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The natural and manmade beauty of downtown Grand Rapids is reflected in the mirrored windows of the Gerald R. Ford Museum. I think Grand Rapids boasts one of the most beautiful downtowns anywhere. Walking through the downtown is, for me, always a visual treat. F5.6 at 1/250, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 120mm

Never Gets Old

Some clouds just feel good. These popcorn clouds make my day brighter than anything else I have seen to photograph today. Brad and I say: "Clouds are your friends." Some are friendlier than others. F3.5 at 1/2500, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm

A Jeep passing by my camera position looks color coordinated with the fall color image I am working hard to make along M22. This might look like a stroke of luck, but after finding a vantage point that would show the highway, colorful trees, Lake Michigan, Frankfort Lighthouse, and Point Betsie, I have waited for nearly an hour for just the right vehicle to include in the scene. I have photographed others but when I see this one I know it is the perfect added ingredient.

This might be my favorite photograph so far of the entire Tuesdays Project. Flies in general kind of freak me out and they are gross, but when this one landed on the giant glass window of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids today, I was glad that my wide-angle lens is also a macro lens. The macro lens allowed me to show all the detail of the fly and its shadow. F11 at 1/125, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 46mm

Betsy and I went snorkeling today for the first time at Kapalua Beach on the upper west edge of Maui. Kapalua Beach is often rated as one of the best beaches in the world. This is also the place where I lost my wedding ring while snorkeling, so a piece of me will always be in the coral reef off this beach! F7.1 at 1/500, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

The newer portion of the beautiful Amway Grand Plaza Hotel was casting a cool shadow on the Grand River today and Sarah Genson and I spotted it at the same exact time. We fought over who actually discovered it first. Honestly, she probably saw the photo opportunity a second before me, but I pulled the trigger first. I never had a sister until she came to work for us and now we have our own unique version of sibling rivalry. F14 at 1/500, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 23mm

Hiking with my West Shore Community College advanced photography students, I spot trilliums in the woodland along the Pere Marquette River. Trilliums are simple in color and design, yet their simplicity is what makes them beautiful. F10.0 at 1/125, ISO 100, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

Lillies collecting rain on a summer evening catch my eye in a Pentwater garden. The flowers have caught some sun as well, making them stand out even more. Often I like to feature one flower over the other through vantage point and selective focus, but I am thinking this is a pair that complement each other perfectly and they should therefore receive equal attention.

Always looking for a unique angle or perspective for my art, I hung over the edge of the waterfall at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum fountain. I used my external flash to illuminate the underside of the waterfall and the cement wall. The bright blue sky added a lot of pop to this image by making colorful streaks in the waterfall as I aimed my camera upwards at a 45-degree angle to create this image. F22 at 1/250, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Porcupines Patterns

Today we took the winding road trip to Hana. Along the way we stopped at the Honokalani Black Sand Beach. The incredible beach is made up of varying sizes of black rock. I saw a large wave deposit the red plant or piece of coral onto the black rocks and had a split second before the next wave came and took the spot of color back to sea. F5.0 at 1/125, ISO 250, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I need look no further than the end of my street at Crosswinds in Ludington to be shocked by the brightness of these flowers. I decide to make one of them stand out by getting very close to it and choosing a shallow depth of field that will put only it in focus. My intent is to keep the focus of attention on the foreground flower.

The delicate, curved, repetitive patterns of newly formed spring leaves contrast and complement the bold, linear patterns of a downtown Grand Rapids modern skyscraper a couple blocks away. I choose to shoot with a telephoto lens to draw the two subjects together and crop out unwanted distractions. F5.6 at 1/200, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 100mm

Screaming Yellow

No lifeguards are on duty; the ice-cold water is still keeping all but the hardiest swimmers away. On this evening the shapes of the lifeguard tower on the Ludington beach look interesting to me empty, framed against sand, lake and sky. F8.0 at 1/250, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 14 mm

I want to reach out, grab these cherries and put them in my mouth to eat them. But I don't. That would ruin a perfectly good picture, I think. How long can I wait to have cherry pie after seeing these scrumptious tart cherries at Hackert Orchards in Riverton Township in Mason County?

I love how the light and shadow is playing today on the La Grand Vitesse sculpture and the Calder Plaza. I am especially impressed with how beautifully Alexander Calder's famous red sculpture stands out amongst and yet complements the neighboring buildings in downtown Grand Rapids. F9 at 1/125, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 22mm

Sep-08

About two hours before shooting this photo I heard that one of my greatest role models died unexpectedly back home in Ludington. Tex Smith was my childhood soccer coach, he was the father of my best friend and college roommate Chris Smith, and he was our business consultant for our photography business. Most of all Tex was my friend. F14.0 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm