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Loving October

Loving October - panoramic

Radiant - Panoramic

Little Sable Lighthouse

In our 20-20 Vision course, my son Brad and I teach our photography students 20 concepts we use in building strong images. We like to think of these concepts as 20 distinctly different arrows in our photography quiver that we can draw from. This is the best image I have ever made of Little Sable Point Lighthouse, not only because I used a lot of image-building arrows, but because each of them was right on target maximizing the visual impact of the photograph. The dramatic clouds in the mid-October sky enabled me to use one of my favorite arrows: “Clouds are your friends.” Not only were there great clouds, but at the moment of exposure, the clouds were wonderfully positioned in relationship to the lighthouse. This was the fifth consecutive morning I had made the 60-mile round trip to Little Sable Point. I determined the ideal spot to place my tripod on the first day. My goal was to create a three-layer “Grand Scenic” layer cake, marrying foreground, middle-ground and background elements together in a beautiful union. A triangular mound of dune grass provided the perfect foreground and base in which to place my camera. This foreground layer was the most essential layer to make viewers of my finished photograph feel as though they were actually standing there with me. Brad and I strive to make photographs that transcend from pictures to experiences. We want viewers to step right into the scene. I designed and built a strong image that first morning. All the compositional elements were in place. All that was needed now was God’s “magic light” to finish the image. Four mornings in a row I watched and waited. On the fifth morning the light was sharp, the westerly wind was building up some great waves into repetitive patterns, and the clouds looked especially stunning and powerful. After 100 cold minutes, a bright beam of light appeared headed my way like a giant search light. As the light hit the lighthouse, I began shooting. A few seconds later the light also lit the dune grass in front of my camera and tripod. For about five seconds in five days, one of the most glorious shoreline scenes I have ever witnessed lay before me. Then the magic light moved on, and the scene became so much less moving. I and other photographers have made subsequent photographs from almost exactly the same spot. I don’t think Mother Nature will ever duplicate this day. I thank God I realized the need to persevere and be there at this amazing moment.

Lake Michigan is roiling at Pentwater this afternoon. Waves driven by 50-knot winds slam into the Pentwater South Pierhead Light and at this moment "storm light" works its magic. F5.0 at 1/1600, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 105 mm

Today my dad helped me make this image with our underwater housing at Little Sable Point Lighthouse. These were the biggest waves I have ever taken our housing out in. I wore a survival suit and had a rope connecting me to my dad. He stood on shore and was my anchor. We had magic light on and off all day long. When I made this image, it was lightly raining, but the sun was shining brightly. It was worth being knocked over, face planting in the water, and eating a lot of sand to make this image!

I have photographed fall color along M22 all day and now, during a diversion from the long ride home, Mother Nature has presented me with an entirely different color show. This sunset afterglow just keeps growing more vivid by the minute. I love how unreal reality can be on the Lake Michigan shoreline!

I visualized how the Charlevoix Lighthouse might look three hours and 150 miles before I got there. The fresh coat of ice on the Charlevoix pier from yesterday's north wind and waves looks even better than I envisioned. I am loving being right here, right now in Northern Michigan.

Lilacs at Point Betsie

After shooting the lighthouse and waves at lunch and not being completely happy with my shots, I decided to drive through the beach after work and see how it looked for sunset. My son had a home basketball game, and I try not to miss them, but things looked too promising to pass up this opportunity. I could tell that the break in the clouds at the shoreline would allow for magic light to shine through on the waves. Using my car to help block some of the high wind, I set up my camera and tripod and went to work. What an absolutely unbelievable night. Thankfully, I still made it in time to watch David play, so it was a double bonus night.

It was the first day of the 1999 sailing season for the carferry Badger. Providing a colorful sunset, it was as if nature was saluting the grand ship on her return to Ludington harbor.

The sand hitting my face feels like shards of glass as I make my way to the water's edge at Stearns Park to photograph the Ludington North Breakwater Light. The winds over Lake Michigan at times exceed 60 miles per hour. Magic light, white clouds and dark blue sky behind are my backdrop. Now I just need a huge wave. Bingo! F5.6 at 1/1250, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

White Lake bustles with recreational boating traffic in the summer. On this July evening, an impressive catamaran is one of many vessels passing by White River Light Station en route for an evening cruise on Lake Michigan.

When the waves are this big and the light and shadow at times this intense, I know to wait longer, watch longer for peak moments of waves and light. I made this image in 1/2500 of a second after looking for this moments for hours.

I was horribly disappointed today when my dad and I made it to the shoreline at Point Betsie Lighthouse just north of Frankfort, Michigan and found Lake Michigan flat as could be. It was beautiful, but I needed some rolling waves in order to make the image I had created in my head a few days earlier. As I was preparing to shoot Plan B, my dad pointed out that a large sportfishing boat was screaming by just offshore and was creating a large wake. I rushed to get into position and set my underwater camera to the correct settings; then it was just a matter of timing.

A Coast Guard self-righting motor lifeboat reached sheltered water inside the Grand Haven pierheads after “heavy weather” training operations on Lake Michigan in the large waves generated by Superstorm Sandy. The 47-foot vessel is designed to operate in seas up to 30 feet and winds up to 50 knots.

Badger Going Out in Storm

After taking a long hike on the Pentwater Pathways Trailhead with Betsy, Sean, and the kids, we decided we wanted to have a change of scenery. We drove into Pentwater and hiked the channel down to the lighthouse on Lake Michigan. The big lake was rougher than I expected, which was a great surprise.

Dream Voyage - Panoramic