Search

Several customers came in the gallery earlier today telling us how unbelievably warm the water was in Lake Michigan. Tonight after work, I went to the second curve at Ludington State Park. I stood waist-deep in the warm water with my camera on a tripod and used my flash to help freeze the motion of the rushing waves. F4.5 at 1/25, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

The rocky shoreline of Mackinac Island is beautiful all year round. Today, the bright sunlight and high winds were creating bright white foam along the shoreline. The water and shoreline in this photograph look more like the ocean to me than the Great Lakes. The Mackinac Bridge in the distance however, screams Michigan. F11 at 1/200, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 46mm

I must be dreaming. A massive buck, its antlers in velvet, pauses in the perfect spot on a Ludington Pumped Storage Plant hillside covered with sweet pea. This looks too good to be true, especially when an old family friend, Dr. John Ramsey, who practiced medicine in Ludington many years ago, sounds out a doe bleat and the deer turns to look our way. F4.0 at 1/400, ISO 800, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

Don't forget to turn your cameras vertical when composing photographs. Often, my dad and I will try to shoot the same scene vertically and horizontally. Vertical photos make great magazine covers and that can be a lucrative business deal. F11 at 1/200, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 46mm

I have only had an opportunity to photograph loons a handful of times and have never been satisfied with my results until today. While visiting a fellow photographer and her family at their cabin on Gifford Lake near Baldwin, Michigan, I photographed a pair of loons that were enjoying the sunshine and calm water. F5.6 at 1/1600, ISO 640, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

I can't help but place myself back in time to the era of The Great Gatsby when I look at this marvelous classic building. The Windermere Hotel, built as a summer cottage in 1887, looks right at home at Mackinac Island; a place where a person can easily find one's self living at a slower and, in some ways, grander pace. F9 at 1/400, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

The asparagus-picking season is over in this field along South Scottville Road. The plants are left for now to grow wild. This is the time of year when I start to find these fields very photogenic. I find the bright color, soft look and repetitive patterns of the overgrown plants eye-catching. F3.2 at 1/400, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

During a previous visit to Mackinac Island, I made a picture almost identical in composition to this one but it was a hazy summer day with poor light and washed out sky. Today I have great quality of light and a crisp, colorful sky. I previsualize a dramatic image with the same composition as last year but with a dynamic range of light that can make the crosses atop the church rocket out of the dark background. F22 at 1/500, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 20mm

I never get tired of photographing the Badger as she makes her way in or out of port. The carferry may be converting from a coal-fired steam system to a diesel-powered system soon. I hope for my sake as a photographer and for the sake of all the Ludington area that the Badger continues to set sail on Lake Michigan for another 50 years! F9.0 at 1/60, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Even a ship a thousand feet long is dwarfed by the several-mile-long Mackinac Bridge. The 1,000-footer, the Indiana Harbor, passes precisely through the center of the bridge's huge uprights, dwarfing the motor vehicles traveling across the bridge to and from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. F7.1 at 1/400, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 112mm

It is another uncharacteristically hot day in Northern Michigan and once again the eastern sky is filled with beautiful cumulus clouds this afternoon as I head to Pentwater to set up for the annual art fair on the Village Green. The Monton farm along the US 31 Freeway at the Mason-Oceana county line looks picture perfect. F16.0 at 1/60, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

Even a ship a thousand feet long is dwarfed by the several-mile-long Mackinac Bridge. The 1,000-footer, the Indiana Harbor, passes precisely through the center of the bridge's huge uprights, dwarfing the motor vehicles traveling across the bridge to and from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. F7.1 at 1/400, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 112mm

My dad has made several great photographs of this World War I memorial in Lakeview Cemetery, but I have never tried until today. The quality of light was great and luckily for me the American flags that were placed by local veterans were still on display. F9.0 at 1/80, ISO 250, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

A seaplane flies through the clouds above the Straits of Mackinac en route from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to the Lower Peninsula. F4.5 at 1/1250, ISO 100, 80-200mm at 200mm

The rocky lakeshore along US31 south of Petoskey is, I believe, one of Michigan's most picturesque shoreline drives. I cannot resist making an image combining the patterns of the rocky shoreline and the dramatic sky looming overhead.

Alarm clock goes off at 5:45 A.M. and I roll out of bed. Get dressed, grab a quick bite to eat and fire up the truck. Heading to Pentwater for the Junior Women's Club Annual Art Fair. The sunrise is amazing. Stop on Old US 31 near the Pere Marquette River Flats and am finally awake enough to make this photograph. F9.0 at 1/500, ISO 250, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

For years our family has stopped on US31 near the Susan Creek Nature Preserve along Lake Michigan between Petoskey and Charlevoix to look for Petoskey stones. This vantage also provides a great view of the lake, and tonight I am witnessing one of the most cobalt blue skies I have ever seen. I am so glad that I have my camera, tripod, and waterproof shoes so I can capture the moment. F11 at 1.3 seconds, ISO 100, 14mm lens at 14mm

The rocks are what most intrigued me during a 2008 shoreline hike at Sleeping Bear Point. I love the color blue, so I was also therefore drawn to the blue look to the rocks in the shadowy twilight. It took me longer than it should have to understand that the natural world often looks richer in dimmer light than brighter light. With adequate exposure, magic often appears on film or sensors in very low light.

Neighbors on the Buttersville Peninsula have left a pleasing arrangement of beach chairs in front of their home. The soft blues of the evening sky and Lake Michigan complements the chairs. I am getting that tropical feeling that makes me want to relax in one of the chairs with a Shock Top beer. Instead I savor the view while making the picture. F22.0 at 2.5, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 14 mm

Photographing Michigan is for Brad and me as much about experiencing Michigan as it is about making images. We have stopped along one of our favorite stretches of rocky shoreline between Petoskey and Charlevoix to immerse ourselves in Michigan artwork. F10 at 1/60, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 14mm