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Manistee Christmas Parade

New double-sided Christmas ornament of the Little and Big Sable Lighthouses! Final dimensions of ornament is 1"x6" with a thickness of 1/8" and a gold cord for hanging.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, 1999, I was eager to try out the new camera that my dad had bought me for Christmas. He and I drove to one of our favorite places in the world, Little Point Sable Lighthouse. On the way, it began to snow unbelievably large, soft flakes. As soon as we arrived, I stepped out of the truck, set my camera on the tripod and took this photograph before the snow stopped falling.

For seven years, I have been trying to make this image of an albino squirrel that lives at my Papa Bill and Nana Bev's house near Hamlin Grocery north of Ludington. On Christmas Eve, it finally all came together. As I was making this image, I was trying to ignore my older brother Tad as he shot me with the dart gun that he got for Christmas. Some things never change!

A great challenge for my dad and me is to find new and creative ways to photograph the same subject. Fortunately, the ever-changing skies of the Lake Michigan shoreline work in our favor. On this morning, I had just captured the Little Sable Christmas Eve image and I was determined to find another beautiful photograph of the lighthouse. With the snow no longer falling, I waited for a fleeting moment of sunshine to illuminate the lighthouse against a stormy sky.

The Red Door is a little Shop in our little town on James street

12-24-22

12-24-22 All Is Calm

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.

Looking at a classic building like the original part of Ludington Public Library is like reading a classic book; neither ever goes out of style and both become more revered with time. I am so grateful for the preservation and restoration of the library built in 1905-06 with funding from a Carnegie Grant and from the City of Ludington. The Wilson family and many other friends of the library made the recent restoration and expansion possible. F22 at 8 seconds, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

Betsy, Julia, Ethan, and I picked out our Christmas tree a few weeks ago and decorated it together. We bought it pre-cut from a local tree farm. This row of evergreen trees along Hawley Road reminds me of the good old days when my parents took us out in the woods with a saw to cut down our own tree. Maybe next year I will do that with my kids. F8 at 1/15, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

Christmastime is one of my favorite seasons to drive through the Michigan countryside. I love seeing many of the farms decorated for Christmas. Roger and Marcia Hansen and their family spread Christmas cheer by placing this wreath on their beautiful barn on Conrad Road between Ludington and Scottville. F9 at 1/25, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 80mm

The exquisitely decorated Christmas tree outside the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum drew my attention earlier as I looked down from one of the Grand Rapids skyscrapers in the background. Now, standing in front of the museum, I get to see the tree and its reflection in the museum's mirrored windows and reflecting pond. F25 at 20 seconds, ISO 800, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

I don't have to drive far from my Ludington home to make the first of three photographs I have planned to take on Christmas Day. The Father Marquette Memorial cross on Pere Marquette Lake silently heralds Jesus as the "reason for the season" for Christians around the world. F22 at 6 seconds, ISO 200, 24-70mm lens at 70mm

I enjoy looking at the Norwalk Lutheran Church every time I pass by it on US31 between Manistee and Bear Lake, Michigan. Today a fresh coat of snow on the steeple and roof has decorated the classic country church for Christmas. F9 at 1/400, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 165mm

After spending Christmas morning at home with my mom, wife, and kids, I headed out around 1:00 p.m. to finish shooting the last Tuesday of our year-long project. My first stop was my in-laws' backyard on Lavinia Street in Ludington. Don and Shari feed the birds all year long and I knew several cardinals were frequenting their yard. F4 at 1/640, ISO 800, 600mm lens at 600mm

The Sable River at Ludington State Park is one of my favorite places in the world to photograph. While driving through the park I found these two geese taking a leisurely Christmas stroll along its bank. F4 at 1/2000, ISO 1600, 600mm lens at 600mm

This is the view from the very end of North Lakeshore Drive where it dead-ends at the North Bayou on Hamlin Lake. Today I parked my truck at the North Bayou Resort and Marina and grabbed my camera and tripod to document the beautiful swans swimming in the open water in front of the snow covered Hamlin Dunes. F7.1 at 1/500, ISO 800, 70-200mm lens at 185mm

On this final Tuesday of 2012, I have chosen to come to a place I know will look magical on Christmas night. I am atop the Buck, a hill I have skied for more than a half-century, and below me lies Crystal Mountain Resort and Spa. A fresh snowfall helps Crystal look, from high above, like a real Christmas village this evening. F16 at 30 seconds, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

On this final Tuesday of 2012, I have chosen to come to a place I know will look magical on Christmas night. I am atop the Buck, a hill I have skied for more than a half-century, and below me lies Crystal Mountain Resort and Spa. A fresh snowfall helps Crystal look, from high above, like a real Christmas village this evening. F16 at 30 seconds, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 24mm