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Having multiple camera lenses is a blessing and a curse. After a long snowy hike back from Big Point Sable Lighthouse, I spotted six bald eagles in a row of tall white pines about a quarter mile ahead. Of course, I had my wide-angle lens on my camera, and I scrambled for my telephoto as each bird took flight and soared overhead. Once I had the proper equipment ready, a seventh bird, an immature bald eagle, came into view.

Today is one of the worst days ever. I am trying to make a portrait of our beloved lab Beamer, knowing our loyal, loving companion for the past 12 years is living the last day of his life. Cancer is cruel to animals as well as people. F8.0 at 1/640, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 120 mm

Lake Michigan went wild today. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly Lake Michigan can go from being flat and calm to rough and angry. The intense color in the sky, mixed with the wind and waves, set my spirits free tonight along Stearns Park Beach in Ludington.

I will forever be grateful that I was born and raised in Ludington and that I can live, work, and play as an adult in my beautiful hometown. Listening to the sound of Lake Michigan waves slowly brushing the sand along the shoreline at the Ludington State Park tonight, I was also grateful that my kids are now getting to experience the magic of Ludington as their hometown.

My seven-year-old son, Ethan named this photograph for me. I made this image at Bass Lake Outlet on Lake Michigan just north of Pentwater, Michigan. The wind was howling and it was only 12 degrees, but the few seconds of magic light warmed me to the core. I stood in the same place for over an hour and in that time, I only witnessed magic light two different moments for a total of about 15 seconds. To help pass the time and to keep myself warm, I did burpees on the sand dunes.

I love how the color red on these tiny flowers rockets out and grabs your attention. I used my 105mm macro lens and tripod to isolate these flowers against the snow in the background. I love the mysterious world that macro photography helps our eyes to see.

January Blast

Exploring Michigan

Golden Sand - panoramic

Eagle Flying over Legends Ranch

For more than a quarter century, I have watched a once impressive farm north of Custer fading away. The painstakingly trimmed house where a proud family once lived was among the first buildings ravaged by the elements, vandals, and scavengers. The house has collapsed since I recorded this scene. Despite the decay of the old farm, I still find it sadly beautiful and continue to watch and record its slow death.

As I made my personal journey of photographing the Ludington State Park, I relished the opportunity to explore areas of the park that I had never seen before. It seemed that over every dune and behind every pine row there was a whole new world to discover and photograph. I knew when I found this section of dead trees that there was a great picture waiting to be made. I sat on the small sand mound for 10 minutes waiting for the light to hit the trees and give them life again.

The Michigan State Jazz Band came to the Ludington Area Center for the Arts for the third annual Jazz It Up fundraiser. The music was phenomenal and the band received a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd in the performance hall. F2.8 at 1/25, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I was recently chatting with a young man in the gallery who was a foreign exchange student at a high school in southern Michigan. When he first saw Lake Michigan, he could not believe how large and how beautiful it was. He proclaimed, "Lake Michigan is as good as it gets!" I made this image in front of Point Betsie Lighthouse and the color is real. Go check it out for yourself if you are in doubt. You won't be disappointed. D800, F2.8 at 1/1600, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

It looked like the world’s largest bulldozer had been at work in the Straits of Mackinac, pushing thousands of tons of rare “blue ice” into mountainous piles near Mackinac Bridge. Actually, forces of nature—wind, waves, and the expansion of ice—teamed up to break the blue ice, drive it ashore and stack the broken sheets. This February 23, 2012 morning was the first time Brad and I ever saw the blue-hued ice. We had seen photographs of the rarely occurring natural phenomenon but thought they must have been taken in the arctic, not Michigan. Seeing is believing!

Hamlin Ablaze

Fall Tapestries

As I made my personal journey of photographing the Ludington State Park, I relished the opportunity to explore areas of the park that I had never seen before. It seemed that over every dune and behind every pine row there was a whole new world to discover and photograph. I knew when I found this section of dead trees that there was a great picture waiting to be made. I sat on the small sand mound for 10 minutes waiting for the light to hit the trees and give them life again.

Brilliant Hamlin Sunrise