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One of the things I like to do most on my fall color tours is to get out of my vehicle and sit in the leaves along the right of way to immerse myself in the color. That is what I did on a drive down Conrad Road in Amber Township to experience leaves close-up while still taking in the country road and Polcin Farm with my wide-angle lens. F11 at 1/60, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

From day to day, or year to year, I love seeing the different looks of my most favorite tunnel of trees in the world. Today the tunnel of trees looks solid gold as a vehicle heads westward on Conrad Road toward Ludington. An image I made two autumns ago of this same tunnel is being displayed across the Midwest this fall on Pure Michigan billboards. F11 at 1/60, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 80mm

If this grand maple tree and old barn could talk, I wonder what stories they would tell about the history of farming and life along Conrad Road near Scottville, Michigan. The emerald green winter wheat surrounding the barn was planted by Pete Conrad. Pete rents the use of the land for farming from Tracy Thompson. F8 at 1/60, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 26mm

As I look up the trunk of this stout old maple tree in rural Mason County, it occurs to me how strong a maple tree has to be to hold up all of its branches and leaves. Then it occurs to me how life-like the tree looks. Knots look like eyes looking down at me. I can imagine it walking through the forest. Visually escaping reality can be very entertaining. F9 at 1/60, ISO 400, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

With a single lens reflex camera, the viewfinder shows the image at the largest aperture available to the lens in use. In this photo, I had my camera on full manual and set my aperture to F22, yet in the viewfinder I saw the photo at F2.8. I often use my depth of field preview button to see what the final photo will look like in terms of depth of field. F22 at 1/10, ISO 800, 105mm lens at 105mm

The wind caught a brilliant maple leaf and blew it into these beautiful little flowers. My friend, Jennifer Batts, pointed this photograph out to me. I put my macro lens on and captured the scene with my camera and tripod. F29 at 1/13, ISO 800, 105mm lens at 105mm

Ron and Donna Sanders live across the street from Betsy and me on Riverview Drive in Ludington. As I was pulling out of my driveway early this morning I noticed their yard light creating beams of light as it shone through one of their bushes. I could not resist making a photograph of the beautiful scene. F6.3 at 30 seconds, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Driving along the US31 Expressway between Hart and Shelby, Michigan, I spot some of the most colorful sumac I have ever seen. I pull into the rest stop just beyond the sumac and am greeted by more of these colorful plants. The symmetry of these two neighboring sumacs catches my eye. F28 at 1/640, ISO 800, 300mm lens at 300mm

Colorful leaves of a bush along one of the trails at Van Buren State Park look to me like a butterfly. I feel compelled to make an image that makes the "butterfly" stand out by getting very close to the three leaves and minimizing depth of field (focus). F8 at 1/60, ISO 800, 105mm lens at 105mm

A Lake Michigan beach isn't where I expected to find fall color shots today, but dune grass along the shoreline at Van Buren State Park caught this transient leaf. I like the resulting colorful arrangement of angular and curving shapes. F3.2 at 1/250, ISO 100, 105mm lens at 105mm

The leaves on this oak tree near Bridgman, Michigan, on the way to Warren Dunes State Park, brought me from 60 miles per hour to zero in seconds. I already had spotted a beautiful backdrop in the form of the giant rolling hills. Now I have the perfect subject to place in front of the wooded hills. F32 at 1/25, ISO 800, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

The blue line around the outside edge of this leaf stood out to me as I was walking through a creek near the corner of Peterson and Fisher roads. Rainy days can be perfect for photographing fall color. F22 at 1.3 seconds, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Standing in creeks and swamps can be detrimental to your boots. As I was focusing on making this picture, I did not realize that both of my boots were slowly sinking into some stinky, thick black muck. Luckily my boots were tall and tied on very tightly so they didn't come off as I yanked them out of the mud. It was all worth it for this photograph. F22 at 1 second, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

This unexpected view of vines intertwined with the bark of a tree catches my eye along the entrance road to Warren Dunes State Park. I always try to remain alert for the surprise photographic discoveries that are often more fascinating than the expected ones. F22 at 2.5 seconds, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

During my first visit to Warren Dunes State Park one of the first things that catches my eye is this graceful old tree on the beach that somehow remains alive and standing despite much of the sand surrounding its base having been blown away by strong lake winds. F22 at 0.3, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

I am headed down Victory Corners Road between Ludington and Scottville to check out an old oak tree when this old birch tree catches my eye. Passing this beauty by is not an option. F6.3 at 1/25, ISO 800, 300mm lens at 300mm

I have always loved willow trees. They somehow seem to have such soul. Willow trees bathed in magic light in November are some of the most beautiful trees in the world. F8 at 1/100, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 100mm

Fog simplifies the background of these trees along the border between our land and Cherry Hill Farm north of the Pere Marquette River. Usually the farm's big red barn stands out. Today the trees get to be the standouts. F5 at 1/320, ISO 1600, 300mm lens at 450mm