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One of the best parts of my job is that I am always meeting new people. My wife, Betsy, my dad and I trekked to the Big Point Sable Lighthouse on a long summer evening. Upon arrival, we were greeted by volunteer lighthouse keepers outside working on the grounds. They generously offered to turn on all of the interior and exterior lights. My dad climbed a dune to shoot from the south, while Betsy and I walked down the beach a few hundred yards to shoot from the north. To our surprise, we found a perfect reflection of the lighthouse in a storm pool. This shot would not have been possible without the help of the lighthouse keepers and for that I am very grateful.

The original Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw busts a path into Ludington harbor for the carferry City of Midland on February 18, 1977, after the Midland became mired in ice just outside the harbor entrance during one of the coldest winters in decades. I scrambled over huge ice mounds in making my way all the way out the breakwater to the Ludington lighthouse to have a close-up vantage from which to make this image. The Mackinaw helped keep Great Lakes shipping lanes open for 62 years before being decommissioned in 2006 when the replacement Mackinaw went into service.

Pure Manistee

Small items in nature can have a large impact on the surrounding area, both physically and visually. These leaves were the only spot of color on a vast dune at the Ludington State Park.

One of my son Brad’s first fine art images, photographed on the Ludington South Breakwater

Calm, windless nights on Lake Michigan may not make for great sailing, but they sure do make for sensational photographs.

Stopped temporarily in its track by ice pushed by westerly winds across Lake Michigan into Ludington Harbor, the carferry Badger was framed by an ice-coated railing along the Ludington harbor channel. This scene and the “Red Tug” scene unfolded during the 1980s when the sturdy ship still carried railroad cars and operated year-around. This image still stands as my favorite carferry photograph from among the thousands I have taken.

Still in use between Big and Little Sable Points, the Pentwater South Pierhead Light is the only remaining tower light boasting a traditional skeletal structure. Its erector-set-looking construction is interesting and has withstood Lake Michigan's fury for more than half a century. I usually take great pains to avoid photographic mergers, but I could not resist lining up the full moon with the light to create an illusion of the moon being the light of the lighthouse. The red light on top of the light is the real Coast Guard aid to navigation marking the entrance to Pentwater harbor.

Traveling by horse and buggy is a way of life for the Amish families who have settled iin Riverton and the surrounding areas. On the verge of spring. I was photographing a Riverton farm near sunset when a horse and buggy came down Hawley Road at a fast pace. Even though the Amish choose a simpler way of life, they always seem to be on the move, undaunted by hard work, or lack of life's luxuries. I appreciate that they always seem to have time to give a cheerful wave as they pass by.

I don't know who was more determined, the fish trying to jump up the dam on the Betsie River, or me trying to capture a flying fish with my camera. After a 30 minute battle, I finally got my photo. Unfortunately for the fish, it never made it high enough to get over the dam.

I pulled into the beach parking lot in downtown Frankfort less than two minutes before making this image. I saw the clouds to the west over Lake Michigan from the top of the hill in Benzie at the intersection of US31 and M115 and I predicted the sun would pop out just before it disappeared for the night below the horizon. I knew if we were lucky and the sun actually did appear, the resulting light show would be incredible. Following your gut instincts is important in outdoor photography.

One of the most spectacular lightning storms I have witnessed in my lifetime showed up on my wife Debbie’s birthday, September 4, 2014. We were guests at my Aunt Carol Garneau’s home on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Ludington Harbor. While photographing bolt after bolt as cells of the storm rolled past me for more than an hour, this granddaddy of them all exploded over the top of the Ludington lighthouse. I made this 30-second time-exposure image with my 500-millimeter Nikon telephoto lens from an open window of Auntie Carol’s second floor art room. I named it Positive Energy because she was always so positive and lit up the world with her presence.

I am following the Great Lakes freighter Saginaw into Ludington harbor, simultaneously concentrating on steering my 13-foot Boston Whaler and photographing the classic ship.

Like hundreds of shark's teeth, icicles cling in near perfect symmetry to a railing along the walkway leading to the Charlevoix Lighthouse. I decide to make the icicles the focus of this image. I know the bright red lighthouse and its reflection will still attract enough attention to stand out as a small part of my picture.

While making this photograph near Walkerville, Michigan, I felt that this old abandoned house had a human characteristic to it. When trying to come up with a name for the photograph, my sister-in-law, Stephanie Reed, suggested Old Man Winter because she could see an old man with a long beard in the house and grasses. As soon as she mentioned that, I knew exactly what she was talking about.

After a quick drive in the dark to Little Sable Point Lighthouse, my dad and I were as excited (and loud) as middle-schoolers riding a school bus. We had both just made some fantastic shots of the Northern Lights over Ludington. Our goal now was to get a photograph of the Northern Lights over Little Sable Point Lighthouse. Neither of us have ever had any luck in making that shot before. We have both tried several times, but the Northern Lights either never showed up, or they disappeared before we could make the 35-minute drive. Our luck was about to change. The Northern Lights were much dimmer now and almost invisible to the naked eye. However, like Galen Rowell taught all nature photographers, you have to learn to see like your camera sees. I tried to line up the North Star right above Little Sable Point Lighthouse. I made a few test exposures and then set my camera to F8 at ISO 200. I used my cable release and my iPhone as a timer and took a 32-minute exposure. The stars in the night sky made a perfect circle around the North Star and my camera could easily pick up the color from the Northern Lights. What a magic morning along the shores of Lake Michigan. I made this image at 4:54 a.m. on our 17th Tuesday of 2012. F8 at 32 minutes, ISO 200, 14mm lens at 14mm

A rowboat rests at its dock on Bass Lake near Pentwater, Michigan. The peacefulness and timelessness of the scene captured my eye on an early morning photo hunt. I am quite sure I photographed the same little boat at its dock a couple years ago but today the direction and angle of the light is far better. F9 at 1/250, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

As a retired Coast Guard boatswain's mate, I am very impressed by the squared-away, ready-for-operations condition of this restored 26-foot motor surfboat at Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven. If only the small but sturdy rescue boat could talk. I cannot imagine the stories it could tell of search and rescue missions on Lake Michigan out of Pentwater during the early 1900s. The wooden vessel's four-cylinder engine propelled it at eight to eight and a half knots. Tin sheathing helped protect it. F22 at 1/5, ISO 200, 14-24mm lens at 20mm

Snowy Owl