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I am having a hard time resisting picking one of these apples along Pere Marquette Highway but my ethics keep me concentrating on photographing them instead of eating them. I am not sure whose apples they are but I am glad the grower appears to have a good crop to harvest despite the heavy frost this spring. F8.0 at 1/400, ISO 200, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Betsy, Ethan, and I all have the flu today. It has not been a fun day to say the least, but making a photo of the day in our backyard does take my mind off of being sick for a little while. F8.0 at 1/60, ISO 800, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

The bees obviously know the cold weather months are ahead because they sure are busy this evening in a flower garden near Lake Michigan. Bees have fascinated me since childhood so I particularly enjoy photographing them. F4.5 at 1/500, ISO 100, 105 mm macro lens at 105 mm

I am playing one of the worst rounds of golf of my life at Lincoln Hills Golf Club when I spot these maple leaves near the 17th tee already turning color. I put down the golf club and pick up my camera. I am so much happier and capable with a camera in my hands. Passion and practice make all the difference. F4.5 at 1/200, ISO 250, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

My dad and I golfed today in the local chamber of commerce golf outing at Lincoln Hills Golf Club. Neither of us is able to golf often, but we seem to always laugh a lot when we do. I think other people laugh at us too. You can't take yourself too seriously in life! F6.3 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I have made the picture I set out to make at Epworth Heights this afternoon

Ah, the plants of summer. I love it when the various roadside plants of Michigan begin blooming. I have already spotted many colors and varieties of these plants while traveling the byways between Ludington and Traverse City. But the hundreds of tiny flowers of this big Queen Anne's Lace have caused me to stop my vehicle to appreciate their beauty close up. F7.1 at 1/800, ISO 200, 105mm lens at 105mm

As the sun rises over the Northern Michigan countryside, I find myself mesmerized by the sight of corn waving lazily in the morning breeze. It makes me crave Michigan-made Kellogg's Corn Flakes. F2.8 at 1/640, ISO 200, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

I have admired these grasses in my neighbor's yard at Crosswinds for months. I am thinking they have never looked better than today so I am giving it my best shot to show how beautiful I think they are. F2.8 at 1/2000, ISO 400, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Using our "twice-as-close" rule, I move right in on some lavender flowers to zero in on a bee harvesting nectar and pollinating the flowers in the process. I want to be as close to the bee as my lens will focus so that almost nothing else is sharp in the picture. I want the image to feel like a bee's field of dreams. F3.2 at 1/500, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

Thistledown on a milk thistle plant looks especially soft and delicate this afternoon. The thistledown will soon catch the wind and spread the plant's seeds across our land along the Pere Marquette River. F4.2 at 1/250, ISO 400, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

Running out of daylight, I headed into our backyard and found these leaves and birch stump. Using a sturdy tripod and hoping the wind stayed calm, I made this six-second exposure. It turned out sharper than expected. F22.0 at 6.0, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I have been watching leaves float by for 20 minutes on Hamlin Lake just above the dam at Ludington State Park. Finally, here is a fresh, colorful view that stands out immediately from all the others I have seen. F2.8 at 1/80, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm

Today was the most difficult day so far this year for me to find a photograph that I was proud of. After driving around frantically for over an hour, I found this leaf on my friend Gary Ferguson's property. What a re-leaf. F8.0 at 6.0, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

Does this tree look familiar? It is the same tree that I photographed on Day 9 of the 365 Project. I love photographing the same objects or places different times of the year or in different lighting situations. This particular tree is beautiful every day of the year. F11.0 at 1/15, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 40 mm

I have never seen so many milkweeds. In this amazing growing season, some Michigan fields have so much milkweed silk catching the sunlight that they look like cotton fields. The autumn winds scatter the seed-laden milkweed silk near and far. F3.2 at 1/500, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Today we headed from my mom's house near Fort Campbell, Kentucky to Paducah, Kentucky for my aunt's surprise birthday party. The sunset over Interstate 24 was gorgeous as it reflected off the hood of my truck. My mom's Honda CRV is the car in front of us. F2.8 at 1/8000, ISO 800, 18-50 mm lens at 30 mm

This is the second photo in the 365 Project that I have made of the pumpkin patch and farm along Chauvez Road south of Ludington. I have been by at least five other times, but the light was never good enough. Early this morning however, the light was fantastic. F10.0 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 20 mm

My brother-in-law, Ben Verduin, and his wife Emily were married last summer at St. Cecilia Music Center in downtown Grand Rapids. Tonight as we all walked past the iconic building together on our way to dinner we noticed this tree that looked like it had been dipped in florescent paint. F6.3 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 32 mm

My wife's aunt, Robin Mulder, took Betsy and me to Ludema's Floral and Garden store in Grand Rapids to pick out flowers for my mother-in-law Sharon Verduin who had surgery today. The moisture in the greenhouse made my lens fog up, but I feel that added to this photograph of chrysanthemums. F16.0 at 1/200, ISO 250, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm