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Betsy and Sean’s house on Riverview in Ludington has always had beautiful crocuses growing in the backyard. I used my 105mm prime macro lens to shoot a close-up photograph of one of the crocuses. I was attracted to the wild purple and white patterns on the inside of the flower.

Fall Color

For a very short time, the fruit country south of Ludington blossoms into a fairyland. This evening view is from Hawley Road looking north. F5.0 at 1/200, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Freeze Morning

Frosty Countryside

Frozen Palace

Don Allen of Ludington has been part of the local garden club for many years. His backyard is unbelievably gorgeous from early spring until late fall. He invited me over to photograph tonight and I was immediately drawn to this clump of primrose. F22.0 at 0.4, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 38 mm

Fruit Country

Halloween arrived in Mason County this morning with bucket loads of rain and even an occasional snowflake. But as experienced outdoor photographers, Brad and I know that nature’s nasty weather tricks can come with some unusually good treats. So back to Conrad Road I went to photograph the tunnel of trees between the Polcin and Greene farms for the fourth time in five days. The fourth time was the charm.

A giant white cedar tree twists its way toward the sky like a giant corkscrew. This natural treasure is part of a several-hundred-year-old virgin white cedar forest on the southeast side of South Manitou Island. Visitors to the island can take a long hike to view these marvels or can sign up for a wagon tour of island attractions which includes a short hike into the cedar forest.

Kinney Gold

One-year-old Caly Eisenlohr stands out beautifully in a sea of dandelions. I was making an image of an orchard and the dandelions in full bloom along Pere Marquette Highway when Caly's parents, Jerrod and Tara, decided this was the perfect setting for them to take pictures of Caly and her three-year-old brother Owen. F4 at 1/320, ISO 400, 500mm lens at 500mm

Fall color stretched as far as the eye could see, and the morning mist allowed, as I stood in awe at the edge of the Manistee River High Rollway, also known as the Buckley Rollway. This is, without a doubt, the best grand scenic vantage point for fall color I have discovered in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. How is it that I had never been to this magic spot before?

While hunting for morel mushrooms today with Julia and Ethan at Victory Park, we found this delicate little flower. I used my 85mm portrait lens to isolate the flower and soften the background.

Discovering the woodlands in the Claybanks area of Oceana County carpeted with trillium is for an outdoor photographer like winning the lottery. Brad, our business manager Sarah, and I go our own ways to capture our personal vision of the flower story we want to tell. For my part, I find three trillium flowers that I can place front and center in my composition. Focusing on them while letting the rest of a hillside full of flowers show up more softly in the middleground and background tells the rest of the story without stealing the show from the "stars" in the foreground. F9 at 1/100, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

I select this trillium to stand out from others in its vicinity. I want to convey the feeling of this one flower being surrounded by others, but I want the attention to be only upon this one. Like a golfer selecting the right club, I select the right lens to accomplish the mission

I wonder what the view from the Manistee River High Rollaway looked like in the 19th century when lumberjacks were rolling logs down it. I know for sure the view looks splendid roughly a century and a half later. This lookout near Buckley south of Traverse City belongs on every Michigander's fall color tour bucket list.

This was the first time I experienced being able to stand in a seemingly endless field of trilliums. It was magical. Even with the frosty nights the last few weeks, this trillium is still looking up. F14 at 1/100, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Mears Connection

Our home is surrounded by trees. I love all of them. Tonight, I made this image of a small section during the blue hour. The stars were just starting to show, so I worked to compose them around the treetops.