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Clouds are your friends! The clouds today are a photographer’s dream! I love the marsh land around the Pere Marquette River. I drove to the farm, climbed down a steep bank, and found a log to walk out on. This allowed me to get rid of the smaller limbs along the shoreline and showcase the clouds reflecting in the river instead. Now to climb back up!

Our wet spring has turned most places into a wetland. This spot was no exception. The straight trees surrounding the green triangle-shaped moss was a showstopper.

My grandparents, Bud and Dorothy Reed, had a house on the Pere Marquette River for 50 years just upstream from where I made this photograph today on the Shoup's property. This was a fresh view for me and it reminded me of all the amazing times the Reed family had at my grandparents' house. The reflections of the clouds in the river are what caught my eye and drew me down the steep bank to the river's edge. F7.1 at 1/200, ISO 100, 14mm lens at 14mm

I have driven past this scenic turnout vista along M37 south of Mesick for more than 40 years, admiring the view at 55 miles per hour. Today the light falling on Hodenpyl Pond is exquisite so I stop to make a picture. Timing is everything in outdoor photography. F22 at 1/1250, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 80mm

The kids and I spent the afternoon fishing down by “The Point”. The marshland was a brilliant green today. While they fished, I shot….photos that is. It was a great day full of wonderful memories!

A fisherman on Hamlin Lake enjoys a sunset by himself on a peaceful spring night. While making this image, I got excited thinking about boating this coming summer on Hamlin Lake with family and friends.

After being up most of the night with my son, Brad, photographing Northern Lights and editing the images, I grabbed a peaceful catnap at our family cabin along the Pere Marquette River. Now I am ready for a little exploring. Light dances on the Pere Marquette River as leaves shimmer in the light of a beautiful spring afternoon. The water is high and running fast today. I take up position to make this image and then linger to drink in the scene for a while longer before moving on to see what else I can find along the river. F3.5 at 1/800, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 120mm

I cannot hike the river bottom on our land without visiting the "Cedar Island" a half-mile upstream from our cabin. The magic I discover there today is spring grasses growing in a shimmering creek. The scene looks like an oriental painting to me. I choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the faceted patterns on the water's surface. F4 at 1/320, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

Often making one picture leads to another. As I finish photographing some grasses in a creek along the Pere Marquette River, a fly that looks to me like a mayfly lands in the water just a few feet away. What catches my eye is the large concentric rings the fly and another that landed moments earlier are making on the water. How can such a small creature make such a big impression? F4 at 1/250, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

Shooting reflections of trees in the Sable River has become a favorite pastime of mine when I need to clear my head and get away from the stress of life. Tonight I enjoyed the peace and quiet of Ludington State Park and waited for the light to fall in just the right spots to make this photograph work. F22.0 at 1/15, ISO 100, 14 mm lens at 14 mm

When my brothers and I were younger we spent a lot of time on the beach at Partridge Point on Lower Hamlin Lake. I returned to that beach tonight for the first time in years hoping for a good sunset. To my excitement, the sunset was spectacular. F9.0 at 1/15, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 40 mm

I have used this same tree to frame pictures in both fall and winter. This morning

In October of 2009 I had stood in the same spot and made a photograph showing the South Bayou of Hamlin Lake during the peak of the fall color. Tonight, I want to show the same view with the beautiful late spring flowers and lush green leaves. I intend to return for a summer and winter shot as well. F2.8 at 1/200, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

After dinner at Brad’s house, the kids played there while I ran to the Sauble River outlet to shoot the sunset. I liked seeing the different variety of waves lapping to shore.

My dad called me early this morning to tell me that he thought it might be a good sunrise. I crawled out of bed and drove to Lincoln Lake. I made this image near the bridge on M-116.

The Pentwater River flats along Long Bridge Road are always a great place to photograph the sunrise in Michigan. This morning, the water was actually more colorful than the sky. It was worth getting up at 4:45 a.m. to get here in time to make this picture. F8 at 0.4 seconds, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

I micro-compose this composition and lock down the tripod 15 minutes before sunrise, then help some of our photography workshop students fine-tune their compositions in the Pentwater River marsh east of Long Bridge Road. The sun pops up and my shot is completed with nothing more than a quick push of the shutter button. F10 at 1/1000, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

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

Every time I visit Clarksville, Tennessee, I make time to take a walk with my mom along the Cumberland River. Today, Rachel, my mom, and I, had perfect clouds, blue skies, and sunshine to make this image.

The Pere Marquette River has a national blue ribbon fishery rating due to the number of fish caught out of the river and the scenic beauty of the entire river area. I love the blue ribbons of water that were flashing above the gorgeous river rock this afternoon. My camera captured the beauty perfectly. F6.3 at 1/320, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 50mm