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My dad and I often tell our workshop students to try to shoot reflections or water on bright sunny days. The water will render very chromatic and brilliant compared to the sky or other surroundings that are being washed out by the sunlight. F5.0 at 1/320, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 23 mm

There are so many beautiful orchards in Michigan to drive past; it would probably take the entire blossom season to see them all. This one within a few miles of Lake Michigan between Hart and Shelby, Michigan looks as picture-perfect on this May morning as any I have ever seen.

For nearly a century, people have been enjoying the five-and-a-half-mile Toonerville Trolley wilderness train ride. Today Brad and I are aboard the narrow-gauge train that starts out near Soo Junction in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. From my vantage point in the front car, I am getting an up-close view of a pair of sandhill cranes. From the rear car, Brad has already seen a black bear at a distance.

Dune grasses barely move on a nearly perfectly still evening at the Silver Lake Outlet to Lake Michigan. A florist could not have arranged the dune grass more perfectly for me. All I have to do is position the camera in just the right spot. F22 at 0.6, ISO 140, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

Uplifting Light

Winter Has Arrived

Looking down from the porch of the Ludington State Park Beach House, I noticed the shadows cast by fencing erected to reduce the amount of drifting sand and snow. The fencing, bent by nature's forces, caused a curved shadow.

We had been trying unsuccessfully all morning to make strong still and video imagery of an eagle while shooting in 2007 for an upcoming book, Ludington State Park: Queen of the North. Some days are a bust; this started out being one of those. The eagles were not cooperating, and we had gotten wet and cold bouncing around choppy Hamlin Lake. In the Coast Guard, I learned that if Plan A does not work, always have a Plan B already in mind. So, despite being disappointed, cold and hungry, we turned our attention to photographing salmon making their annual return to the Sable River from Lake Michigan. It was the last week of October, and the fall color reflecting off the wind-rippled surface of the water made this salmon appear to be under stained glass. It was not the image I had set out to make, but it turned out to be one of my favorite images from a year of intensely photographing Ludington State Park. In years past I had made lesser photographs of salmon in the same spot, just under water on a spawning bed with fall color reflected on the surface. But on this day, Mother Nature blessed me with an extraordinary added ingredient. A brisk west wind made all the difference, agitating the surface of the water just enough to create a shower glass effect on the river. This faceted surface reflected various colors in various directions, turning my photograph into abstract art. I don’t like setting up an image. I love “found” pictures that are real-time moments in the Michigan outdoors. I am especially proud of this image because, while many people surmise it is not “real” and is somehow an electronic after-the-fact manipulation, it is as real, as purely Michigan at its genuine best as I have ever made. I love a lot of abstract art, but I don’t find myself drawn to setting out to make a lot of abstract images. But I do know a good abstract photo moment when I see one.

The students in my Photo 1 class at West Shore Community College have set out this morning to find images that will render well with color film. I enjoy watching them use their own vision to find images I might never see. We talk about looking close; I follow my own advice and find this frosted maple leaf. F20.0 at 1/15, ISO 100, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

This sight greets me as I crest a hill on Scout Road while searching for blossoming fruit trees between Shelby and Hart. This scene definitely merits a photograph.

Tulips appear to extend to infinity at Windmill Island Gardens in Holland, Michigan. Visitors from across Michigan and around the world flock to Tulip City each spring to see countless blooms, other Dutch heritage attractions, and Tulip Festival events.

Little Sable in the Dark

Spawning Salmon

I have used this piece of driftwood for a resting spot to spot for the quality of light to improve after hiking to Big Point Sable. On this spring night, magic light made the log stand out as a photo subject.

My dad and I have found that the best way to photograph lightning is using the longest exposure possible for the given situation. This photograph is a 30-second exposure at F8 and an ISO of 100. It was shot on a sturdy tripod that could withstand the 30 miles-per-hour winds. This fierce thunderstorm headed north very quickly and it took out power in Manistee, Michigan.

For several generations now, Sportsman's Restaurant & Irish Pub has been the place to be for green beer and good times in Ludington on St. Patrick's Day. Tonight I took a photo of Megan Payment enjoying the festivities. Her family has owned the iconic Ludington destination for many decades. F2.8 at 1/250, ISO 1250, 18-50 mm lens at 40 mm

I can't imagine the rush this kite surfer is experiencing as he speeds across the whitecap waves just inside the Frankfort breakwalls on a blustery October day.

Tulips and the De Zwaan Windmill are two of the spectacular ways Holland, Michigan celebrates its Dutch heritage. Today I search for just the right tulips with which to frame the centuries-old windmill. I set up the tripod low to the ground to make several foreground tulips stand out and surround the tall windmill.

Hikers on a return trek from Big Point Sable Lighthouse follow the meandering Lake Michigan shoreline north of Ludington State Park Beach House. Wooded and dune trails also wind their way to the historic lighthouse. Any of the routes provide a powerful visual experience.

These grand old maple trees look particularly attractive to me wearing their maple syrup pails in the morning light. I am sure my friend from high school days, Stanley Peterson, won't mind me stopping in the front yard of his beautiful farm on Benedict Road to make this image. F22.0 at 0.3, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm