Frank Lloyd Wright & the Strawberry Moon / June Photo Journal

WE SPEAK IN COLORS DIGITAL JOURNAL

A Life Archive

By Andy Armstrong / June 2026 Edition / Somerset, PA, USA

Hello from Somerset, my hometown in the Pennsylvania Laurel Highlands.

Last I messaged we were coming up on Memorial Day. That weekend, Detroit was covered in a bizarre, dreamlike 48-hour haze. And then on Memorial Day morning, it lifted into the bluest of skies.

Summer was on.

Over the next weeks, school years ended and we entered the majestic stretch of June with wildflowers in full bloom and everything vibrant green.

Sunrises came earlier, evening twilights stretched later. The kind that make your heart ache.

I approached the second week of June like preseason football camp, heading out on two-a-day photo ventures.

In the mornings, I'd shoot from about one hour after sunrise until three hours after sunrise. The perfect two-hour pocket of light.

Then I'd head back out in the evening and shoot from about two and a half hours before sunset until a half hour before sunset. Another perfect two-hour pocket.

Hundreds of photos of Detroit's epic architecture.

To finish the creative sprint, I booked a pilgrimage about 40 minutes north of Detroit to Bloomfield Hills to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Smith House.

Born in Wisconsin, Wright’s spirit is tethered to the Midwest. And luckily, you can still visit several of his works around Detroit.

The Smith House is one of his Usonian homes that were designed for middle-class America. It’s classic Wright. Timeless design that features beautiful horizontal lines, compression and release through changing ceiling heights, stunning colors, and a sense that the house sprouted from the soil.

The Smith couple (two local teachers) dreamed of living in a Wright-designed home and you can feel it in how they curated, especially through their remarkable collection of Japanese art and objects.

After they passed, they left the house to the Cranbrook organization, preserving it just as they had it so others could continue to experience the serenity.

Enjoy some photos from the visit: