Fall

I have photographed fall color along M22 all day and now, during a diversion from the long ride home, Mother Nature has presented me with an entirely different color show. This sunset afterglow just keeps growing more vivid by the minute. I love how unreal reality can be on the Lake Michigan shoreline!

After shooting the lighthouse and waves at lunch and not being completely happy with my shots, I decided to drive through the beach after work and see how it looked for sunset. My son had a home basketball game, and I try not to miss them, but things looked too promising to pass up this opportunity. I could tell that the break in the clouds at the shoreline would allow for magic light to shine through on the waves. Using my car to help block some of the high wind, I set up my camera and tripod and went to work. What an absolutely unbelievable night. Thankfully, I still made it in time to watch David play, so it was a double bonus night.

The Ludington State Park Canoe Trail is one of the park's least traveled and most beautiful areas for a fall color tour. On days like this many of us ask ourselves why we don't launch a canoe more often. Time passes and too many voyages go untaken.

Presque Isle River

Wednesday (3378)

Round Island Light Near Mackinac Island

Finally, I am headed to get the kids. It will be so nice to wrap my arms around them. As I am headed over the river flats on old Pere Marquette highway, the sun is out and shining on the water. I can see the gorgeous reflections lighting up the river. I decide to take a few minutes to pull over and compose this image.

Brockway Mountain Drive at Sunrise

My dad and I try to position ourselves at dynamic angles to our photograph's subject. In this photograph, look at the triangles that are created throughout the composition. By placing the jetties at a dynamic diagonal on the left side of the image, it creates a more powerful and three-dimensional look and feel. F7.1 at 1/20, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 20mm

Brockway Mountain Drive at Sunrise

Big Sable Point Lighthouse stands guard on a massive point of land along the shores of Lake Michigan between Ludington and Manistee. The lighthouse was commissioned by Abraham Lincoln and is a beautiful piece of Michigan history. F6.3 at 1/1600, ISO 800, 70-200mm lens at 100mm

Ludington State Park Island Trail at Sunrise (4905)

Fall is a nice time of year to shoot sunrises because you don’t have to get out of bed as early to catch the first light of day. The best light to photograph a sunrise often appears 20 minutes before the sun actually appears on the horizon. I made this photograph at Lost Lake during one of our “Picture Perfect Weekend” Workshops. Several of our students made equally compelling photographs.

When autumn arrives and visitors retreat from the Lake Michigan shoreline, nature's magic light appears more often. On this autumn evening Little Point Sable Lighthouse was glowing with magic light.

Fall Color on US 41 Near Copper Harbor

Gitche Gumee

Logans Pass - Panoramic

As the sun rises above Hamlin Lake and the birds start singing, a new world is awakening, a world that is begging to be discovered. Whether exploring her by land or by sea, Ludington State Park: Queen of the North will not disappoint.

John and Denise Oliver love their Amber Township barn. I too was crazy about the rustic structure and maple-lined country lane leading to it when I spotted this view while on a photo-hunting, Michigan country roads drive. Denise said their beloved barn and barnyard beside their home hold wonderful memories of decades of family gatherings.