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Park Effect

365 Week 36

Barn Birds Berries Audobon

Motorists driving along M-116 in Ludington State Park can feast on a view like this. When I was growing up, my parents took me on hundreds of drives along this roadway. I learned that the view can be amazingly different from day to day. That is the real beauty of it. I have also discovered there is never a bad day to view Lake Michigan, only some days more spectacular than others.

Waves blast skyward upon striking the Ludington North Breakwater Lighthouse during a fall gale. I have waited patiently for the magic storm light to show up and intensify the view.

As is taking place in dozens of other small Michigan tourist towns and villages this August evening, an outdoor band concert is being held in Saugatuck. As the band plays and people gathered on the village green listen, the historic Saugatuck Chain Ferry crosses the Kalamazoo River. The chain ferry began operating in 1838 and is believed to be the last hand-cranked chain ferry in service in the United States.

Some say that when I am editing photos and weeding out the keepers, I have a heart of stone. When I found this rock on the beach along the shores of Lake Superior near the Hurricane River Outlet, it made me chuckle and it reminded me to be a little more sensitive to people's feelings when editing their work. I am ruthless to myself, which is fine, but I shouldn't have a heart of stone when editing other people's images. F9 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Wednesday PM River Wildflowers Lake Michigan

365 Week 36

Wednesday May

Fisherman's Sunrise

So many birch trees in Michigan have fallen victim to disease that I appreciate finding any of them still standing in the woodlands. These birch trees were standing tall along Hamlin Lake.

I don't often find myself making time to photograph sporting events, but the 365 Project once again is forcing me to experiment with new subjects. Tonight my dad and I had an art event at the Muskegon Lumberjacks hockey game. After the event we shot some photos. The game was very intense and a few fights broke out. F4.5 at 1/250, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Norwalk Lutheran Church has long been one of my favorite photography muses. I have studied the country church for years, knowing that one day I would be able to make a good image. On this snowy day the country church between Manistee and Bear Lake looked picture perfect. After making some storytelling images that included automobiles passing by on US31, I decided to make this simpler image without any vehicles. I have learned over the years that often less is more.

Normally my dad is standing on soft sugary sand along the shorelines of Lake Michigan, but today he is standing on the famous sandstone beach along the shoreline of Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. On most March days the Lake Superior shoreline would still be covered in ice, but today the temperature is over 80 degrees. We took advantage of the warm weather and sunshine with our cameras. F9 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Spouting Offshore

Legends Ranch Buck in Snow

Watching more and more of the birch trees in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula die from disease and disappear makes me sad. So much beauty lost. This stand of birch still looked attractive when I discovered them along a country road in 2004. When I returned several years later, they were all dead and disappearing. I am grateful for the opportunity to have seen them when they were still alive

My Grandmother Benson and my mom taught me early in my life to appreciate the beauty of pussy willows. They are simply beautiful and the memories they bring back are even more beautiful. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Last night after work I tried to go visit my friend Jamie Spore, but she was still not home after several weeks of medical issues stemming from her spina bifida. When I texted her to inform her I was down at the end of Ludington Avenue and that I was going to shoot the sunset for her. Little did I know that it would turn into one of the best sunsets I had ever seen. This one is for you, Jamie!