn't Be This Hard Tour - Abdul El-Sayed

Last night I went out to Wayne Country Community College in Detroit to see Abdul El-Sayed speak as part of his It Shouldn't Be This Hard tour where he addresses local voters. I've been voting for a long time, but attending rallies or speaking engagements for political candidates is something new for me. There is no denying that there is a legitmate sense of excitement (and even relief) surrounding El-Sayed's run for senate, of which I myself am not immune. Smarts and charisma in 2026? Yes, please!

It is truly refreshing to see someone running who is extremely well-educated, and genuinely charming and funny. It's the energy we need. The audience was engaged and ready with thoughtful questions.

I wasn't sure what all would be allowed in, or if I could get a bag in without a press pass, so I just stuck with one lens and didn't bother with a flash. Here's some of my favorite images from the night.

Upcoming events can be found here.


Close up of a sea wall along the Detroit River with a little claw.

Photo Walk: Gordie Howe Bridge

By Lynn Bernardi • March 29, 2024
Where I take a walk on a really bleak day and look at some random industrial stuff downriver.
A trip to John K King books in Detroit

Old Books

By Lynn Bernardi • March 28, 2024
A couple weeks back, when it was still far too cold to contemplate doing a photo walk outside, Andy and I found ourselves at the venerable John K King Bookstore in Detroit. This place is such an institution, not sure why we don't visit it more often. Recently I've been moving all our photography books from home to our studio. I just never look at them at home because I've got no good place with great light where I can spread them out and pour over them without worrying about a random pet jumping on the table and messing them up. It seemed much wiser to bring them to the studio, but it's been an ordeal because our studio is on the second floor and photo books are HEAVY. And one day when we eventually move I'm really going to be questioning my life choices. But in the meantime, I'm finally spending some time actually looking at the books I've collected, and realizing it's been far too long since I've added any new titles. That needed to change, so my sneaky idea was to say we were going to John King to just browse and maybe take a couple photos, but I planned to scour the photography section for some new additions to the photo library.

An Introduction

By Lynn Bernardi • March 3, 2024
Do people even still blog anymore? I guess I'll find out. Hello there. Thank you for showing up here and being curious enough to find this post. Photography has been an interest of mine from the time I was a sullen teenager and discovered an old Canon FT-b while sneaking through my mom’s closet. Not long after I found myself in a high school photography class, peering over a print bathing in developer. Like many people, the moment that white emulsion slid into the tray and an image came to life from nothingness, I was hooked. It felt like magic. It would be many more years before I would finally allow myself to consider photography a viable career. Instead I bounced around doing things that felt safer, even if they brought me little joy. Fast forward to now. Over the last 15 years I have photographed weddings, built a small real estate media business with my partner, and done some portrait and branding work. Once photography became a way to pay the bills, the type of work that originally drew me to the medium went out the window. That led to some serious burnout, where I didn’t want to think about or consume photography, much less take photos in my down time. Thankfully that fog slowly lifted. I am remembering what drew me to photography and making an effort to go out there and take images for me. And while I hope that can lead to some more formal and collaborative projects more in line with my passions one day, for now I'm just enjoying making photos for me.