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I have always been fascinated with birch trees. When I was little, I would try to carefully peel back the bark and use it to write letters on.

Ablaze in color, maple leaves stand out against a backdrop of pine trees along Hamlin Lake near the Hamlin Dam. The fall color hot spots at Ludington State Park remain the same year after year but the colors change based on the weather and the quality and direction of light at the moment of viewing.

I have photographed the tree-lined west side of Merdel Manufacturing in Ludington many times, but I think this is the best I have ever seen it look. The trunks of the white birch trees always stand out against the red building. The fresh snowfall simplifies the color palette, allowing the trees and red wall to stand out even more than usual. F4.5 at 1/40, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 12mm

Buckley Rollway

Lower Tahquamenon Falls

Turning your camera into a paintbrush is as simple as "painting" across a subject with your camera during a long exposure. The results are often both impressionistic and surprising. During one of our photography workshops I demonstrated how to "paint" some overturned kayaks stacked together along Hamlin Lake. I liked the results more than I expected.

Thanks to our friend, Mike Schlitt, and a few other members of the Charleviox Camera Club, my dad and I found out about this iris farm on M72 between Traverse City and Empire. Several families were there this evening paying to pick their own flowers. It is such a wonderful place for people of all ages.

Buckley Rollway

Upper Penninsula

My dad and I are fortunate that our gallery customers give us hints that help us capture some of our best photographs at the Ludington State Park. Last fall, a traveling nurse from the Ludington hospital stopped in the gallery and told me about a flaming red and orange tree she had seen the day before on the Ridge Trail at the park. With her detailed directions, I was able to easily spot the tree and was lucky enough to walk away with a smile on my face.

I am between teaching classes at West Shore Community College walking across campus from the cafeteria to my classroom when I notice how the brisk wind is bending cattails along the pond. I don't mind getting snow in my hiking boots while trudging through it to get close enough to make the picture I envision. F3.2 at 1/100, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 86 mm

This willow tree in front of Emerson Lake Inn east of Walhalla, Michigan stands out any time of year, but on a rainy, foggy winter morning the grand old tree commands attention in a way I have never seen before.

Buckley Rollway

These flaming red berries jumped right out at me as my dad and I were driving to Baldwin along US10. I had my dad stop the Suburban and I quickly hopped out to make this image. Because of the strong winds this morning, I had to raise my ISO to 6400 but I still wanted a lot of depth of field. I achieved that by shooting at an aperture of F13.

Buckley Rollway

I started this morning trying to shoot the sunrise over Bear Lake in Manistee County, but the clouds were blocking the sun. I decided to take roads I had never driven westward toward Lake Michigan. Eventually I came upon a glorious horse farm built on rolling hills less than a mile from the Lake Michigan shoreline. The farm is on a road lined with huge maple trees. Fortunately for me, the sun finally came out while I was setting up this shot.

Buckley Rollway

Mary Shoup was an amazingly upbeat person. Even after suffering from polio and its nasty side effects for most of her life, Mary continued to smile and make it her mission to make others happy. Her life was cut short, but when I saw this wild iris growing in Hamlin Lake on the Island Trail at Ludington State Park, I was reminded of what a beautiful person Mary was.