Abstract

I love how the light and shadow is playing today on the La Grand Vitesse sculpture and the Calder Plaza. I am especially impressed with how beautifully Alexander Calder's famous red sculpture stands out amongst and yet complements the neighboring buildings in downtown Grand Rapids. F9 at 1/125, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 22mm

La Grande Vitesse, created by Alexander Calder for the City of Grand Rapids in the 1960s, has become the iconic symbol of this West Michigan city. Today is my first time photographing the 42-ton stabile. I love making art out of other people's art. F11 at 1/320, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 46mm

To make this image of a hummingbird feeder in my yard today I put my camera on a tripod. Then I stood on a ladder and shot a two-second-long exposure and rocked the bird feeder back and forth by hand towards my camera.

On our way to make photographs of the "Calder" in downtown Grand Rapids today, I noticed the awesome reflections in the windows of this building. Each pane of glass was making its own unique version of window art. F13 at 1/80, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Lilacs send me back in time to the backyards of my grandparents and parents. I wanted to make this picture look like a nostalgic dream of times past so I placed the camera on a tripod and zoomed the lens during the exposure. F20.0 at 1.6, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

I cannot hike the river bottom on our land without visiting the "Cedar Island" a half-mile upstream from our cabin. The magic I discover there today is spring grasses growing in a shimmering creek. The scene looks like an oriental painting to me. I choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the faceted patterns on the water's surface. F4 at 1/320, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

Often making one picture leads to another. As I finish photographing some grasses in a creek along the Pere Marquette River, a fly that looks to me like a mayfly lands in the water just a few feet away. What catches my eye is the large concentric rings the fly and another that landed moments earlier are making on the water. How can such a small creature make such a big impression? F4 at 1/250, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

The blossoms are blooming! I drove the backroads home from Hart tonight and enjoyed the sight of each and every one! I decided to do something a little different for my photo of the day. I used a slightly longer shutter speed to allow for some movement in the wind instead of the typical fully sharp blossom shot I normally would shoot.

I recently bought a new firepit for my backyard and tonight was our first time using it. With my camera on a tripod, I made this 30-second exposure. One of the tips we teach our workshop students is that they need to learn to see like their camera sees. My eye could see a lot more details in the shadows than you see in this photograph. But if I exposed to make the fire inside the pit look good, I knew the shadows would look black.

Roots reach outward and downward, expanding the feeding and support network for a beech tree on the Michigan State University campus. I find the exposed roots more fascinating than the rest of the tree, which presents for me an attractive but far more familiar appearance. My grandmother taught me at a young age to look for the beauty beneath my feet. F22 at 1/5, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

My Great Grandma Benson always told us to make sure we looked down at the little things in life while we were walking outside. She spent the last 20 years of her life confined to a bed inside a nursing home. I shot this photo for her. F7.1 at 1/160, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 112mm

Vertical God beams that are this distinct are a rare sight along the Lake Michigan shoreline. I can’t get out of my truck fast enough! Luckily, my gear is organized and I was able to get set up and capture this image at the first curve before the God beams went away.

I surprised the kids with a firepit for the backyard this weekend. We lit it and to our surprise, it showed its love for us with a heart!

I am photographing a boat in Harbor View Marina when I see a more unique view. The sheet steel wall of the marina is reflected beautifully in the water. I love the color and the undulating patterns on the water. F2.8 at 1/200, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Kasey made this circular design out of putty. I liked the different shades and shapes. I knew before making this image at home tonight that I would make it into a black-and-white image for my photo of the day.

I got to the gallery early this morning before we started our private workshop with a group of photographers from Charlevoix. I noticed air bubbles in the bottle of hand sanitizer on my desk. I used my telephoto macro lens and shot the photo at F57 so that I had great depth of field and could get as many of the bubbles as sharp as possible. F57.0 at 25.0, ISO 100, 105 mm macro lens at 105 mm

Alice Allard, my Aunt Sue Marble’s mom, made this gorgeous quilt for my mom. I loved the patterns and bright colors and was honored to be able to photograph this wonderful piece of art.

Flowers along the border of Harbor View Marina sway to the tempo of the brisk breeze. A long exposure allows the camera to paint the movement of the flowers. F11.0 at 1/5, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 165 mm

Today was a busy day. It wasn’t until late tonight that I could come up for air! The kids’ new fun toy is slime. This slime has beads in it. It is very weird feeling to me but made for a fun photo and the kids love it.

I am watching an eerie light show tonight. As a thunderstorm sweeps across Lake Michigan toward my home I am shooting time exposures of lighting bolts electrifying the sky just above the horizon. The rest of the sky remains ominously dark. Strange. F4.0 at 30.0, ISO 1600, 12-24 mm lens at 18 mm