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If you have had the opportunity to see Michigan's Manistee National Forest from the air, you know how unbelievably dense the forest actually is. Today, I was drawn to the beautiful patterns created by the different shades of green on the trees below. F8 at 1/400, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Just before I went into Foster School in Ludington tonight to play basketball, I got my big lens and tripod out of the truck and photographed the moon. The sky was clear and the moon was bright, allowing me to get a sharp, detailed photograph of the moon. F5.6 at 1/320, ISO 100, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

The fresh, clean waters of the Pere Marquette River snake their way through thick Michigan forests every day of the year. This view is from a section of the fly-only zone of the beautiful National Wild and Scenic River. F7.1 at 1/400, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 34mm

The color and patterns of these maple leaves in front of a birch tree on Hawley Road caught my eye a week ago. Today I am back to see if the leaves have peaked. They look great. F2.8 at 1/160, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Queen Anne's Lace and other wildflowers look like an impressionist painter's dream to my eye as I watch them sway in the morning breeze along a Michigan roadway. August is the best time to see and appreciate mile upon mile of wildflowers along Michigan's highways and byways. F6.3 at 1/640, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 80mm

Ahhhhhh! Cory Case of Ludington and his family really get into decorating their yard on North Washington Avenue. I drive by this face everyday on my way to work and it finally dawned on me that it would make a surprising photo of the day. F8.0 at 6.0, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 40 mm

Bicycle tours are a great way to see Michigan and get a lot of exercise in the process. Participants in the Standale Baptist Church summer bike tour pedal through the West Michigan countryside en route to Ludington on a sunny summer morning. F4.5 at 1/4000, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

Soaring on a brisk autumn wind, a seagull passes overhead as I am looking for pictures along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Fortunately, I am prepared to make the shot of the graceful bird. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 120 mm

Getting out of the car for a "twice-as-close" view of Michigan's summer roadside flowers proves to be very rewarding this morning. I never cease to be amazed by the beauty I find when I actually go to the trouble of getting out of the car for a closer look. For outdoor photographers, getting out of the car is as important as getting off the couch. F6.3 at 1/640, ISO 100, 105mm lens at 105mm

Several tom turkeys passed in front of my truck as I turned the corner from Conrad Road onto Meyers Road this morning. I threw on a larger lens and ran after the birds. The fall leaves on the ground add to the composition. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 500, 70-200 mm lens at 120 mm

Knowing that Michigan's apple crop was nearly wiped out by frost this year, I am delighted to see these healthy looking apples growing in a Mason County orchard. I hope the grower is able to get a handsome price for the relatively few apples that survived the premature arrival of spring weather this year. F5.6 at 1/800, ISO 400, 300mm lens at 300mm

October is the time for drama on the Lake Michigan shoreline. This afternoon I am so glad I made the decision to head to Little Sable Point to try to catch a peak moment of light, clouds and waves at the historic lighthouse. F4.5 at 1/800, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 19 mm

The larger the millimeters on your lens, the shallower the depth of field or focus will be. Also, the closer you are to the subject you are focusing on, the shallower the depth of field. And, of course, the larger the aperture hole in your lens, the shallower the depth of field. Today, I was very close to this Eastern Kingbird with a 600mm lens and a 1.4 extender and I shot it with a huge aperture hole at F5.6. That is why the bird looks very sharp and everything behind the bird becomes soft and out of focus. F5.6 at 1/1000, ISO 1600, 600mm lens at 840mm

After being seconds too late to photograph the magic light at sunrise this morning and also missing great light hitting the Ludington North Breakwater Light with a giant rainbow, I finally got my prize at Big Sable Point Lighthouse this afternoon. Lake Michigan in October is cold, but worth it for the composition I wanted. F14.0 at 1/100, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 22mm

My dad and I have photographed several bald eagles this year on different Tuesdays, but this was the first day we actually set out to specifically photograph the majestic animal at the Ludington State Park. In two short hours, we successfully photographed five different bald eagles. I never tire of seeing these massive birds populating the woods in Michigan. F5.6 at 1/6400, ISO 800, 600mm lens at 840mm

A mature bald eagle approaches touchdown in a white pine tree along the west shore of Hamlin Lake at Ludington State Park. I am so glad to see more eagles thriving in Michigan in recent years. F6.3 at 1/1250, ISO 800, 500mm lens at 500mm

I photographed 19 of these birch trees in January at Merdel Manufacturing on Day 12 of 365. Today I zero in for a closer shot featuring just three of the line of trees in fall color. F5.6 at 1/500, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 112 mm

An immature bald eagle banks to make a turn toward Hamlin Lake as it descends from a fishing perch at Ludington State Park. While perhaps not as striking and noble looking as adult eagles, I find the immature eagles impressive and beautiful in their own right. F4 at 1/1250, ISO 800, 500mm lens at 500mm

A fire hose snakes down Rath Avenue, delivering water from a hydrant to a house fire. Luckily, nobody was injured, the owner's dog was rescued, and the fire was extinguished. F7.1 at 1/200, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Carl Sams, the famous wildlife photographer from Milford, Michigan, took the best bald eagle photograph I have ever seen. It show an adult eagle, wings completely straight, flying directly into the camera during a blizzard. I liked the image so much that I bought my dad a 40-inch panoramic canvas of it for our cabin. I have always wanted to make an image similar to Carl's. This is as close as I have come. The eagle in this photo is only a few years old and does not have the pure white head yet. F5.6 at 1/1000, ISO 1600, 600mm lens at 840mm