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Betsy and I took the kids to play on the playground at Wilson Park on upper Hamlin Lake tonight. Wilson Park is located at the very end of Jebavy Drive and is a beautiful little park and a busy boat-launching site in the summer time. I made this photograph from the dock at the boat launch. F5.6 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I don’t believe I have ever made an image at Lincoln Lake. I left Ludington later than I had planned, and sunset was fading fast. I parked past the bridge on M-116 and walked quickly in between cars to capture this sunset over Lincoln Lake.

Another hot day draws a crowd to the Bass Lake Outlet to cool off and have some summer fun. My wife Debbie recalls hiking to the outlet from a Bass Lake cottage her parents rented during summer vacations when she was growing up. Bass Lake is one of those places where summer traditions are built. F6.3 at 1/5000, ISO 100, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

Alarm clock goes off at 5:45 A.M. and I roll out of bed. Get dressed, grab a quick bite to eat and fire up the truck. Heading to Pentwater for the Junior Women's Club Annual Art Fair. The sunrise is amazing. Stop on Old US 31 near the Pere Marquette River Flats and am finally awake enough to make this photograph. F9.0 at 1/500, ISO 250, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Rachel and I took our kids swimming in the Pere Marquette River today, at her family’s farm. While they were all enjoying playing together, I took our underwater camera housing and made this image of the bright summer sun lighting up a spawning bed on the river bottom.

The view from the Jebavy bridge looking east has always intrigued me, but I have never been able to make a good photograph from that vantage point. Tonight, while Ethan and I were driving home from our weeklong vacation in Manistee, Michigan, I saw the reflection of the house in the Lincoln River and knew I had found my photo of the day. F9.0 at 1/40, ISO 320, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Todd, Brad, and I explored the Hamlin Dunes today. It was fun climbing portions that I haven’t visited before. The bright sun created some fun shadows in the sand.

Brad and I and the kids spent the afternoon in the Pere Marquette River. The kids were swimming, while Brad and I had the underwater camera housing out. I had previsualized a photo of half underwater and half above, showcasing the lily pads. I made an image that day, but the water wasn’t as clear as I would have liked to compete with these clouds and reflections!

I took Rachel’s son David Benjamin pike fishing tonight on Pere Marquette Lake. Unfortunately, the fish weren’t biting, but we still had a great time and a fun boat ride in my dad’s Boston Whaler. We stopped the boat on our way back to the boat slip to make this image of the setting sun.

Today Rachel and I drove from Kalkaska to Traverse City. Just as we were leaving our hotel on Grand Traverse Bay to head to dinner at the Boathouse Restaurant on Old Mission Peninsula, an incredible sunset erupted out of nowhere. In my dress clothes and dress shoes, I quickly made an image before the light show ended. These colors are 100% real. It was one of the more intense sunsets I have ever photographed.

I planned an early birthday vacation for Brad this weekend. We were supposed to be photographing hot air balloons over Torch Lake; however, Mother Nature decided otherwise. Instead, we drove around exploring areas of the lake we had never photographed before.

It was another fun day in the Traverse City area photographing and exploring. We ended up at the Jolly Pumpkin for dinner and hoped to be finished eating before sunset. After dinner, we walked to a nearby beach to catch the last of the sun’s rays.

While en route home to Ludington an hour after photographing a gorgeous sunset on Lake Michigan at Leland, I am stunned and stopped by the afterglow at nearby Glen Lake. The quantity of light is mighty low but the quality of light is stunning. My trusty tripod permits my camera to accumulate enough light over time to make a good exposure. F5.6 at 30 seconds, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 20mm

On my way to WKLA to talk on the radio about the importance and value to our community of donating to United Way of Mason County I see my picture of the day along the Pere Marquette River. I pull off the road, run to the water's edge, compose and shoot. Sometimes pictures come fast and easy. F4.5 at 1/125, ISO 200, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

Mike and Nancy Banninga have a beautiful home on upper Hamlin Lake. The home is actually built out over the water. The lower level of the home is a two-stall boathouse and the upper lever is the living area. I have fond memories of spending time in their house as a kid while playing with their son Adam and their daughter Heidi. This photograph shows part of the view that the Banningas get to enjoy year round. F4.5 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 10-17mm lens at 10mm

Over the last 15 years the number of new houses and cottages built on the north shore of Hamlin Lake has exploded. Most of the homes border Hamlin Lake on one side and the Manistee National Forest on the other. F6.3 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 10-17mm lens at 17mm

I love seeing the fog dance over the water during a sunrise. This morning did not disappoint as I photographed the sunrise from M-116 over Lincoln Lake. We often try to find triangles for the bases of our images. It helps lead the viewer’s eyes into the photograph.

It is starting to feel like fall! I am always intrigued what makes one particular tree turn (or partially turn) before the others.

Brad and I took a drive around Ludington this afternoon. He made an image of a tree with fall color near Hamlin Lake, and then we ended up on his aunt and uncle’s farm on the Pere Marquette River. I positioned myself to capture the shadows in the water as my leading line into the photograph in the lower left side of the frame and placed the sunburst in the tree in the upper right.

Indian Bridge over the Pere Marquette River is a popular spot for fishing. When the fishing is hot, it is lined with men, women, and families fishing. Tonight, the banks are empty, the river is calm enough that the vegetation and trees along it are reflected nicely. I was even blessed with magic light!