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Michigan abounds with new life in spring. I love traveling the countryside looking for views like this one along Iris Road in Mason County.

Often when my dad and I travel together in his truck on photo adventures and he is driving, I am worn out by the later afternoon. It is a common occurrence for me to take a nap in the truck while he continues to look for photographs. Today at Stocking Drive at the Sleeping Bear Dunes, I woke up from a long nap to find my dad photographing some trillium he had found alongside the road. I dragged myself out of the truck and grabbed my camera and started looking for my own photographs. Soon I was full of adrenaline and wide-awake making this image of a lone trillium. Nikon D800. F2.8 at 1/5000, ISO 1600. 14-24mm lens at 14mm. Handheld without a flash. May 16, 2017 at 4:49pm

This is the view from the top of the De Zwaan Windmill, located in Windmill Island in Holland, Michigan. Mesmerized by the endless fields of tulips, I locked in on this particular area of one field. I patiently waited for the sunlight to reappear from behind a large cloud and then for the wind to die down enough to make the photograph I had envisioned. D800, F11 at 1/320, ISO 1600, 70-200mm lens at

Rim lighting is always dramatic, especially on frosty mornings in Michigan. With my large telephoto lens, the busy background goes out of focus very quickly making the grasses stand out even more.

The older I get, the less pressure I feel to fit in with the crowd. My parents have always taught me to be comfortable being myself, but sometimes that comfort doesn't come for people until they are older. I was inspired looking at these red tulips and how they stood out from the crowd. I shot them with my 85mm 1.4 lens at an aperture of 1.4 so that the extremely shallow depth of field made them sharp and all the other tulips blurry.

The first week of the 365 Project seems to be an overwhelming success. The response to the photos by email and on Facebook has been fantastic. To start the second week of my shooting, I headed south of Ludington to the fruit fields in Summit Township on Morton Road. This is one of my favorite areas of Mason County. F22.0 at 0.5, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

My dad and I often tell our photography workshop students they need to think of themselves as puppeteers. We try to control exactly where the viewers of our work will first look in our photographs. By using a super-telephoto 600mm lens as well as a 1.4 extender, I had a very shallow depth of field. Then I moved within 15 feet of the flower, which is as close as that lens will focus. Finally, I set my aperture to F5.6 in order to have the shallowest depth of field possible. This combination of lens choice, closeness, and aperture helped me isolate one tulip in this photograph.

Eye on Autumn

After the Fire

A beautiful red barn sits among a field of blossoming fruit trees early this morning along Morton Road south of Ludington. The fruit fields and rolling hills of Mason and Oceana counties are breathtaking right now. Tourists flock to this area for the fall color tour, but I don't think it holds a candle to the spring blossoms. F6.3 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

Legends Ranch

This is one of the more well known and photographed trees in Ludington. It is just north of the north concession stand at Stearns Park beach. I find this tree beautiful all year long. F22.0 at 1/30, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 30 mm

An artist friend, Lewis King, loves to meander across the countryside to see what he can find to paint. I share his love for the country. This morning I am excited to discover this scene on Kinney Road south of Scottville to paint with light. F18.0 at 1/250, ISO 400, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

As a team-building exercise to kick off the busy summer selling season, my dad and I took many of our staff members out shooting with us today. We started the morning shooting the sunrise at Bass Lake, then we shot sailboats on Pentwater Lake. Now we have moved to Christofferson Farms on Morton Road south of Ludington. As I am composing this photograph, I am certain I will be back in the fall to pick the fruit off these same trees with my wife and kids; we enjoy going there every fall.

This forest along US31 near the Manistee County and Benzie County line stopped me in my tracks tonight on my way north to photograph the Mackinac Bridge in the dark. The absence of color in this scene is what really excited me. My kids love this image because it reminds them of the movie Frozen. D800, F22 at 0.3, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

For several years, I have dreamed of making an aerial photograph of fruit trees in full bloom taken from a dynamic angle with dandelions on the ground. Today, our manager, Sarah Genson, and I went flying with Ryan Johnson from Mason County Aviation. I told Ryan about the idea I had and he knew just where to take us. This is an orchard south of Ludington.

A clump of dune grass stands unassailable against winter's onslaught. I love to see the changes that snow brings to subjects that appealed to me in a different way before the snowfall.

This tree graces the Ludington beach near the entrance to Stearns Park. It often frames picturesque views of Lake Michigan. On this night the tree takes center stage, leaving an anchored freighter to play supporting role.

Buckley Rollway