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When summer comes, I like to escape to my favorite getaway spot along the Pere Marquette River between Ludington and Scottville to see the wildflowers in what I consider to be my personal field of dreams.

August Bloom

After five unsuccessful photo trips to the Schwass farm in Riverton Township, south of Scottville, I thought I was never going to take a good photograph of their winter squash. The challenge was to make a picture that would stir the viewer's emotions the way they had described the experience to me. On the sixth trip, a golden luminescence from the setting sun gave me the feeling they must have had. I was glad for the tips and my perseverance.

Some trees have personality. I love movies like Lord of the Rings where trees come alive and walk. This tree appears to be striding through the dunes at Ludington State Park. I like its posture. F8.0 at 1/10, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 92 mm

I have studied this grand scenic view along Hawley Road between Ludington and Pentwater for years. On this early November morning, I feel like the scene looks as good as it gets.

I was deer hunting near the Pere Marquette River in Amber Township with my camera, waiting for Whitetails to appear in front of me and fall color behind. The deer never appeared where I needed them to, so I decided to switch gears and frame some of the color I had been looking at for several hours.

My favorite new lens is my Sigma 18-50 mm F2.8 EX DC Macro. I love that this lens is a wide angle, but also a macro. Wide-angle lenses capture a large degree of the scene in front of you and macro lenses allow you to get close to a subject and focus very finitely. I used that lens to make this image of some grass at the entrance to Stearns Park. F3.5 at 1/500, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

My dad and I drive four-wheel-drive pick up trucks for several reasons. We often end up on dirt roads, in deep mud, snow, or sand. We also have an unbelievable amount of photography gear, clothing, rope, and other adventure items with us at all times. My truck was pushed to the limits a few hundred yards past where I made this image today. I am glad my truck has skid plates on the bottom because I went over some pretty impressive boulders to get down Indian Hill Road between Honor and Empire.

Squashing any notion I might have had that I was photographing pumpkins, grower Jim Schwass let me know they were actually winter squash. Visiting with the lifelong Riverton Township farmer while photographing the squash and his son's farm was one of those social bonuses that often make photo expeditions especially rewarding.

I had already made a picture I liked of the Centenary United Methodist Church steeple in Pentwater before finding this shadowy view of a massive tree at Snug Harbor Marina on Pentwater Lake. Both images featured sunshine, shadows and clouds. Brad thought both images had a spiritual quality; I agreed. F8.0 at 1/640, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 12 mm

Since August 2012, when I photographed this old McCormick-Deering tractor on Indian Hill Road for the Tuesdays project, I have been eager to come back and photograph it in the fall. Today the scene is even better than I could ever have imagined. My favorite part of this image is all the leaves stuck in the grass surrounding the tractor.

Viewing the world through a telephoto lens with a wide aperture creates an impressionistic view of dandelions and one sharp standout.

When I was working up this aerial photograph of Hamlin Lake on the computer, I noticed how three-dimensional this image was. The shadow on the north edge of the lake makes the trees and homes off of Nurnberg Road appear to be coming off the page. D800, F8 at 1/100, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

The nature trails at West Shore Community College abound with outdoor photography subjects. This orange hawkweed stood out along the shore of a pond on the picturesque campus.

At one summer art fair when I was a young boy, I remember hearing a gentleman say to my dad, "That isn't art, it's just a photograph!" Well, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and I enjoy the fact that art is subjective. I enjoy making images like this one, where an object that might go unnoticed takes on a new appearance.

If I had a million dollars, I would buy the three-foot-square piece of land my tripod is sitting on along M-22. I would leave the tripod there for countless others to physically stand in this spot and take in the awe-inspiring view I am enjoying of the Arcadia Lutheran church immersed in a sea of fall color.

Lake McDonald

It was a magic moment. While photographing a farm surrounded by mustard grass near Fountain, I heard a noise in the opposite direction. I spotted a collie heading my way. Wheeling about, I instantly framed the dog in the viewfinder, panned with him, focused, and shot as he passed by toward the picturesque old farm that may have been his home. It was an unexpected incredible photographic experience.

Trying to show the softness of these white pine needles, I decided to zoom my telephoto lens during a long exposure. I made several shots at different shutter speeds and varied the speed of zooming. This shot captured the essence of what I felt.