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For more than a quarter century, I have watched a once impressive farm north of Custer fading away. The painstakingly trimmed house where a proud family once lived was among the first buildings ravaged by the elements, vandals, and scavengers. The house has collapsed since I recorded this scene. Despite the decay of the old farm, I still find it sadly beautiful and continue to watch and record its slow death.

Fresh Flowers

Eden township, in the southeastern part of Mason County, is such an undiscovered gem. I learned from my dad to find great joy in driving the backroads of Michigan. This old, abandoned building had a story to tell today and I felt blessed to be able to help tell that story with my camera.

Fresh Flowers

With a field full of thousands of sunflowers to pick from, I set out to create a picture with only one star of the show. After at least 20 minutes of studying hundreds of sunflowers near the edge of the big field along Conrad Road, I made my choice. I liked how beautiful this sunflower was and the spatial relationship between it and the sunflowers surrounding it.

Nikon D810. F22 at 1/60, ISO 400. 60-600mm lens at 60mm. On a tripod without a flash. February 25, 2020 at 5:08pm.

My dad taught me a long time ago to look for repetitive patterns. On Tuesday when he and I were driving home from Petoskey, we both spotted this field at the same time. I love how the clouds in the background look like a mountain range. You have to see this photograph large to really appreciate it. F11.0 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

Having a strong foreground close to the camera is vitally important to a composition, especially with wide-angle lenses. Even though the farm field didn't have much snow left, the snowdrift in the foreground was several feet deep. I walked up and down the road looking for a section of the snowdrift that had dynamic lines and deep shadows, then finally found this composition.

An old barn and old tree hang onto life together in a farm field along M46 in Michigan's Thumb region. I am struck by the contrast between the old farm structure and adjacent gnarled tree and the shiny new farm structures and manicured young spruce trees in the distance.

Kinney Road Beauty

Listers Orchard

I was walking through a field south of Ludington en route to a blind to try to photograph some deer when it struck me that I was already in the presence of a good picture. I hunted for a few minutes for the best vantage point, set up the tripod, and shot.

It is cold but perfectly still this morning as horses catch the rising sun in their pasture at the West Shore Equestrian Center near Sugar Grove, Michigan.

The canopy that these maple trees drape over the roadway is one of the many reasons Conrad Road, between Ludington and Scottville, is one of my favorite stretches to drive. Photo hunting along area rural roads has been a favorite endeavor for decades. I have discovered countless unforgettable scenes and many memorable friendly people in my travels.

One of Michigan's most impressive old barns stands out at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. People by the thousands view this barn on busy summer days. Today however, in the wake of the biggest snowfall of the winter, I am one of only a handful of passersby privileged to see it at its winter best.

Monton Farm

A fresh snowfall makes the historic Glen Haven Canning Co. building stand out even more than it already does along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Sleeping Bear Dunes.

I have now photographed this old McCormick Deering tractor in all four seasons. My dad and I got to meet the family that owns this tractor and the farm it sits on near the Sleeping Bear Dunes. This tractor is a great piece of Michigan history!

Two fellow Team Reed members, Rachel and Dustin, went on a two-day shooting trip with me. Our most northern point was the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. After photographing the lighthouse for a few hours, we headed towards home on M22. We all made many strong images that day along the famous Michigan highway, but this old barn was one of my best from the entire trip.

Boldly beautiful; that is my response to the restored exterior of the historic Glen Haven Canning Co. building at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. A view through one of the many windows gives a glimpse of the equally restored interior that now serves as a maritime museum.