Apples

It is a dark, rainy September day but I keep reminding myself we are always preaching to our photography workshop students that bad weather is good weather for photographers. I just have to find the good. From my truck, the apples trees in a Mason County orchard do not look attractive. But when I move 20 times closer and throw in a little light from my truck headlights, these apples look better than candy apples at a country fair.

The Orchard at my parent’s farm may not be what people typically think of when they hear the word “orchard”. A lot of them assume we have several acres of trees, and although it might be small compared to many, it’s ours. The lilac bushes that surround the orchard might not be world class, but they’re ours. The tire swing hanging in the middle of these might seem ordinary to others, but not to us. My family has made many memories while playing baseball in the orchard, hide and seek in the lilacs, and of course being pushed on that tire swing. They’re one of the first things you see when turning into the driveway after a long day of traveling, and once your headlights hit them, you can breathe a sigh of relief because you’re “home”. Now, as my siblings and I have our own children, they too know that feeling, and are busy making their own memories in the orchard, lilacs, and Papa’s tire swing (as my two kids call it). These memories will last forever, and will continue to grow for generations to come. 

Everyone loves seeing apple blossoms decorate the countryside of the Lake Michigan shoreline counties in springtime, but I am among the many who get just as excited to see the apple trees loaded with apples ready for harvest at the end of summer and during fall.

Sweet cherry blossoms form a perfect circle that makes them look picture perfect to me. The fruit farmer is not as happy about this picture as I am. It is March and the sweet cherries south of Ludington are blossoming three weeks ahead of schedule, putting them at great risk of frost damage. F9 at 1/200, ISO 400, 105mm lens at 105mm

Admiring the beauty of this blossom, I can't help but wonder how the local fruit trees are going to fare with the frosty weather the weatherman is predicting. I'm glad I am a photographer right now instead of a fruit farmer. F8.0 at 1/60, ISO 100, 105 mm lens at 105mm

I am back in the same orchard along Pere Marquette Highway near Kistler Road to take a picture at 11:00 A.M. as part of a worldwide photo shoot sponsored by the New York Times. This time I will include the blossoms I chose to leave out two days ago when the opportunity to photograph children playing in the dandelions presented itself. F7.1 at 1/250, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

Growing up, some of my best memories are in the orchard at our family farm. Whether it was picking apples, playing baseball, or swinging on the tire swing, there was always activity amongst the apple trees. Joshua loves to climb this tree in my backyard, and while watching him one day, I noticed this specific clump of apple blossoms. I knew I had found my photo of the day.

These apples in an orchard along Meisenheimer Road south of Ludington may not be ready to pick yet but they sure look good enough to eat as I look through my viewfinder after a brief rain shower. F4.0 at 1/13, ISO 160, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

Some of my favorite memories growing up were made in our apple orchard. The tire swing, baseball diamond, and the biggest dandelions were there. Let’s not forget the apples. We would eat them right off the tree, or make homemade apple sauce, pie, crisp, or butter. The apples that were too bruised I would pick up for my brother, Kevin, to put out for deer. This apple tree is in my yard, and we love it.

I am having a hard time resisting picking one of these apples along Pere Marquette Highway but my ethics keep me concentrating on photographing them instead of eating them. I am not sure whose apples they are but I am glad the grower appears to have a good crop to harvest despite the heavy frost this spring. F8.0 at 1/400, ISO 200, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Knowing that Michigan's apple crop was nearly wiped out by frost this year, I am delighted to see these healthy looking apples growing in a Mason County orchard. I hope the grower is able to get a handsome price for the relatively few apples that survived the premature arrival of spring weather this year. F5.6 at 1/800, ISO 400, 300mm lens at 300mm