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Life is good in Ludington. Bring your family and friends here year round and you will find some of the most beautiful lakeshore in the entire country. On this mid-September day, I had the entire Ludington State Park to myself. Priceless! F11 at 1/320, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 35mm

Little did I know that as I was photographing this tree during an extraordinary sunset at my Uncle Budde and Aunt Sheryl’s house on Lake Michigan, Rachel was also photographing trees miles away at her family’s farm.

Dynamic angles make photographs more exciting and interesting. They also often create triangles. I photographed this mostly frozen tree along the Lake Michigan shoreline tonight and purposely tried to compose it in a way to show off the dynamic angles and the large triangle at the base of the photograph.

366 Days. Impossible. That is what I thought when Brad asked me to join him on this project. There were days I didn’t think I would make it. Couldn’t make it. I took solitude at the beach tonight, on New Year’s Eve. Reflecting on the past year. On our 366 Project, on COVID-19, on the goods and bads. At 5:05pm, I made my last and final image. I did it! 

I took a Christmas Day drive to the southern region of Ludington State Park today to find my photo of the day. I feel this is a photo I would not have been able to make a year earlier because I didn't really see the world in photographs as well as I do now. The 365 Project has made me a much better photographer. F10.0 at 1/100, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

The amazing God beams were back tonight and even more defined. I waited for the sun to peek through a hole in the thick cloud layer. When the sun finally broke through, the light show was even better than I predicted it would be. F6.3 at 1/200, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 70 mm

There is a lot of truth in the saying, "There is no place like home." As I was photographing this beautiful sunset at the First Curve in the Ludington State Park, I was feeling very fortunate to live in Ludington my entire life. Thousands of people visit here every year and dream about the day they can retire to Ludington. I hope to forever call Ludington my home. F6.3 at 1/40, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 44mm

I am hoping to catch the sun setting over St. Joseph Lighthouse. Clouds change my plan. The sun peeks out beneath the clouds just in time for the Young Flight sculpture at St. Joseph beach to catch the light. I think the sculpture by Gail Mally-Mack and the backdrop by Mother Nature complement each other. F22 at 2.5 seconds, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

In the summertime, hundreds of people would be having fun at Warren Dunes State Park. On this rainy October Tuesday afternoon I am the only person in sight. I enjoy making still-life photographs when everything is so still. F22 at 1/100, ISO 1600, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

Three things in life really get my dad fired up. Skiing the fall line when it is steep and deep, seeing a big buck in the woods while deer hunting, and being on or near Lake Michigan during a huge storm. You can feel the excitement radiating off him in this photo. F8 at 1/640, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

For Week 45 of the Tuesdays Project my dad and I drove down to Monroe, Michigan. Monroe is south of Detroit and is located on the beautiful shoreline of Lake Erie. The sunrise this morning had an atmospheric glow that was subtle, but sweet. F9 at 0.4, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 27mm

I have been trying to make an image of dune grass to this quality since I first picked up a camera in 1999. After hundreds of failed attempts I was finally in the right place at the right time. I had a lot of good compositions of dune grass up and down the Lake Michigan shoreline, but I never had the right clouds or the magic light. My luck changed today. The water flowing through the foreground of the photo is from the Bass Lake Outlet as it makes its way into Lake Michigan. F22 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Recent windstorms have left behind some impressive sculptures on the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. I previsualized the dunes appearing rippled following the big blows, but this exceeds my expectations. F32 at 1/50, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 29mm

It never ceases to amaze me how the wind can shape sand dunes into the most impressive works of art. I have hiked up and down the Silver Lake Sand Dunes for a couple hours before finding this spot. I immediately know that all that effort was more than worth the reward of this visual treat. F18 at 1/80, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 31mm

A sand dune is to me one of nature’s most beautiful creations. Now paint that sand with the golden light of the setting sun and I am awestruck. I loved the feeling of being the only human being experiencing this view from atop the Silver Lake Sand Dunes.

The sun looks to me like it is falling out of the sky this evening. Adding to the illusion, a ship on the horizon appears in part to be floating above Lake Michigan like a mirage due to an atmospheric phenomenon. F22 at 1/13, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 185mm

The sunrise in the east was casting a turquoise light to the west over Lake Michigan this morning. Luckily, I was ready with my camera and found a strong foreground of dune grass to build my photograph. F4.5 at 1/80, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

The sunrise in the east was casting a turquoise light to the west over Lake Michigan this morning. Luckily, I was ready with my camera and found a strong foreground of dune grass to build my photograph. F4.5 at 1/80, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm