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Photographing Michigan commercial fishing operations has long been one of my photographic muses. On this day I was struck with how the light was coming through a gill net wound on a reel at historic Fish Town in Leland.

After 10 hours and 250 miles of driving, I return to the spot where I made a much stormier and much less colorful photograph of the Manistee Lighthouse earlier today. The sea and sky couldn't look more different tonight and yet both occasions provided excellent photographic opportunities. Completely different pictures result from shooting the same subject on multiple occasions, even on the same day. The Michigan outdoors can change its appearance faster than a chameleon. F7.1 at 1/100, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

A very old shipwreck was uncovered recently near the north edge of Epworth’s property on Lake Michigan. The record high water levels of Lake Michigan this year have uncovered a lot of old secrets along its shores.

The carferry Badger slips quietly through the early morning mist on its way out of the slumbering Ludington harbor. I was glad to be out early to appreciate the view from a field along the north channel wall.

This scene reminds me of the one-on-one battle between man and fish Ernest Hemingway wrote about in The Old Man and the Sea. Serious fishermen are like serious photographers; they dream day and night of being there to experience those exhilarating, unforgettable moments they can't imagine living without. For some it goes beyond being a pastime; it is an important part of their being.

A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow applies to photography. One summer evening, shortly after telling my wife it was "rainbow weather," we had walked into P.M. Steamers Restaurant when I heard a patron exclaim there were two rainbows. I bolted out the door and raced a couple of blocks to get to a good vantage point to feature the carferry Badger beneath the rainbow. I shot for about two minutes before one rainbow disappeared and the other became less vivid. Good timing makes good pictures; so does always carrying the camera, and postponing dinner.

As a team-building exercise to kick off the busy summer selling season, my dad and I took many of our staff members out shooting with us today. We started the morning shooting the sunrise at Bass Lake, then we shot sailboats on Pentwater Lake. Now we have moved to Christofferson Farms on Morton Road south of Ludington. As I am composing this photograph, I am certain I will be back in the fall to pick the fruit off these same trees with my wife and kids; we enjoy going there every fall.

My photographer son Brad and I study light as intensely as some people study engineering. We cannot build strong photographs without excellent light quality. Today, May 7, my birthday treat is amazing light and amazing color along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Point Betsie. What a gift Mother Nature has presented!

I have photographed many a fox, but never have I seen one more beautifully groomed than this fox kit that was just curious enough to sit down and check me out for a few seconds at the edge of some woods near the Lake Michigan shoreline. I was hidden behind some trees in a nearby woods. The young fox was trotting when I fired off a shot. Even though I was 30 yards away, the sound of the shutter did not go undetected. The curious fox froze, sat down and listened. It couldn’t have posed more perfectly. I fired this shot, and the kit decided this second unfamiliar sound was reason enough to head for hiding at a slow trot.

Becky Scott, our neighbor at Cherry Hill Farm, called me and asked if I would photograph their newest horse on their farm. I got in the corral as the young horse ran circles around me.

For several years, I have dreamed of making an aerial photograph of fruit trees in full bloom taken from a dynamic angle with dandelions on the ground. Today, our manager, Sarah Genson, and I went flying with Ryan Johnson from Mason County Aviation. I told Ryan about the idea I had and he knew just where to take us. This is an orchard south of Ludington.

This white robin appeared in my friend Curtis Haynes's yard two days after his mom passed away this winter. The beautiful rare bird has been hanging out every day with the other robins in the area. My dad and I enjoy making environmental portraits of animals.

Standing out after nearly 140 years in operation, Tawas Point Light towers over Tawas Bay near the Lake Huron shoreline. The lighthouse is located in Tawas State Park. Volunteers are on hand during the peak visitor season to give tours and help bring the history of the light to life.

Coffee gives me a morning lift but not like the sun working its magic on Bass Lake. I love the quietness of this midweek lull before the traditional Memorial Day weekend invasion of this and hundreds of other Michigan lakes. Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer for many Michigan resort areas. D800, F8 at 1/640, ISO 800, 70-200mm lens at 100mm

Capturing Memories

Kitchitikipi From Boat With Fish

Pentwater has to be one of the most charming places to visit in all of the United States, especially in the warm-weather months. Tonight Pentwater bustles with people enjoying the great weather at the start of Memorial Day weekend. F9.0 at 1/15, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

As Coast Guard helicopter 6544 escorts the carferry Badger out of port on the ship's first sailing of the season, I cannot help but think back to the hundreds of times during my 33 years aboard Coast Guard boats that we worked closely with the rescue copters. F5.6 at 1/320, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm

The Island Trail at Ludington State Park has always been one of my favorite places to hike with my family and friends. Today, I enjoyed photographing it while hanging out of an airplane window. The wind and angle of the sunlight created interesting patterns on the water.

A Canada goose keeps a watchful eye out as she escorts her goslings along a bank of the Sable River at Ludington State Park. I love seeing all the new life of spring in the Michigan outdoors.