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Photography is always therapeutic for me. The isolation, ruggedness, and wild spirit of Isle Royale has made me more contemplative than usual. As I snap this image, I am busy thinking about what is really important in my life.

It looks like anything but winter through my viewfinder as I photograph seagulls basking in the sun on a January morning along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

I have my camera and tripod set up in the dark, just waiting for the first light of dawn to paint Pentwater Lake with dawn's blue light during a time exposure. I make several test shots before the moored sailboats all have drifted into picture-perfect positions. F8 at 10 seconds, ISO 400, 24-70mm lens at 62mm

The City of Algonac steams across the St. Clair River toward Canadian waters after departing Algonac, Michigan. The Walpole-Algonac Ferry Line has been in operation for over 100 years. Automobiles and passengers are transported between Algonac and Walpole Island in Ontario, Canada in seven minutes. F8 at 1/640, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 157mm

Ludington State Park Workshop

One of my favorite professors when I was a student at Calvin College told me a story recently about his father. His father was from California and every time he came to visit his son at Calvin, he would refer to Lake Michigan as the "sweet water". In California, when they would try to dig wells for drinking water near the coastline of the Pacific Ocean, the water would often be undrinkable due to the salt content. If you were lucky enough to dig a well and hit "sweet water" you were considered very fortunate. Many people today that live near the Great Lakes take them for granted and don't realize how valuable they really are.

Ludington State Park

Kitch-Iti-Kipi

Mason County is full of creeks, streams, and rivers. I was out driving and found a pretty spot to stop and shoot. Sweetwater Creek is near Branch, Michigan.

I think Andrew Wyeth would have loved to create a painting of this maple tree if he had seen it on this November day. I loved the monochromatic color palette and the hints of color provided by the relatively few maple leaves still helping the snow to decorate the tree. I love the way my camera painted this scene with light.

I keep trying to edit this picture out. I enjoyed making the picture of the riveted keel of a rental boat on the Hamlin Lake shoreline at Ludington State Park. I like the resulting image, yet I did not feel comfortable with including it in this book. My son and shooting partner, Brad, loves the image. He sees abstract pictures almost everywhere he looks and shoots many of them. Getting out of your comfort zone can be uncomfortably good. So the picture stays.

I have a teaching degree and several credits towards a master's degree in social work, but as I went down those roads in life I found they weren't for me. I took the road less traveled, followed my heart, and went into photography full time. As in the Robert Frost poem, that has made all the difference.

Today was Ethan's first visit to Big Sable Point Lighthouse inside Ludington State Park. In between the handfuls of sand that he was eating, Ethan would momentarily pause and let me document his big day in front of the historic structure. F18.0 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

My dad and I have hiked several miles today carrying our heavy telephoto lenses, full camera bags, and tripods all over Isle Royale hoping to get a photograph of a wild Michigan moose. Unfortunately, we never saw a moose, but we did find some wonderful views on our adventure. On our way back to our room at the main lodge, we explored Suzy's Cave. My dad photographed inside the cave and I climbed to the top and photographed the grand view from above.

Color emanates from the sky on the Ludington waterfront on a January evening. It is 15 minutes after sunset and the color is much more saturated than at sunset.

No one knows the lower stretch of the Pere Marquette River better than Ralph Anderson. Whenever the steelhead are running, it seems Ralph is on the river angling to land one. I admire Ralph's passion for trout fishing and his love of the river. People like Ralph understand what an amazing outdoorsman's paradise Michigan is. F2.8 at 1/640, ISO 1600, 300mm lens at 300mm

Ludington State Park Workshop

Little Sable Lit Up

One of my favorite professors when I was a student at Calvin College told me a story recently about his father. His father was from California and every time he came to visit his son at Calvin, he would refer to Lake Michigan as the "sweet water". In California, when they would try to dig wells for drinking water near the coastline of the Pacific Ocean, the water would often be undrinkable due to the salt content. If you were lucky enough to dig a well and hit "sweet water" you were considered very fortunate. Many people today that live near the Great Lakes take them for granted and don't realize how valuable they really are.

Breath of Life