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Who knew that death and decay could be so beautiful? The strive for life in a mature Michigan forest never ceases to amaze me. Ten years ago we harvested several large hardwood trees off of our property and the forest is already quickly regrowing. F9 at 1/80, ISO 1600, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Just as darkness is setting in on the woods near our cabin along the Pere Marquette River, the sun appears to have set some trees on fire. I love sitting in the woods and watching day turn to night. I love daylight but I love nightfall as well. F3.2 at 1/500, ISO 1600, 300mm lens at 300mm

My view of a stump in the Pine River seems so simple at first glance. The more I study it, the more I see going on in terms of light and shadow and patterns and textures. The more I see, the more I like. Simple is sometimes simply complex. F22 at 1/640, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

Walking through William Mitchell State Park in Cadillac, Michigan, I am vigilantly looking for the perfect leaf to photograph in the fresh snow that has fallen overnight. I know it when I see it: a perfectly preserved oak leaf jutting out of the snow. Blades of green grass provide an added ingredient. F22 at 1/80, ISO 400, 24-70mm lens at 70mm

Composing photographs can be like assembling a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle. You have to look very closely at every piece to see how they fit together. One missing piece can ruin the entire experience. This winter puzzle I made off the bridge on M37 fit together perfectly. F5.6 at 1/400, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 82mm

Mother Nature is getting a little help today decorating this spruce tree. The beautiful tree stands in front of one of the ski lodges at Caberfae Peaks. Today this tree is being coated by a snowmaking machine creating manmade snow for downhill skiing at Caberfae. F22 at 1/1600, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

Our friends, the Wright family, own and operate Thundering Aspens Sportsman Club near Mesick, Michigan. Their ring-necked pheasants naturally reproduce and fly as well as any wild pheasant. The Wrights entice the birds to stay on their property by creating a natural habit and by growing sorghum and other crops that the pheasants love to eat all year long. I made this photograph on the edge of one of their fields. F4 at 1/640, ISO 800, 600mm lens at 600mm

My dad started out the day early this morning photographing the moon setting into Lake Michigan. It was fitting that I would end Week 48 of the Tuesdays Project by photographing the moon rising over some pine trees at Thundering Aspens Sportsman Club near Mesick, Michigan. F4 at 1/500, ISO 1600, 600mm lens at 600mm

This lone tree at Charles Mears State Park in Pentwater looked extraordinary this morning with the colorful sky above Lake Michigan as the backdrop. I had to stand on top of my pickup truck to make this photograph because I wanted the split in the trunk to be right at the horizon line. F8 at 1/30, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

I am right on schedule to meet Brad for lunch after photographing in Manistee all morning. Then these grasses along one of the back roads to Ludington set up a roadblock. Even before setting up the tripod, I know the decision to stop was a good one. The clean, simple dark background provided by some evergreen trees in the shade makes the grasses stand out even more. F16 at 1/640, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

This beautiful dune grass seed head looks like a deer's tail as the golden light from the setting sun hits it. By getting above the grass and shooting down, I was able to control the background of the image. A clean, simple background means nothing competes for the viewer's attention. F9 at 1/200, ISO 1600, 18-50mm lens at 23mm

I used my external Nikon flash to light up the foreground in this image that I made along the Island Trail at Ludington State Park. Without the flash, the foreground would have been completely black. I always have my external flash mounted on top of my camera so it is nearby when I need it. F22 at 1/4, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

This tree is less than a hundred yards from my dad's deer hunting blind in the swamp along the Pere Marquette River. I have always marveled at its unique shape and size. Today, I finally took the time to document this beautiful piece of artwork made by God. F2.8 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

This gnarly stand of trees along Conrad Road near the Pere Marquette River flats stands out because of strong side lighting. Looking for photos while driving is always fun, especially when you have a truck full of photographers. This morning I had three other sets of keen eyes helping me find photographs for Week 49 of the Tuesdays Project. F22 at 1/15, ISO 400, 300mm lens at 300mm

A few months ago I photographed this tree when it was full of leaves. Today, the tree is bare and all the leaves have blown away. With the driving snow, the scene looked delicate, yet strikingly beautiful. F8 at 1/25, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

This morning, as I stood on the edge of a farm field near the corner of Schwass Road and Hawley Road, it was snowing so hard that I could barely see the three massive wind turbines in the distance. Normally, the wind turbines are visible from miles away. The wind was blowing pretty strong so the blades were really bending. Even with the driving snow and the whipping blades, the countryside seemed so peaceful and still. F8 at 1/25, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

Betsy, Julia, Ethan, and I picked out our Christmas tree a few weeks ago and decorated it together. We bought it pre-cut from a local tree farm. This row of evergreen trees along Hawley Road reminds me of the good old days when my parents took us out in the woods with a saw to cut down our own tree. Maybe next year I will do that with my kids. F8 at 1/15, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

Lone trees in the middle of farm fields have always been one of my favorite subjects to photograph. While driving around in a blizzard this morning I found this incredibly beautiful scene on Kinney Road. So far, this is the best lone tree photograph I have ever made. F11 at 1/10, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 78mm

In recent years, more and more Michiganders are heating their homes and barns with outdoor wood-burning furnaces. Roger Hansen heats his machine shop and his daughter's house at Cherry Hill Farm with a large outdoor wood-burning furnace. I just happened to be walking by his woodpile when I found this unexpected piece of art. F22 at 1/4, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 32mm

Simple and poetic photographs are fun to make, but often hard to pull off. They can become boring pretty easily. The wetlands on the campus of Western Michigan University have a lot of cattails and beautiful grasses surrounding them. Using my largest telephoto lens on a tripod, I slowly panned the camera while looking through the viewfinder until I found a simple composition that felt right. F4 at 1/2000, ISO 800, 600mm lens at 600mm