Fall

The God beams have quickly disappeared and now the sky is flaming red, yellow, and orange. My favorite part of this composition is the lone fisherman standing at the end of the breakwall. He became the little person in the big world and he gives the photograph a sense of scale. The tiny fisherman makes the sky seem 10 times more powerful. F2.8 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

I have always been impressed with the brilliant engineering of the Ludington North Breakwater Light. Obviously it was designed well before computers were ever imagined, but they still had the foresight to make the portholes line up with each other on opposing sides so that the sunlight during a sunset would shine through the entire lighthouse. F2.8 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

As the colors of tonight's sunset changed by the minute, I watched the orange, red, and yellow sunset quickly turn to purple and magenta. Luckily, I was exposing as the purple and magenta started to take over the sky. Experiencing sunsets in Ludington never gets old. F2.8 at 1/200, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 92mm

A few weeks ago during Week 37 of the Tuesdays Project, my dad and I discovered a public boat ramp on Upper Hamlin Lake off Nurnberg Road. We discussed that it would be an excellent place to photograph a sunrise. There are not a lot of great vantage points in our area to shoot stunning sunrise photos so we were really excited. This morning I knew right where to head first. F22 at 1/30, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 32mm

The golden light from the beautiful sunrise this morning turned the entire forest a vibrant golden-yellow color. Look at the detail on these berries. A few minutes earlier they were dull and shapeless looking. Minutes after making this photograph the light got too bright and all of the detail was washed away. Timing and chasing the light is everything in photography. F10 at 1/13, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

Javen Dillenbeck is dreaming of catching a big salmon on his first fall salmon fishing trip to the Pere Marquette River with his dad and other family members. My camera catches him wading in the P.M. at Gleason's Landing. The Dillenbecks love traveling north from Jonesville in Hillsdale County to enjoy the Michigan outdoors surrounding their Baldwin area cabin. F2.8 at 1/640, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 130mm

The experience of zooming through my favorite country road tunnel of golden maple leaves is hard to capture with a still-shot camera. I have made many beautiful images showing the beauty of this stretch of Conrad Road in Amber Township between Ludington and Scottville. But I think this October 2020 image which I made by zooming my telephoto lens during the exposure best captures the moving picture sensation of driving through the tunnel.

I almost missed spotting this picture. After backing up my Suburban on a country road between Evart and Clare, Michigan, for a second look, I stared in awe at a tapestry of various colored leaves clinging to the curving branches of a grand old maple tree in a farm field. I selected a large telephoto lens to focus only on an especially attractive portion of the tree.

As I drive by the W.C. Cornwell Ranch north of Clare, Michigan, I get a quick look at a nice young buck trotting through one of the many pastures of the big centennial farm. From the looks of this deer, the eating is good at Cornwell Ranch. F10 at 1/800, ISO 800, 300mm lens at 300mm

A fox darts for cover moments after I spotted it lying in a farm field south of Clare, Michigan. At first I thought I was seeing a fawn lying down in the grass. What a surprise to see a fox pop up. F9 at 1/800, ISO 400, 300mm lens at 300mm

I have seen a lot of beautiful farm fields but none more distinctive than this big rolling field at OK Farms north of Clare. Green Bay Packer fans have to love this green and gold Michigan field, featuring a mix of clover and wheat. Erma Kleinhardt, who has lived on the family farm all her life, said the field will be solid green with clover in time for her granddaughter's wedding next year. F16 at 1/125, ISO 800, 300mm lens at 300mm

Picking out her pumpkin is a big task for 18-month-old Alice Stutzman. She checks some excellent prospects at Tice's Farm Market in Clare, Michigan. The pumpkin harvest is a traditional, colorful sign of the arrival of fall in Michigan. F11 at 1/125, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

There is a lot of truth in the saying, "There is no place like home." As I was photographing this beautiful sunset at the First Curve in the Ludington State Park, I was feeling very fortunate to live in Ludington my entire life. Thousands of people visit here every year and dream about the day they can retire to Ludington. I hope to forever call Ludington my home. F6.3 at 1/40, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 44mm

For years I have been seeing photos on Facebook of fall color at the Lake of the Clouds inside the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Earlier this year my dad and I decided that we would head to the Lake of the Clouds during peak color for our Tuesdays Project. I am so glad we did. It is one of the most beautiful views in all of America. I shot this photo in total darkness an hour before sunrise. I love that digital cameras see in the dark. F4.5 at 179 seconds, ISO 200, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

As the warm magic light hits the escarpment of the lookout at the Lake of the Clouds inside the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, I quickly position my camera and tripod at a steep angle to capture the fog rising above the Big Carp River far below. F8 at 1/30, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

If this is not God’s world I don’t know what is. I waited in the dark along with my son Brad for more than an hour for the sun to peek over the mountains at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. I felt like a very small person as the sun began to light the big, beautiful world around me at Lake of the Clouds in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

This alpine-like view looks more like Yosemite to me than anything I have seen in Michigan before today. I can envision my outdoor photography hero, the late Galen Rowell, hanging off this rocky cliff with his camera in hand at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park like he did so many times at Yosemite. I am sticking to the walkway to capture this morning image at Lake of the Clouds. F22 at 1/8, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

The Porcupine Mountains loom large and colorful in the distance as I get up close and personal with the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior at the edge of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. F32 at 1/10, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

Morning fog rises along the shoreline of Lake Superior near the South Boundary Road at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. I like the way the fog stands out against the shadowy early morning light and yet the fall color stands out as well. F22 at 1/15, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 92mm