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The sight and sound of waves breaking against the rocks on the Lake Michigan shoreline today rocks my soul. I love invigorating mornings like this one I am experiencing at Epworth Heights today.

I love the simplicity of this mid-twilight view of Little Sable Point Lighthouse and the planets Venus (brightest) and Jupiter close together. The sky is still bright enough that bright stars are just becoming visible. F8 at 5 seconds, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 80mm

Over thousands of years, wind driven sand has polished smooth millions of stones along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The flat-sided stones are called ventifacts. I made this photograph near the Big Point Sable Lighthouse while on a hike to the northern boundary of the Ludington State Park.

Over thousands of years, wind driven sand has polished smooth millions of stones along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The flat-sided stones are called ventifacts. I made this photograph near the Big Point Sable Lighthouse while on a hike to the northern boundary of the Ludington State Park.

I nearly drove off the road this morning when I saw the apartment house on the corner of Ludington Avenue and Ferry Street being demolished. My mom used to live in the basement apartment when I was a young boy. I made this image of Tim Ferwerda and his excavator from Precision Grading & Trench just before the last wall hit the ground. F22.0 at 1/250, ISO 1250, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

What we feel and what we at first see through our camera lens often bear little similarity. Identifying feelings causes me to realize I need to haul out my largest telephoto lens to match the painterly, impressionistic feeling I am getting from this tulip garden in downtown Holland. Now all I have to do is organize my composition and focus only on my chosen star tulip so the viewers of my finished image will easily make their way through the maze of flowers in front to the one on which I want them to focus their attention.

Silver Lake Dunes and Little Sable Point

Spring Blossoms and Flowers

I have photographed dozens of thunderstorms but none as incredibly brilliant in color as this power-packed storm that rolled off Lake Michigan on a September afternoon. As with all the photographs in this book, I did not use color enhancing filters to take this photograph.

One of my ultimate dreams in photography has been to capture the Northern Lights with my camera. On Dec. 14, 2006, my dream was realized. Around 8:30 pm I trekked to the top of a large dune within Ludington State Park. Five minutes later, the entire evening sky over Lake Michigan erupted into a bright red and green palette of color. As I was exposing this photograph, two large meteors blazed through the sky. The rush of emotions I felt that night were overwhelming.

Engine 1223 looks like it could still be steaming along the tracks but is actually a static exhibit in Grand Haven. The 1941 Pere Marquette Railroad locomotive built in Lima, Ohio, reminds me of the heydays of trains in Ludington when the Pere Marquette Railroad operated here. F10.0 at 1/25, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 13 mm

I have made a lot of close-up shots of eagles but Brad and I also love to make environmental portraits of wildlife that are sometimes as much or more about their surroundings. There is something about the position of this eagle in a lone tree overlooking a large field near East Jordan that I think makes the eagle, and the tree, a perfect complement to each other.

The horizon glows gold and the lights of Wisconsin cities, airport beacons, lighthouses, and vehicle headlights show up across Lake Michigan as bright lines and dots. I am standing on a dune beside Little Sable Point Lighthouse and the atmospheric conditions are enabling me to distinctly see the lights more than 50 miles away. F2.8 at 30 seconds, ISO 3200, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

Windy Night at Sleeping Bear

Ludington North Pier and Lots of Snow and Ice

365 Week

Little Point Sable Lighthouse stands tall against a dramatic night sky. My wife and I were driving north from Chicago when we saw this sunset developing as we approached Oceana County. I quickly headed west to get to the lighthouse in time to be greeted by a sky even more colorful than I had anticipated.

I was at a loss for finding a photo of the day when I noticed the brightly painted fence one block south on the lawn of the library on Rowe Street in Ludington. As I drove closer, I knew I had found my photo of the day. A different child painted each slat on the fence and it is very impressive. F2.8 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

The rugged Lake Superior shoreline at Whitefish Point is a golden place to be on this August evening. Uprooted elsewhere by the power of Lake Superior waves, these trees have been carried by wind and wave energy to this prominent point and driven ashore. Seeing the forces of nature at work is one of the most fascinating aspects of being an outdoor photographer. D800, F22 at 1/6, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 140mm

In the Fall of 2011, I stood in the water in this same spot and photographed a double rainbow over the Mackinac Bridge during a rainstorm. This morning is a very different type of atmosphere. The foggy, still morning and muted pink and blue colors are picture perfect. F22 at 3 seconds, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 34mm