Fall

Big Clouds - panoramic

Wednesday

A Michigan State Policeman pulls up behind us along US10 between Evart and Clare to see if Brad and I need assistance. We don't. We have pulled over to photograph the tapestry of fall colors screaming at us from a bog and woods. We thank the officer for his thoughtfulness and go back to work trying to convey how stunning the woodland scene in front of us looks.

You know you are in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula when you have to look 100 feet up to see the top of a waterfall. I was at the bottom of Laughing Whitefish Falls. I liked the name almost as much as the tall falls located near Chatham, about a half-hour away from Munising

Autumn Carpet

A world of natural wonders awaits those who walk a Great Lakes shoreline. Looking down, as my Grandma Benson taught me, I saw thousands of fascinating rocks as I hiked at 12-Mile Beach on Lake Superior. But this sight at the water’s edge stopped me in my tracks. I wanted to take this view home with me as a reminder of the beauty of autumn at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Forest Vertigo

Birch Forest Trail

Bucks at Hydro Electric Plant

I was sitting in one of my favorite blinds at Legends Ranch on a cool mid-September morning. The ground fog was so thick in dawn’s early light that I could barely make out the bottom half of some small pine trees a few hundred yards away. As the fog began to lift, I noticed a smaller tree or bush underneath the edge of one of the pines. As I was about to look elsewhere, the bush moved and then grew two to three times in width. It was then that I realized I was actually looking at one of the most magnificent whitetail bucks I had seen in the several years of stalking bucks at the world-renowned hunting ranch near Bitely, Michigan. He was pivoting his head in my direction. I decided to name him Christmas Tree Buck due to the tree he chose to bed down by and because of the size of his rack. This was one of my most memorable mornings of my life deer hunting with camera or rifle.

Orvis fishing guide Frank Willetts looks on as customers fly fish for trout on the Pere Marquette River, one of many world-class trout streams in Michigan. Customers come from across the country to fish the Pere Marquette. Willetts co-owns the Pere Marquette River Lodge in Baldwin.

Fall Color

Fall Color West Shore

Fall Color West Shore

Halloween arrived in Mason County this morning with bucket loads of rain and even an occasional snowflake. But as experienced outdoor photographers, Brad and I know that nature’s nasty weather tricks can come with some unusually good treats. So back to Conrad Road I went to photograph the tunnel of trees between the Polcin and Greene farms for the fourth time in five days. The fourth time was the charm.

Kinney Gold

I learned in the Coast Guard to be “Always Ready” for whatever Lake Michigan threw my way. As an outdoor photographer, being “Always Ready” is still a motto I try to live by. And since a November gale is as predictable as a calm day in July, I make certain I am especially prepared and alert for the arrival of that big November blow. Sure enough, on November 6, 2007, Lake Michigan looked like it was in a Mix Master. I donned my waterproof, insulated clothing, Fuji S5 camera body and 500-millimeter Nikon lens and hustled to the water’s edge. Lying in the sand (and occasionally water) on the Ludington beach, I extended the tripod legs flat and let the occasional wave washing beneath me help bury the tripod solidly in the sand to minimize movement resulting from the powerful northwest winds. After nearly an hour of shooting, at about 2 p.m., sunlight began breaking sporadically through the storm clouds. The resulting “storm light” turned on my adrenaline like a light switch. I was totally engrossed in trying to shoot peak moments of light and wave. I made several images in which the waves totally obscured the Ludington North Breakwater Lighthouse as they flew over the top of the lamp house. Then came the moment I was looking for—that delicate balance between power and beauty. Mission accomplished.

Fall color stretched as far as the eye could see, and the morning mist allowed, as I stood in awe at the edge of the Manistee River High Rollway, also known as the Buckley Rollway. This is, without a doubt, the best grand scenic vantage point for fall color I have discovered in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. How is it that I had never been to this magic spot before?

Mears Connection

I wonder what the view from the Manistee River High Rollaway looked like in the 19th century when lumberjacks were rolling logs down it. I know for sure the view looks splendid roughly a century and a half later. This lookout near Buckley south of Traverse City belongs on every Michigander's fall color tour bucket list.