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I know photographers who set up feeding stations and sophisticated lighting systems to increase their odds of making fabulous photographs of hummingbirds. I appreciate the thought and work that goes into that style of shooting as well as the outcome. As for me, my unplanned, unexpected encounter with this hummingbird at Dow Gardens in Midland is the kind of hunting in the wild approach I prefer. My adrenaline is flying off the charts but I have to work fast and smart to capture the hummingbird image I have always dreamed of making.

My friends, Mike and Kerrie Cooper, live on a small farm south of Ludington that is surrounded by fruit trees. I used their dark red barn as a backdrop in order to make the blossoms on this tree stand out. F4 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 600mm lens at 600mm

As I behold the beauty of just a portion of one branch of a sweet cherry tree on Lister Road south of Ludington, I cannot imagine a more beautiful work of art than what nature and the growers at Hackert Orchards have created. F8 at 1/250, ISO 400, 500mm lens at 500mm

Using my wide-angle macro lens, I was able to get underneath this beautiful sweet cherry blossom and shoot straight up in the air. This allowed me to have a clean simple background with the clouds, blue sky, and just the tips of a few other blossoms in the distance. I set my exposure manually for the sky and then used my fill flash to brighten the blossoms. F5.6 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Glowing Blossoms

Tulips and the 250-year-old DeZwaan Windmill are longstanding symbols of Holland's Dutch heritage and the famous Holland Tulip Festival. I placed my wide-angle lens amidst the tulips to make them stand out. The historic windmill, undergoing renovations for this year's festival, becomes a secondary yet highly visible subject. F7.1 at 1/500, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

With my Wimberley tripod head on my Gitzo tripod, I slowly panned my 600mm lens as I looked at an endless field of tulips in Holland, Michigan. I didn't push the shutter until the scene inside my viewfinder felt great. As I panned over this lone tulip I knew I had found my winning composition. F4 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 600mm lens at 600mm

An Easter lily seems a fitting image for Easter Sunday. It was not the same Easter gathering that we typically have, but we tried to make the best of it.

As it rises above other tulips and opens to receive more sunshine, this tulip stands out among hundreds the same color in one of the public parks in Holland, Michigan. The tulips have bloomed weeks early this year due to record warm weather in March. F8 at 1/1000, ISO 200, 500mm lens at 500mm

My dad and I always shoot a lot of pictures of each other while out photographing. I got up on a hill and used my 600mm lens to get this shot of my dad with a field of tulips behind him. Holland, Michigan this time of year is a must-see. I promise it will bring a smile to your face! F4 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 600mm lens at 600mm

Dogwood blossoms blowing in a spring breeze are one of the more beautiful gifts of spring. This early-bird blossom stands out this evening. F4.0 at 1/100, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

The bright sunlight combined with some large billowy clouds was casting the perfect light to photograph the endless fields of beautiful tulips in Holland, Michigan today. After an afternoon of shooting, this is my favorite photograph that I made of the gorgeous tulips. F4 at 1/800, ISO 100, 600mm lens at 600mm

Dewdrops sparkle like diamonds, making stunning wildflowers even more glamorous this morning. What a way to start a September Michigan day! I have gone into swampland along the Pere Marquette River to see what I can find. I always know I will discover beauty in a swamp.

It strikes me that the lives of these two tulips appear intertwined like a pair of swans. They are part of the splendid display of tulips in one of Holland's city park gardens. F5.6 at 1/1000, ISO 200, 500mm lens at 500mm

If you like the feeling of this photograph with the soft background and shallow depth of field then I recommend using your largest telephoto lens and getting as close as possible to the subject while still being able to maintain a focus. Then set your aperture to the largest opening. In this photo I used a huge 600mm lens wide open at F4 and I was only about 18 feet away from the tulip that is in the sharpest focus. F4 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 600mm lens at 600mm

Cherry blossoms stand out in the springtime near the DeZwaan Windmill at Windmill Island Gardens in Holland, Michigan. I used a large lens aperture to feature the blossoms, separate them out from the windmill and to give the image a soft, painterly feeling. F4 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 80mm

Tulip time! My Grandpa Benson, who lived with our family when my brother and I were young, planted a lot of tulips in our yard with help from my mom. Spotting these brilliant red tulips makes me think of how much my grandpa and my mom enjoyed watching those tulips come up every spring. F2.8 at 1/640, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

The repetitive pattern in this photograph intrigues me. I like how the sunlight is shining through the petals at different angles, making the tulips look somewhat transparent. I also like the subtle s-curve going through the photograph starting with the first tulip in the lower right corner. F8 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens 34mm

Today was my first time at Windmill Island Gardens in Holland, Michigan. The historic village near downtown replicates what life was like in the Netherlands a few hundred years ago. Each year, hundreds of volunteers help plant thousands of tulips in Holland for their annual Tulip Time festival. This year, the tulips have bloomed a month early because of the unseasonably warm weather in March. F8 at 1/200, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 35mm