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I have to laugh and smile looking at the face I see on the trunk of this birch tree. We take some pictures just for the fun of it. F11.0 at 1/60, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

For several years now the incredibly large overturned stump on the northwest shores of Lost Lake inside the Ludington State Park has been a favorite place for photographers and hikers to explore and document. Today I decided to use my macro lens and show the beautiful wood grains and textures of the dying wood. The wind, rain, and sunlight have bleached the wood and turned it a gorgeous blond color.

The old oak tree continues to grow as the house and barn continue to fade away. I see more than a picture here; I see a story to be told with my camera. It is an evolving story of the tree and the farm growing old together. I wish I knew more of the story, including whether the tree was already growing along Schoenherr Road in rural Mason County when the original homesteaders arrived, probably more than a century ago.

A windmill near Stony Lake catches the afternoon sunlight on its beautifully rusted blades and wind vane. I love discovering old windmills still functioning and still in place in their original farm settings. I find this one especially beautiful. F6.3 at 1/800, ISO 140, 300mm lens at 300mm

The Lincoln - panoramic

Waiting for the Light

WCF by Aunt Marys

Looking westward in the Pere Marquette River Flats, on the same morning I photographed the preceding scene looking eastward, revealed a similar view but one with the Dow Chemical Plant in the background.

Today the weather was spectacular in Ludington. Betsy and I dug out the double stroller and loaded up Ethan and Julia and we all went for a nice walk down to the beach. Just down the road from our house, I made this photo of a freshly cut tree stump. F9.0 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 20 mm

After putting on a slide show in Fremont yesterday as part of a United Way fundraiser, my dad, my daughter Julia, and I drove to the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Muskegon. We got our permits and then drove around the property looking for snowy owls. My dad's keen eye spotted this one out in a large field near a utility road. We pulled over and I got my cold weather gear on and my giant lens and tripod, and slowly walked towards the beautiful bird. This was the first snowy owl that Julia has ever seen.

Blaze orange shows up like nothing else in the Michigan outdoors. But this blaze orange bush at Croton appears to be on fire as the sun strikes it on the edge of an October rainstorm. We are always talking about the superior quality of "magic light" in our workshops. This light is most common in October. When magic light breaks out during or right after a storm, the sky becomes a dark backdrop for the intensely lit foreground subject, adding to the drama. Be ready to shoot on rainy days!

Miles of rolling dunes await visitors to Silver Lake State Park. This hiking path at the Ruckel's Bridge Day Use Area near the south end of the state park leads visitors to what I like to call a "big sky country" view of thousands of acres of dunes and Lake Michigan. F22 at 1/13, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

The Lincoln

Western Lights - panoramic

PM River

PM River

These jetties are remnants of man's past attempt to combat the power of Lake Michigan to erode its shoreline. I view these wooden jetties, built to save highway M-116 in Ludington State Park, as ever-changing sculptures. On a still summer's night, I set up the tripod and waited to see whether any magic light would appear. It did.

I am looking on the forest floor for one of those interesting details of nature when this hair from a deer that did not survive the winter catches my eye. I find this detail beautiful even though I am saddened about the deer. F18.0 at 1/60, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 185 mm