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The White River Light Station near Whitehall, Michigan is a beautiful lighthouse. It also has a very informative museum inside. Shortly after making this photograph, I laid down in the grass and warm sunshine and took a nap. I woke myself up snoring. I guess I needed some rest.

Often when my dad and I travel together in his truck on photo adventures and he is driving, I am worn out by the later afternoon. It is a common occurrence for me to take a nap in the truck while he continues to look for photographs. Today at Stocking Drive at the Sleeping Bear Dunes, I woke up from a long nap to find my dad photographing some trillium he had found alongside the road. I dragged myself out of the truck and grabbed my camera and started looking for my own photographs. Soon I was full of adrenaline and wide-awake making this image of a lone trillium. Nikon D800. F2.8 at 1/5000, ISO 1600. 14-24mm lens at 14mm. Handheld without a flash. May 16, 2017 at 4:49pm

This is the view from the top of the De Zwaan Windmill, located in Windmill Island in Holland, Michigan. Mesmerized by the endless fields of tulips, I locked in on this particular area of one field. I patiently waited for the sunlight to reappear from behind a large cloud and then for the wind to die down enough to make the photograph I had envisioned. D800, F11 at 1/320, ISO 1600, 70-200mm lens at

Rim lighting is always dramatic, especially on frosty mornings in Michigan. With my large telephoto lens, the busy background goes out of focus very quickly making the grasses stand out even more.

Built in 1840, the Old Presque Isle Light is one of the oldest surviving lighthouses on the Great Lakes. The charming structure served as an active lighthouse until 1871 when it was replaced by the nearby, far taller New Presque Isle Light. F10 at 1/60, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat 47225 heads out the Grand Haven Channel for a "heavy weather" training exercise during Superstorm Sandy. At the helm is Senior Chief Kirk McKay, a Coast Guard Surfman highly trained in extremely heavy weather rescue boat operations. F4.5 at 1/2000, ISO 1600, 300mm lens at 300mm

The 630-foot-long Great Lakes ore carrier Calumet gets two helping hands negotiating the Detroit River at Wyandotte from the Great Lakes Towing tugboats Idaho (in the lead) and Wyoming. The Calumet can carry nearly 20,000 tons of ore. F11 at 1/500, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 120mm

Grand Traverse Lighthouse

Foggy Day at Point Betsie

Loving Pentwater

Legends Ranch Island Blind

What a difference a day or so makes in Michigan! Before the infamous Bomb Cyclone winter storm hit Michigan in February 2019, I was drawn to the Ludington waterfront on a sunny morning to photograph three tugboats moored along the shore. I was happy with my shot. When the storm crossed over Lake Michigan from Wisconsin several days later, Ludington harbor looked more like Siberia. I knew right where to head to make a another good, but extremely different photograph.

Laughing Whitefish Falls

Butterfly Magic

The Algorail, a frequent visitor to the Ludington harbor, used two powerful spotlights to guide herself quietly into port. I set my camera to 800 ISO in order to stop the ship

Long after it had outlived its usefulness as a boat, a rusting hulk remains in the water on tiny Fox Lake in eastern Mason County. I wonder about its history and the enjoyment it probably brought people in years past. Even though half rusted away, I find it beautiful as a still life subject.

Young maple trees and an old barn on Fisher Road caught my eye while en route to West Shore Community College to teach a photography class. I tried to persuade my students to always have their cameras with them and tell them that stopping to take a photograph is one of the few good excuses for being late to class. I tried to leave home early so I could make a picture and still get to class on time.

"Get it while it's hot" applies in reverse to icicles. The snow and ice decorating the exterior of Scotty's Restaurant keeps drawing me back. Today it looks so chillingly beautiful it demands to be my picture of the day. Could there be better days to make this photograph? Possibly, but I know the January thaw is on its way. F11.0 at 1/30, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 120 mm

The older I get, the less pressure I feel to fit in with the crowd. My parents have always taught me to be comfortable being myself, but sometimes that comfort doesn't come for people until they are older. I was inspired looking at these red tulips and how they stood out from the crowd. I shot them with my 85mm 1.4 lens at an aperture of 1.4 so that the extremely shallow depth of field made them sharp and all the other tulips blurry.

Having captained Coast Guard boats on Lake Michigan for 30 years, I especially identify with the Mariner's sculpture in Ludington's Waterfront Park. I have the greatest respect for all Great Lakes sailors, including those heading for Wisconsin this evening on the carferry Badger.