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This morning I have headed for the marshlands of Northern Michigan to see what I can find blooming. In a meadow at the edge of a marsh near the Pere Marquette River I spot goldenrod and then see a lone butterfly land on one of the flowers. I quickly and quietly approach to get as close as my large telephoto lens will focus to maximize impact and minimize depth of field. F5 at 1/500, ISO 200, 300mm lens at 300mm

I checked out the new splash pad in Copeyon Park. It isn’t running now, but I think my kids will enjoy it next summer! The geese were active on the lake while I was there. I caught this one in magic light.

In amongst the chaos of life, there are some mornings that can calm your soul. Even if only for a second. This was one of those mornings. After the kids got on the bus, I drove to the far back of the property on the farm. I wanted a different view of the Pere Marquette River and knew the moss here would make for a great foreground.

I wish I knew the story behind this abandoned home on First Street in Scottville, Michigan. Tonight, the light was hitting the tops of the surrounding trees and the upper story of the old homestead. Normally, when I see this house, it looks haunted and a bit scary. On this night it looked beautiful and gave me a sense of hope..

It is fun to experiment with different styles of photography. I knew I wanted to use the flowers more as shapes and designs than as a typical subject. I exposed to blow out the background, which would allow the stems to appear darker.

My step-grandpa was the late Dwight "Scotty" Scott. He was married to my mom's mom, Linda Scott. Together they ran Wren's Roost on the Middle Bayou of Hamlin Lake. After Wren's burned down, they opened Scotty's Restaurant in Ludington. I shot this photo near where Wren's Roost stood. F5.6 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

If you are ever driving on Old US-31 south of Ludington, check out the giant tree near the corner of Conrad Road and Old US-31. I have always enjoyed looking at this tree and tonight I am finally making an image of it that I am proud of. With great clouds, it sure is a lot easier to make strong images.

I had never really noticed this old barn and silo just off the road of US-31 between Scottville and Manistee. The bright red bush in front of the barn is what I first noticed while driving down the highway. I turned around and got out and then I waited about fifteen minutes for the clouds to move into the correct spots to make a stronger image. I wanted the clouds to mimic the shape of the barn.

Shadow sits statuesquely looking out the window of our son Willie's home, hoping to catch sight of a bird. Cats are beautiful creatures that maintain their wild animal instincts no matter how tame they have become. F5.0 at 1/200, ISO 800, 80-200 mm lens at 145 mm

Three years ago, we had an orphan heifer calf. The kids helped bottle-feed her. She was named after my daughter, Kasey. To differentiate between the two, we call her Kasey Calf. This year was her first-year calving. She had a little heifer today. The kids decided to name it Pumpkin.

This was a very curious little female mallard duck enjoying today's sunshine on Torch Lake. She kept swimming right up to me as if she were looking for a friend to play with. I think people must feed her treats because she seemed annoyed that I didn't give her any of my protein bar. F7.1 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Growing up on the farm, we only had wood heat. Two wood stoves, and a wood kitchen range heated the entire home. In our home, we too use wood as our main source of heat. There are enough dead or downed trees on the farm that we do not need to buy any, it just takes time and sweat to cut, split, haul, and stack it. The warmth it gives us on freezing Michigan winter days makes it all worth it!

Ami Maglothin called me today to provide a photo tip that a great blue heron was hanging out in the marina across the street from Whitehall Industries on Madison Street. I headed there right away and found the heron hard at work fishing for food. Thanks for the great tip, Ami! F5.6 at 1/2500, ISO 400, 600 mm lens at 600 mm

It was a calm morning today in the deer hunting woods. Not many deer were moving, and we had a lot of rain on and off. I was glad to be sitting in a waterproof tower and not in my open-air pit blind today. For a few minutes we had a break in the clouds and a tiny bit of sunlight appeared. I used my iPhone to make this image out of our apple orchard tower.

This is only the second porcupine that I have had the pleasure of photographing. My dad and I spotted this awesome animal on a dead end road near Torch Lake. I look forward to my next photo encounter with a beautiful porcupine. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 3200, 300mm lens at 300mm

After a chilly and windy opening day of rifle season, David and I were headed in for a warm dinner. The foggy atmosphere surrounding the field was a perfect black-and-white setting.

I switched deer hunting towers for the second night of the season. Tonight, I sat in my brother’s blind and the rain turned to a beautiful, sticky snow. Within a half hour, I watched this scene turn from brown and kind of ugly, to a winter wonderland. The deer loved the snow too because they finally started moving after the snow fell.

For the third night of deer season, I moved back into the apple orchard tower. It was another slow night of hunting, but the magic light appeared, and I was ready with my iPhone.

I find cardinals and blue spruce trees both to be among the most beautiful living things. At this moment I am hoping the flighty cardinal stays still long enough for me to pull the trigger on this shot from my blind. Click. F2.8 at 1/400, ISO 800, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

I am about to get back in the truck after taking a picture near Alpena, Michigan when a bumblebee flies past me and lands on a knapweed flower. Bumblebees have fascinated me since childhood. Their colorful, fuzzy bodies and buzzing sound make them my favorite Michigan insect. F9 at 1/500, ISO 400, 105mm lens at 105mm