Fall

I am not sure whether this skeleton is welcoming me or signaling me not to enter this spooktacularly decorated Victorian mansion. I knock on the door of Barry and Andrea Zierbarth's Pentwater home on Park Street anyway and live to tell about it. I love seeing grand old homes decorated for the holidays; it really brings them to life! F11 at 1/60, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

One of my favorite West Michigan roadside fruit and vegetable stands is Kistlercrest Farms on Pere Marquette Highway between Ludington and Pentwater. While buying their homegrown apples and famous Kistlercrest maple syrup, I spot a large display of gourds that I find irresistibly photogenic. F32 at 1/6, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 26mm

One of the things I like to do most on my fall color tours is to get out of my vehicle and sit in the leaves along the right of way to immerse myself in the color. That is what I did on a drive down Conrad Road in Amber Township to experience leaves close-up while still taking in the country road and Polcin Farm with my wide-angle lens. F11 at 1/60, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

From day to day, or year to year, I love seeing the different looks of my most favorite tunnel of trees in the world. Today the tunnel of trees looks solid gold as a vehicle heads westward on Conrad Road toward Ludington. An image I made two autumns ago of this same tunnel is being displayed across the Midwest this fall on Pure Michigan billboards. F11 at 1/60, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 80mm

If this grand maple tree and old barn could talk, I wonder what stories they would tell about the history of farming and life along Conrad Road near Scottville, Michigan. The emerald green winter wheat surrounding the barn was planted by Pete Conrad. Pete rents the use of the land for farming from Tracy Thompson. F8 at 1/60, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 26mm

As I look up the trunk of this stout old maple tree in rural Mason County, it occurs to me how strong a maple tree has to be to hold up all of its branches and leaves. Then it occurs to me how life-like the tree looks. Knots look like eyes looking down at me. I can imagine it walking through the forest. Visually escaping reality can be very entertaining. F9 at 1/60, ISO 400, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

With a single lens reflex camera, the viewfinder shows the image at the largest aperture available to the lens in use. In this photo, I had my camera on full manual and set my aperture to F22, yet in the viewfinder I saw the photo at F2.8. I often use my depth of field preview button to see what the final photo will look like in terms of depth of field. F22 at 1/10, ISO 800, 105mm lens at 105mm

The wind caught a brilliant maple leaf and blew it into these beautiful little flowers. My friend, Jennifer Batts, pointed this photograph out to me. I put my macro lens on and captured the scene with my camera and tripod. F29 at 1/13, ISO 800, 105mm lens at 105mm

Ron and Donna Sanders live across the street from Betsy and me on Riverview Drive in Ludington. As I was pulling out of my driveway early this morning I noticed their yard light creating beams of light as it shone through one of their bushes. I could not resist making a photograph of the beautiful scene. F6.3 at 30 seconds, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

This morning our assistant manager Rachel Gaudette and I are back at my favorite spot on her family's farm along the banks of the Pere Marquette River near Walhalla, Michigan. To make this image I had to slide on my butt down a steep clay bank. I aimed for a large tree to stop me part way down so as not to slide into the river. Luckily for my camera gear, and me, the tree did the trick. F22 at 1/10, ISO 100, 14mm lens at 14mm

A pair of mute swans keeps its lone surviving cygnet close at hand as they float along the shoreline of Pere Marquette Lake just after sunrise. Mute swans have proliferated in Michigan to the point that efforts are being made to reduce their population. I, for one, never tire of seeing the graceful birds and watching for peak or unique views of them. F2.8 at 1/2000, ISO 1600, 80-200mm lens at 145mm

A great blue heron stands as motionless as a lawn ornament in the yard of a cottage on Bass Lake near Pentwater, Michigan. I have to look twice to make certain the bird is real rather than plastic. F3.5 at 1/2500, ISO 1600, 300mm lens at 300mm

Our friend, Don Nelson, notified my dad and me about a wild ruffed grouse that had befriended him during the last two weeks. Wherever Don went around his yard, the gorgeous bird would follow. After a week, the bird would even climb onto Don's shoulder. Right after I made this photograph, Herkimer (the bird) climbed up onto my camera and posed for an iPhone photo. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 800, 300mm lens at 300mm

This wild ruffed grouse befriended our friend, Don Nelson, last week and I couldn't wait to photograph the beautiful animal. After I made the photograph I had imagined of the bird in some brown ferns, I asked Don if he could get the bird to land on my 300mm telephoto lens. With surprising ease, Don had Herkimer posing on my lens in no time. F8 at 1/125, ISO 800, iPhone

Driving along the US31 Expressway between Hart and Shelby, Michigan, I spot some of the most colorful sumac I have ever seen. I pull into the rest stop just beyond the sumac and am greeted by more of these colorful plants. The symmetry of these two neighboring sumacs catches my eye. F28 at 1/640, ISO 800, 300mm lens at 300mm

Colorful leaves of a bush along one of the trails at Van Buren State Park look to me like a butterfly. I feel compelled to make an image that makes the "butterfly" stand out by getting very close to the three leaves and minimizing depth of field (focus). F8 at 1/60, ISO 800, 105mm lens at 105mm

A Lake Michigan beach isn't where I expected to find fall color shots today, but dune grass along the shoreline at Van Buren State Park caught this transient leaf. I like the resulting colorful arrangement of angular and curving shapes. F3.2 at 1/250, ISO 100, 105mm lens at 105mm