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A magic moment during a photography workshop at Ludington State Park
Ludington Magic
At 4:32am this morning my cell phone woke me up with a text alert from my northern lights application Aurora Pro. It indicated that the current KP index over the Ludington area was a level 7. I then looked at the weather application on my phone and it said the skies over Ludington were currently clear. I shot out of bed and rushed to the Ludington State Park. From the top of the second tall dune north of the Beach House, I made this 40-minute exposure of northern lights over the dunes and Lake Michigan. Big Sable Point Lighthouse was also shining bright in the distance. I knew from experience, with a long enough exposure, the stars would appear to move in a circle around the North Star. It was a magical morning all alone on that dune today!
Nikon D850. F4 at 2427 seconds, ISO 100. 14-24mm lens at 24mm. On a tripod without a flash. March 20, 2021, at 5:33am.
Enjoying Ludington
Michael Wolff of Ludington enjoys a leisurely kayak ride in the Ludington channel tonight just before sunset. It is so nice when locals can enjoy being tourists in our own town. Ludington is hard to beat on a warm summer night.
F9 at 1/320, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 50mm
Incredible Ludington
I thought I was going to have a heart attack and die halfway through a five-block sprint from my Ludington waterfront home on a circle tour to my truck to get my camera and then around Harbor View Marina to get to the spot where I visualized I needed to be to photograph one of the most vivid rainbows I had ever seen. While bent over, hyperventilating, trying to catch my breath, it occurred to me that, yes, I might have a heart attack and die if I didn’t quit running, but I definitely was going to die if I didn’t get this shot. In my mind and heart, this was an image worth dying for. I hadn’t run this hard since retiring from the Coast Guard 11 years earlier, but I needed to save myself from disappointment, so onward I ran. I was so busy running, it wasn’t until I reached my pre-selected spot on the west side of the Ludington Waterfront Sculpture Park that I looked toward the rainbow and witnessed a sight far more incredible than I could ever have imagined a few minutes earlier from the third-story deck of our condominium.
The double rainbow was even more vivid now and perfectly positioned from this vantage point. The marina and boats provided the attractive foreground I had envisioned from home without being there. For a few moments, I was so focused on the double rainbow, I didn’t even see the reflection of the main rainbow in the water. When I did, I ran closer to the water’s edge so I could include the entire rainbow reflection in my image. This was the first and only time in my life I had ever seen a rainbow and its reflection make a complete circle. I quickly made an image, thinking the rainbow would fade away any second. Then I took a deep breath and concentrated on really seeing and evaluating every aspect of the image I had built. I moved my camera position less than a foot in micro-composing the image to better align the foreground, middle-ground and background layers. A couple thumb clicks of my cable release later, and I was done. I could breathe easy now and savor for a few more minutes this exceptionally brilliant rainbow I and countless others were blessed to see on July 10, 2016
A Surreal Ludington Moment
Having 35 years of local knowledge is the only reason I was able to make this photograph. While standing on Conrad Road between Ludington and Scottville, I hypothesized that if I were near the Buttersville campground that I would be able to line the rainbow up with the Ludington North Breakwater Light. Just as I arrived at the campground beach, the SS Badger was heading out the harbor. One second after shooting this photograph the rainbow disappeared.
F13 at 1/400, ISO 400, 70-200mm lens at 170mm
Wednesday Ludington City Beach Grass (2071)
Wednesday Ludington City Beach Grass