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Lake Michigan waves splashing up on the erector­ set – looking framework of the foundation for the elevated foghorn building created this icy artwork at Big Sable Point Lighthouse on April 15, 2020. The rest of the story is the fall I took on the undetectable ice covering the sand en route to make the shot.

Cruising Lake Michigan

We always tell our workshop students to stick around after the sun goes down to see the afterglow. Tonight, we had several workshop students on the Manistee beach with us. The sun had already set and the sky was dull. We decided to get a group photo together. Just as I was making the group shot, the sky erupted with intense color. We all split up and ran for our camera gear. It was a great teaching moment!

A breaking wave splashes onto the rocks protecting the Pentwater South Pier. I am one of only a few visitors to the Pentwater waterfront this evening. I savor the sunset in solitude.

As soon as the Manitou Island Transit ferry landed at the dock, I made a beeline for South Manitou Light. I could see from the boat how beautiful the light and shadow were playing on the 100-foot-high white tower and knew I had to get to this spot ASAP. I waded into the shallows in order to use the intriguing water-covered rocks as a foreground base to my image.

Sunshine, blue skies, and melting snow along the Lake Michigan shoreline north of Point Betsie: March is looking lamb-like today. I am especially intrigued by the light dancing on the water covering the rocks, so I decide to emphasize the foreground.

As soon as the Manitou Island Transit ferry landed at the dock, I made a beeline for South Manitou Light. I could see from the boat how beautiful the light and shadow were playing on the 100-foot-high white tower and knew I had to get to this spot ASAP. I waded into the shallows in order to use the intriguing water-covered rocks as a foreground base to my image.

I was intent on capturing a close-up image of the Super Blood Wolf Moon setting behind the Ludington lighthouse on January 21, 2019. Mother Nature had something else in store. I just had to have the presence of mind and heart to see it at 9 a.m. on a way-beyond-ice-cold winter day. We teach our workshop students that 90 percent of a good image is about the quality of the light and or atmosphere. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was in the presence of both great light and atmosphere. We also teach, “Bad is Good,” meaning that bad weather provides good conditions for making strong outdoor photographs. It was a good bad day.

Manistee Lighthouse

Big Sable Lighthouse

As I hustled to find a vantage point to capture this image, I was struck with an overwhelming sense of calmness. I realized that I was one of only a handful of people at that moment lucky enough to witness the perfect blending of a human creation and God's creation. This was a defining moment in my life when I knew I had found my calling as a photographer.

I was in awe of the giant bolts of lightning striking Lake Michigan as I stood on the beach at the end of Ludington Avenue during a fierce September electrical storm. One massive bolt after another came crashing down and I was lucky enough to capture one that split on both sides of the lighthouse. When I downloaded the photo the next day, my dad quickly noticed that the bolt looked like the lower peninsula of Michigan.

Lake Michigan at Point Betsie Lighthouse is so crystal clear on this hot summer day that I want to reach down and take a drink. I concentrate instead on trying to make an image of the lighthouse that emphasizes the clarity of the water and beauty of the rocky shore. F20 at 1/250, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 21mm

“Bad” weather days can quickly change into a photographer’s dream. First, I spent more than an hour on this rainy day working to make good images of Marquette Harbor Lighthouse. Then “magic light” broke out beneath the clouds near sundown and lit the lighthouse and trees like Christmas. Just before sunset, sunlight bounced off from clouds cast a diffused, soft golden light on the lighthouse, McCarty’s Cove shoreline, and Lake Superior. I love “bad” weather.

The graphic view in front of me at the entrance to St. Joseph Harbor reminds me of those perspective drawings we learned to make in grade school. Everything appears smaller as it recedes into the scene. Shooting the sailboat at just this spot in its voyage makes all the lines and imaginary lines line up in triangular fashion. F10 at 1/400, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 130mm

The beach at Little Sable Point looks like ice cream swirls today. Wind and waves and sand have worked together to create one of the most unique natural artworks I have ever encountered on a Lake Michigan beach. Little Sable Point Lighthouse and autumn clouds provide an appropriately beautiful backdrop. F32 at 1/125, ISO 400, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

Fresh Water Day

Dream Voyage - Panoramic

Under Water at Big Sable