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Bear Crossing

Preserve the Light

Pere Marquette Cross

Night Crossing - Panoramic

Aerial Photos Crosswinds Full Frame

For me, being out in nature is a way to get close to God. Looking out at the woods from inside the log chapel at Hartwick Pines State Park is a more obvious way for me to find God in nature. Being at Hartwick Pines to take in the snowy woods when no one else is here enhances the experience. My favorite poet, Robert Frost, would have loved being here today. I think he might have had similar feelings about this special Michigan place.

I have spent much of my life along the Pere Marquette River and have seen many deer swimming in the river. At this moment I am experiencing a first: a deer has decided to leap in the river and cross directly in front of our drift boat. At automobile speeds, our vessel would have hit it. Deer swim fast so at river current speed our boat left the deer time to safely cross and join its mother on the opposite bank. F3.5 at 1/800, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 135mm

The beach near my Crosswinds home in Ludington often provides me a quiet, peaceful retreat from the often fast pace of life. Tonight I will make this picture and then savor the view for another half-hour while waiting for the moon to descend toward the lighthouse. F11 at 10 seconds, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 105mm

Jeff and Sarah Tow stroke their way through the water during one of their Lake Michigan practice swims in preparation for swimming 55 to 60 miles across Lake Michigan in Mid-August. Their "Through the Blue" swim is intended to raise awareness about postpartum depression and other perinatal mood disorders. F5.6 at 1/1000, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 92mm

The SS Badger is a beautiful steamship from any angle. Today was the first time that I got to photograph her underway from an airplane. I was impressed by how elegantly the 410-foot carferry cut through the waters of Lake Michigan. F7.1 at 1/640, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

My focus is on the clear message and the clear view of nature out the window of the Chapel in the Pines at Hartwick Pines State Park. After making this available light image, I used fill flash to light up the interior log wall and a carved plaque beneath the cross containing "Nature's Prayer." In the end, I preferred the simplicity of the darker naturally lit image that keeps the focus on the natural cross outside. F4.5 at 1/30, ISO 200, 24-70mm lens at 32mm