Search

You can find seagull feathers all along the Lake Michigan shoreline, especially in the windier months. On this blustery October morning, I couldn't resist getting my 105mm macro lens out and showing the world the intricate details of this beautiful seagull feather.

Tahquamenon Falls and White Fish Point

Waiting for the Light

WCF by Aunt Marys

Blaze orange shows up like nothing else in the Michigan outdoors. But this blaze orange bush at Croton appears to be on fire as the sun strikes it on the edge of an October rainstorm. We are always talking about the superior quality of "magic light" in our workshops. This light is most common in October. When magic light breaks out during or right after a storm, the sky becomes a dark backdrop for the intensely lit foreground subject, adding to the drama. Be ready to shoot on rainy days!

Western Lights - panoramic

The South Beach

Western Lights

Something about the way these wild turkeys blended with their environment compelled me to get out of my truck and make this image.

After photographing this owl up close, it flew about 40 yards away and landed in a tree. The close-up shot was unique, but I love this environmental portrait a lot more.

During most sunsets along the Lake Michigan shoreline, the sun appears to tranquilly disappear below the horizon. However, occasionally at dusk, the sun, clouds, water, and sand mold and blend to create a powerful mixture of molten beauty.

We had been trying unsuccessfully all morning to make strong still and video imagery of an eagle while shooting in 2007 for an upcoming book, Ludington State Park: Queen of the North. Some days are a bust; this started out being one of those. The eagles were not cooperating, and we had gotten wet and cold bouncing around choppy Hamlin Lake. In the Coast Guard, I learned that if Plan A does not work, always have a Plan B already in mind. So, despite being disappointed, cold and hungry, we turned our attention to photographing salmon making their annual return to the Sable River from Lake Michigan. It was the last week of October, and the fall color reflecting off the wind-rippled surface of the water made this salmon appear to be under stained glass. It was not the image I had set out to make, but it turned out to be one of my favorite images from a year of intensely photographing Ludington State Park. In years past I had made lesser photographs of salmon in the same spot, just under water on a spawning bed with fall color reflected on the surface. But on this day, Mother Nature blessed me with an extraordinary added ingredient. A brisk west wind made all the difference, agitating the surface of the water just enough to create a shower glass effect on the river. This faceted surface reflected various colors in various directions, turning my photograph into abstract art. I don’t like setting up an image. I love “found” pictures that are real-time moments in the Michigan outdoors. I am especially proud of this image because, while many people surmise it is not “real” and is somehow an electronic after-the-fact manipulation, it is as real, as purely Michigan at its genuine best as I have ever made. I love a lot of abstract art, but I don’t find myself drawn to setting out to make a lot of abstract images. But I do know a good abstract photo moment when I see one.

Spawning Salmon

My dad and I have found that the best way to photograph lightning is using the longest exposure possible for the given situation. This photograph is a 30-second exposure at F8 and an ISO of 100. It was shot on a sturdy tripod that could withstand the 30 miles-per-hour winds. This fierce thunderstorm headed north very quickly and it took out power in Manistee, Michigan.

I can't imagine the rush this kite surfer is experiencing as he speeds across the whitecap waves just inside the Frankfort breakwalls on a blustery October day.

Hikers on a return trek from Big Point Sable Lighthouse follow the meandering Lake Michigan shoreline north of Ludington State Park Beach House. Wooded and dune trails also wind their way to the historic lighthouse. Any of the routes provide a powerful visual experience.

White Fish Shoreline Tahquamenon Falls and White Fish Point

I have photographed dozens of thunderstorms but none as incredibly brilliant in color as this power-packed storm that rolled off Lake Michigan on a September afternoon. As with all the photographs in this book, I did not use color enhancing filters to take this photograph.

I have made a lot of close-up shots of eagles but Brad and I also love to make environmental portraits of wildlife that are sometimes as much or more about their surroundings. There is something about the position of this eagle in a lone tree overlooking a large field near East Jordan that I think makes the eagle, and the tree, a perfect complement to each other.

365 Week