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This day started with a massive double rainbow in the west and now we have some of the largest, most distinct God beams I have ever seen. Days like today make my job as a photographer a whole lot easier, but more importantly, more fun. F11 at 1/60, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 145mm

By setting my camera aperture to F22 and shooting directly into the sun, I was able to make it appear like the Ludington North Breakwater Light had a crown of sunshine. Shooting on full auto would have never allowed for this look or feel. At our weekend workshops, we teach our students how to use their own cameras on full manual. F22 at 1/80, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

366 Days. Impossible. That is what I thought when Brad asked me to join him on this project. There were days I didn’t think I would make it. Couldn’t make it. I took solitude at the beach tonight, on New Year’s Eve. Reflecting on the past year. On our 366 Project, on COVID-19, on the goods and bads. At 5:05pm, I made my last and final image. I did it! 

I took a Christmas Day drive to the southern region of Ludington State Park today to find my photo of the day. I feel this is a photo I would not have been able to make a year earlier because I didn't really see the world in photographs as well as I do now. The 365 Project has made me a much better photographer. F10.0 at 1/100, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

The God beams have quickly disappeared and now the sky is flaming red, yellow, and orange. My favorite part of this composition is the lone fisherman standing at the end of the breakwall. He became the little person in the big world and he gives the photograph a sense of scale. The tiny fisherman makes the sky seem 10 times more powerful. F2.8 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

The rich blue winter sky and brilliant sunshine are making my day as I venture with ice cleats out the ice-coated Ludington South Breakwater. The South Breakwater Light looks like a white candle this morning. F7.1 at 1/800, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

The God beams have quickly disappeared and now the sky is flaming red, yellow, and orange. My favorite part of this composition is the lone fisherman standing at the end of the breakwall. He became the little person in the big world and he gives the photograph a sense of scale. The tiny fisherman makes the sky seem 10 times more powerful. F2.8 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

My uncle, Rod Marble, has a beautiful log home along the Lincoln River northeast of Ludington. This view is on his property and is one of my favorite spots near his home, especially in the winter months. F22.0 at 0.6, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I have always been impressed with the brilliant engineering of the Ludington North Breakwater Light. Obviously it was designed well before computers were ever imagined, but they still had the foresight to make the portholes line up with each other on opposing sides so that the sunlight during a sunset would shine through the entire lighthouse. F2.8 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

I have thought for months that the steeple of Calvary Baptist Church on Jebavy Drive stands out simply and beautifully at night. Tonight I am photographing the cross-crowned spire at twilight to provide a blue background. F8.0 at 4.0, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

As the colors of tonight's sunset changed by the minute, I watched the orange, red, and yellow sunset quickly turn to purple and magenta. Luckily, I was exposing as the purple and magenta started to take over the sky. Experiencing sunsets in Ludington never gets old. F2.8 at 1/200, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 92mm

The last couple of nights before sunset I have seen large God beams in the sky. Tonight I had to rush to my Uncle Budde and Aunt Sheryl's house on Lake Michigan in order to line up the Ludington North Breakwater Light with the gorgeous God beams behind it. F22.0 at 1/8, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

A few weeks ago during Week 37 of the Tuesdays Project, my dad and I discovered a public boat ramp on Upper Hamlin Lake off Nurnberg Road. We discussed that it would be an excellent place to photograph a sunrise. There are not a lot of great vantage points in our area to shoot stunning sunrise photos so we were really excited. This morning I knew right where to head first. F22 at 1/30, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 32mm

I have always been proud to say I am from Ludington. So why not a "Ludington" picture for the 365 project? This sign above the front door of the old fish market at the carferry dock screams "Ludington." F16.0 a 1/20, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm

A box turtle makes its way along the edge of a country road near Ruby Creek. I am eye to eye with this beautiful creature because its sunshine-bathed yellow shell and body grabbed my attention like a turtle-crossing sign as I was driving eastward across the Michigan countryside. F5.6 at 1/1000, ISO 400, 300mm lens at 300mm

The amazing God beams were back tonight and even more defined. I waited for the sun to peek through a hole in the thick cloud layer. When the sun finally broke through, the light show was even better than I predicted it would be. F6.3 at 1/200, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 70 mm

The golden light from the beautiful sunrise this morning turned the entire forest a vibrant golden-yellow color. Look at the detail on these berries. A few minutes earlier they were dull and shapeless looking. Minutes after making this photograph the light got too bright and all of the detail was washed away. Timing and chasing the light is everything in photography. F10 at 1/13, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

Brad called early this morning to report heavy frost a few miles inland from Lake Michigan. Sure enough, pine trees four miles east of Ludington are coated with frost. This is just what I was looking for. F8.0 at 1/100, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 185 mm

Javen Dillenbeck is dreaming of catching a big salmon on his first fall salmon fishing trip to the Pere Marquette River with his dad and other family members. My camera catches him wading in the P.M. at Gleason's Landing. The Dillenbecks love traveling north from Jonesville in Hillsdale County to enjoy the Michigan outdoors surrounding their Baldwin area cabin. F2.8 at 1/640, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 130mm

The Iris family barn was part of the Barns and Byways tour this past October. I have always loved photographing this unique piece of Mason County history. Today with heavy frost covering every tree in sight, the multi-colored barn stood out even more than usual. F5.6 at 1/80, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm