Barns

Did you know northern Michigan is an excellent place to grow lavender? Linda and Roy Longworth have created a successful lavender farm near Horton Bay, Michigan. The 45th parallel in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres is ideal for growing lavender and Horton Bay is located on the 45th parallel. The Longworth's have over 8,000 lavender plants and 30 different varieties. The gift shop is a treat to the senses. Go visit them and help them spread their success story around the country. D800, F11 at 1/160, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

Being a farm girl, this farm near Gaylord, Michigan, caught my eye. Wading through knee-deep snow, I worked my way to achieve the composition I wanted. The subtle sunset was the perfect accent piece.

While making this photograph near Walkerville, Michigan, I felt that this old abandoned house had a human characteristic to it. When trying to come up with a name for the photograph, my sister-in-law, Stephanie Reed, suggested Old Man Winter because she could see an old man with a long beard in the house and grasses. As soon as she mentioned that, I knew exactly what she was talking about.

 Most days I drive along Fountain Road from my home on Ford Lake, to Jebavy drive and then into town. I love the peacefulness of this drive, the country view, and the special feeling I get to start my days with. Being a country girl, I am always in awe of the beauty of the countryside. There have been many mornings that I pass by scenes, seeing the potential someday, but maybe it wasn’t THAT day. Other mornings I see the potential in front of me, but I am in a hurry to get into town and start my work day, and the scene quickly passes me by, on these days I regret not stopping and making the image that I have now only in my memories. This particular morning the sunrise was so beautiful I had to stop, I just couldn’t drive by without capturing this image. Now, I’m happy that I not only have this scene in my memories, but also in a way that I can share with others.

Winter mornings on the farm don't get any prettier than this one. I have driven nearly 100 miles to make this image of my favorite barn in the countryside of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I am ecstatic about the payoff!

The fire barn at White Pine Village screams with color every day as I pass it by on my way to and from home. But it has never looked brighter or more splendid to me than today during one of the biggest, most beautiful snowfalls of the winter. F11.0 at 1/125, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

Lake effect snow is dreaded by many, but not by many outdoor photographers. I am out early this morning traveling the countryside near the Lake Michigan shoreline, looking for a picture perfect scene. Here it is!

I have long admired and photographed this neatly-kept farm at the top of a high hill along US31 north of Manistee. On this late November morning, after a fresh snowfall, Olsen Hill Farm looks especially inviting. I spend a few minutes finding today's best vantage point. Now it looks and feels right to me. Click.

While I was helping the kids work with their 4-H animals, I was distracted by the clouds in the sky. I could visualize how dramatic they would be over our barn. I ran to grab my gear and set up the shot before they blew away. We have all spent many hours in this barn over the years. It is another one of our special buildings.

Tom and Yvonne Beatty own Trillium Creek Gardens on Conrad Road between Ludington and Scottville. Today, a beautiful double rainbow appeared to land in the farm field just behind the Beatty's historic red barn. I love when it is raining, but the sun is shining

I don't know who was smiling bigger when the sun finally came out today, this sunflower or me. As the famous National Geographic photographer Sam Abell might say, I was "in the presence of a picture."

I love seeing the Michigan countryside flowers. Sweet pea along a farm fence line looked as pretty to me as any flower arrangement I can imagine. I am glad that I took a less-traveled road on this July 2017 day while meandering between Whitehall and Hart.

Traveling byways instead of freeways and highways is slower but gives me more new places to discover and more time to appreciate the views. After years of traveling byways throughout Michigan, I was stunned on January 31, 2017, during a meandering back roads drive through Oceana County to discover a barn I had never seen before. My view through snowflakes of this distinctive old barn made it seem to me like I could have been looking at an Andrew Wyeth painting. I had been an Andrew Wyeth fan for years; I think he could not have resisted painting this barn on this winter’s day if he had been there instead of me. The falling snow and blanket of snow on the barn roof and ground added to and emphasized the limited color palette of the scene. I loved the muted color of the grasses sticking out of the snow. I had only to find the best position from which to fit the layers of the scene perfectly together and “paint” the arrangement with light on the sensor of my Nikon D800 digital camera.

I was on a scouting expedition to find good locations for photographing fall color when I came across this pastoral scene along Sugar Grove Road west of Round Lake. The red barns caught my eye, but it was the sheep in the foreground that made me stop to make a photograph.

Young maple trees and an old barn on Fisher Road caught my eye while en route to West Shore Community College to teach a photography class. I tried to persuade my students to always have their cameras with them and tell them that stopping to take a photograph is one of the few good excuses for being late to class. I tried to leave home early so I could make a picture and still get to class on time.

Custers Last Stand

A beautiful red barn sits among a field of blossoming fruit trees early this morning along Morton Road south of Ludington. The fruit fields and rolling hills of Mason and Oceana counties are breathtaking right now. Tourists flock to this area for the fall color tour, but I don't think it holds a candle to the spring blossoms. F6.3 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

An artist friend, Lewis King, loves to meander across the countryside to see what he can find to paint. I share his love for the country. This morning I am excited to discover this scene on Kinney Road south of Scottville to paint with light. F18.0 at 1/250, ISO 400, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

When I spotted this wintry scene south of Ludington, it immediately reminded me of a famous picture long used to promote Steamboat ski resort in Colorado. I always loved that picture and I loved the one that was in front of my eyes just a few miles from my home.