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October 16, 2010” We teach our photography workshop students to look for saturated fall colors in the reflections of leaves on the water. I took my own advice on a pond along Pere Marquette Highway.

I photographed this maple tree in an asparagus field along Conrad Road on Day 209 in a very different way, showing the whole tree with its green summer leaves, green asparagus and cloud-filled sky. Today I see a different picture

This is the same forest on North Peterson Road in Hamlin Township that I photographed on Day 53 of 365. It is beautiful all year long. The selectively cut forest was gorgeous on this warm October afternoon. I love days with weather like today. F22.0 at 1/8, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

If you have had the opportunity to see Michigan's Manistee National Forest from the air, you know how unbelievably dense the forest actually is. Today, I was drawn to the beautiful patterns created by the different shades of green on the trees below. F8 at 1/400, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

The color and patterns of these maple leaves in front of a birch tree on Hawley Road caught my eye a week ago. Today I am back to see if the leaves have peaked. They look great. F2.8 at 1/160, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

I photographed 19 of these birch trees in January at Merdel Manufacturing on Day 12 of 365. Today I zero in for a closer shot featuring just three of the line of trees in fall color. F5.6 at 1/500, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 112 mm

Curving branches of an old oak tree along the Pere Marquette River stand out today after high winds blew away many of the grand oak's leaves. Most neighboring maple trees have been stripped bare by 30 to 60 knot winds the previous two days. F11.0 at 1/5, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

My dad and I drove to Manistee today to visit a friend in the hospital. The visit was sad and I needed to grab my camera quickly to help ease the pain. Not far from the hospital, we found this row of trees lining Eastlake Road. Photography for my dad and me is very therapeutic. F16.0 at 1/30, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

With their leaves stripped away, the beautiful shape of these trees along the Lake Michigan shoreline stands out to me. I spotted them last night but the light was not good, so I am back today along South Lakeshore Drive to shoot them in sweet light. F3.2 at 15.0, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 175 mm

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas this morning. Snow coats the Christmas trees being grown along Hansen Road by Needlefast Evergreens. Like most people, I am feeling it is too early for winter or for the Christmas spirit. F8.0 at 1/5, ISO 800, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm

I have photographed these trees three times in the last few weeks, but never felt satisfied with the results. Luckily, the trees are very close to our new house on Riverview Drive so I drive by them often. Tonight the light was soft and the bark on the trees was dry, which was the combination I needed. F22.0 at 1.3, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

As summer wanes, I get the urge to spend more and more time in the woods. Today something inside us draws Brad and me to drive to Hartwick Pines near Grayling to experience being in the largest stand of virgin white pines remaining in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Many of these trees tower more than 300 feet overhead. F22 at 0.8, ISO 200, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

One of Michigan's best-kept secrets is the giant white pine forest at the Hartwick Pines State Park, located just north of Grayling, Michigan. The forest is home to Michigan's largest section of native white pine trees. Some are over 300 years old. Most of Michigan would have looked like this forest 150 years ago before most of our state was logged off. F20 at 5 seconds, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 24mm

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 what remains of the Mighty Monarch. The Mighty Monarch was one of the tallest white pine trees in the entire state of Michigan and lived for over 300 years just north of Grayling, Michigan. My dad and I photographed her remains today at the Hartwick Pines State Park. In 1992, a storm took the top off the gentle giant and in 1996, she died. She is now slowly returning to the Earth. F20 at 5 seconds, ISO 100, 14mm lens at 14mm

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.

Yowzah! The dawn over Pere Marquette Lake has me scrambling for my camera and tripod. This is one of the most spectaclular sunrises I have ever viewed from my home on the Buttersville Peninsula. F2.8 at 1/15, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 92 mm

A few trees around the area still have leaves on them, including this birch tree on Conrad Road. The rain and overcast light actually made the yellow leaves pop more in this photograph. F5.6 at 1/40, ISO 800, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

Picture hunting from the truck is one of my favorite things to do. While driving across Michigan today, my dad and I spotted this bog full of different kinds of trees and loaded with fog. We got out of the truck on US10 between Baldwin and Reed City and quickly made these images before the sunrise burned the fog away. F8 at 0.5, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 120mm

Foggy, warm mornings in the late summer in Michigan are hard for outdoor photographers to resist. You don't have to walk far to find great images. This morning, my dad was on the hunt to create images that captured the essence of a perfect late August morning in Michigan. F5 at 1/640, ISO 100, 105mm lens at 105mm