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365 Week 13

Epworth Dining Room

Its About to Pour

Bond Falls Offshoot

August looked more like October when I crested a dune to find this view of the Bass Lake dam, the outlet, and Lake Michigan. Like so many small outlets along the Lake Michigan shoreline, the Bass Lake Outlet follows the path of least resistance to the big lake. That path shifts with changing winds and seas.

One of the most rewarding aspects of driving through the countryside from Point to Point is discovering and rediscovering, the many picturesque farms. Some retain much of the appearance they had a century ago. A traditional farm on Hawley Road, south of Scottville, was aglow as the sun dropped beneath the clouds just before setting.

It is exhilarating to watch the white canvas of snow being painted by the bright colors of a Lake Michigan sunset. A snow-covered, wind-blown sand dune along the west edge of M-116 was my canvas of choice on this January evening.

My wife Debbie is busy studying for one of her nursing classes so I decide to take a Sunday drive northeast through the countryside. Forty-five minutes later, near Natahka in the southwest corner of Lake County, I am attracted to a birch tree and rustic wood structure that have beautifully grown old together. F14.0 at 1/80, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

It is hard to imagine expensive jewels looking more beautiful than these birch leaves I have discovered along one of Michigan's lightly traveled unpaved roads. I sometimes wish more people could discover the world of wonder awaiting them on dirt roads. Then again, sometimes there is more of a sense of discovery knowing you are among the few who get to marvel at the sight.

I have always loved looking at blue jays. The house I grew up in on the corner of Pere Marquette and Ferry Street in Ludington frequently had blue jays in the yard. I have fond memories of sitting on our porch when I was little, watching the blue jays harassing all the other birds in the yard.

October 28 2012

Epworth On Ice

Evening Tranquility

Converging Falls

It was another dreary day here. As sunset drew closer, I decided to take an abstract view on the day. These three pine trees in my yard are pretty ordinary but zooming while exposing gives them a dreamy feel.

Few places on Earth offer as grand a view of the sky as the east shore of Lake Michigan. Hikers on the Ludington South Breakwater provide a sense of scale to show the size of storm front clouds arriving in Michigan from Wisconsin.

Cows curious about a visitor lined a fence while two others checked things out from the flapped doorway that allowed them to go in and out of their barn as they pleased. I always looked forward to seeing the cows at a farm along Fountain Road in northern Mason County.

Seagulls along Lake Michigan have a reputation for being less than desirable. They seem to have pinpoint accuracy when it comes to leaving their marks on car windshields. I have also seen many seagulls pester Ludington tourists for a taste of their House of Flavors ice cream, or help themselves to picnic lunches while beachgoers enjoy a swim. All that aside, I think seagulls are beautiful creatures and they are a joy to photograph.

My seventh grade science teacher, Diana Kuras, stopped me in the road today and told me about a giant sunbow over Lake Michigan. I was heading out to Summit Township at the time for a Super Bowl party at our friends Paul and Lisa Cooper's new house. It was the largest, most distinct sunbow I had ever witnessed. F22.0 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 20 mm

My aunt and uncle, Sue and Randy Marble, just purchased a large canvas of this photograph of the White Birch Forest. This incredible forest is about 16 miles west of Grand Marais on Alger County Road H-58. The first week of October is often a good time to visit the White Birch Forest to see the surrounding maple trees in peak fall color.