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Big Rainbow Over Carferry

What a View

Underwater Ludington Channel Cropped Pano

A bright red male cardinal was hanging out this evening in my front yard. A ray of nice light illuminated the bird just as I was getting my camera in place.

The night took my breath away, not from trying to breathe the below zero air but from viewing the icy splendor before me on Lake Michigan at Ludington.

There are numerous small swamps and lagoons between Big Point Sable Lighthouse and Little Point Sable Lighthouse. They are always home to interesting wildlife and wonderful colors. In other words, a photographer

After cresting the first massive sand dune near the end of the Ridge Trail in the Ludington State Park, my dad and I were blown away by the number of canvasback ducks that congregated on Hamlin Lake below us. As we stood catching our breath, a pair of large geese flew overhead and startled some of the ducks. With a thunderous roar, several hundred birds took to the air at once. The partially frozen lake and the fog amplified the sound and also created a gorgeous backdrop for this photograph.

On Saturday night my family had a 34th birthday party for my older brother. We went to dinner in Manistee and then drove to the Big M Trail Head to cross-country ski in the moonlight. We were excited to see that volunteer members of the Manistee Cross-Country Ski Council had put out luminaries in front of the warming shelter. F2.8 at 30.0, ISO 200, 18-50 mm lens at 20 mm

Photography is always therapeutic for me. The isolation, ruggedness, and wild spirit of Isle Royale has made me more contemplative than usual. As I snap this image, I am busy thinking about what is really important in my life.

It looks like anything but winter through my viewfinder as I photograph seagulls basking in the sun on a January morning along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

I have my camera and tripod set up in the dark, just waiting for the first light of dawn to paint Pentwater Lake with dawn's blue light during a time exposure. I make several test shots before the moored sailboats all have drifted into picture-perfect positions. F8 at 10 seconds, ISO 400, 24-70mm lens at 62mm

The City of Algonac steams across the St. Clair River toward Canadian waters after departing Algonac, Michigan. The Walpole-Algonac Ferry Line has been in operation for over 100 years. Automobiles and passengers are transported between Algonac and Walpole Island in Ontario, Canada in seven minutes. F8 at 1/640, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 157mm

Ludington State Park Workshop

One of my favorite professors when I was a student at Calvin College told me a story recently about his father. His father was from California and every time he came to visit his son at Calvin, he would refer to Lake Michigan as the "sweet water". In California, when they would try to dig wells for drinking water near the coastline of the Pacific Ocean, the water would often be undrinkable due to the salt content. If you were lucky enough to dig a well and hit "sweet water" you were considered very fortunate. Many people today that live near the Great Lakes take them for granted and don't realize how valuable they really are.

Ludington State Park

Kitch-Iti-Kipi

Mason County is full of creeks, streams, and rivers. I was out driving and found a pretty spot to stop and shoot. Sweetwater Creek is near Branch, Michigan.

I think Andrew Wyeth would have loved to create a painting of this maple tree if he had seen it on this November day. I loved the monochromatic color palette and the hints of color provided by the relatively few maple leaves still helping the snow to decorate the tree. I love the way my camera painted this scene with light.

I keep trying to edit this picture out. I enjoyed making the picture of the riveted keel of a rental boat on the Hamlin Lake shoreline at Ludington State Park. I like the resulting image, yet I did not feel comfortable with including it in this book. My son and shooting partner, Brad, loves the image. He sees abstract pictures almost everywhere he looks and shoots many of them. Getting out of your comfort zone can be uncomfortably good. So the picture stays.