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Driving the scenic route home to Ludington tonight from the Muskegon State Park on Lake Michigan, I drove by White Lake long after sunset. I was shocked to see the beautiful afterglow in the distance. I pulled off the road, grabbed my camera, and made this image. Digital cameras see in the dark. It was much darker to the eye than this photograph appears.

Little things can make or break an image. Straight horizontal lines in a photograph can be extremely destructive to the flow of a composition. This photograph would not work if it were not for the three diagonal lines in the sky. The diagonal lines get the viewer's eyes moving around the photograph and lead one's attention to the lighthouse. D7000, F22 at 1/30, 100 ISO, 70-200mm lens at 185mm

Today we took a guided photo tour down the "fly only" zone of the Pere Marquette River near Baldwin. Our guide, Josh Mead, works for the Pere Marquette River Lodge. A few years ago Josh gave up the corporate rat race and became a full time guide and his new office is the Pere Marquette River. I think he is on to something! F6.3 at 1/160, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

I used a waterproof housing for my camera to make this unique photograph of the 140-foot USCGC Neah Bay. The Neah Bay is a Coast Guard ice-breaker and has a special low pressure air hull lubrication system which allows it to crush through over 20 inches of ice. F8 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 10-17mm lens at 11mm

Ice Fortress

I love black-and-white photographs. Driving around near Free Soil, this part of the North Branch of the Lincoln River was the black-and-white dream I was looking for.

This is my favorite tree to photograph in Mason County. This scene is on Kinney Road just east of Old US-31. To date, this is the best piece of art I have made of this scene.

Contending with Mother Nature is a way of life for farmers. When I saw this farmer trying to get this Riverton Township field harvested ahead of an approaching weather front, I knew I had to try to tell the story of man against the elements with my camera. I parked my truck and ran out into the field and hit the ground to frame the harvester and farmer against the storm clouds. I looked for that moment when the farmer looked back

Ludingtons Newest Lighthouse Styx Restaurant and Bowling Alley

Like a picture out of its past, Big Point Sable Lighthouse keepers' quarters glow with lights, as they did when operated by the Coast Guard until the 1970s. Volunteers now occupy the dwelling, conducting tours and working on maintenance and restoration. Another time exposure of Big Sable Light at night was part of the first photo story I ever shot, for a photography class in college in 1969.

Bass Lake boats bathe in magic light on a September morning. I spotted this scene weeks before making the photograph. The lighting had been ordinary on several wild goose chases to the spot. It is rewarding to finally see the quality of light a particular picture needs. It makes up for the frustration I feel over countless pictures that are in my visual library, but remains only mental images, because the right conditions have not yet appeared in front of my camera lens.

I photographed Ludington State Park for several hours on a glorious January morning after the biggest snowfall of the winter. Then it occurred to me that a spot where I had taken a photograph of fall color might also look spectacular in winter. A half-hour of hiking later, I was making this picture. The two shots show how places that are beautiful in one season may well be beautiful in another.

I was running out of daylight yesterday and worried that I would have to shoot my photo of the day for the 365 Project in the dark, when the sun broke through the thick cloud layer and cast magic light along the Lake Michigan shoreline. I quickly found some beautiful grass to frame my photograph. F2.8 at 1/6400, ISO 640, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

After being seconds too late to photograph the magic light at sunrise this morning and also missing great light hitting the Ludington North Breakwater Light with a giant rainbow, I finally got my prize at Big Sable Point Lighthouse this afternoon. Lake Michigan in October is cold, but worth it for the composition I wanted. F14.0 at 1/100, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 22mm

In 1984 my dad bought a used 13-and-a-half-foot Boston Whaler Super Sport. Our family has had so many incredible adventures on this boat. It still looks like new and the old 25-horse power Evinrude outboard motor starts every year with just a few pulls. Now my kids are enjoying making memories on the same boat. Besides family fun, salmon fishing, and pan fishing, the main use of our Whaler today is for photography. With its triple hull, the boat does not tip to the side, even when three grown people are standing on the same side.

Have you ever been walking in a beautiful woods and felt like the trees were talking to you? While I walked to Inspiration Point inside Ludington State Park, I felt like if I just stopped walking and listened with my eyes, I would be able to hear the trees' stories. I tried to record their stories with my camera.

En route from Fremont to Walkerville, Brad and I discover this old house that is slowly but surely returning to the earth. As aged and deteriorated as the structure is, it somehow retains a certain grace and dignity that appeals to both Brad and me.

After a brisk 30-minute hike to the north end of the Island Trail at the Ludington State Park, I was very relieved to take a rest inside this old warming shelter. My camera bag weighs over 30 pounds and it traps a lot of heat as I walk. The 10-minute rest I took lying on my back almost turned into an hour-long nap. Once the magic light of the golden sunrise appeared though, I was instantly rejuvenated and quickly made this photograph. F8 at 1/30, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Pere Marquette River Lodge fishing guide Drew Johnson uses his skills to precisely cast his line into a trout fishing hole while photographer Bill Dietrich uses his skill to precisely compose and expose fly fishing photographs from Johnson's drift boat. Both are absorbed in their pursuits on a May afternoon on the Pere Marquette. F3.5 at 1/800, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 135mm

Seeing the Coast Guard Cutter Acacia docked at the Manistee ship museum takes me back to my Coast Guard days when I sailed on the 180-foot buoy tender during one of its end of season buoy runs to take photographs of the ship's winter operations. Crewmembers used shotguns to blast ice off some of the buoys so they could be hooked and lifted aboard. I am glad to see the sturdy ship being preserved and appreciated. F22 at 1/20, ISO 3200, 24-70mm lens at 24mm