Fall
Michigan Tapestry
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.
Looking UP
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
Michigan Rocks
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.
Christmas Tree Buck
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.
Michigan's Allure
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.
Halloween Treat
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.
