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A Coast Guard self-righting motor lifeboat reached sheltered water inside the Grand Haven pierheads after “heavy weather” training operations on Lake Michigan in the large waves generated by Superstorm Sandy. The 47-foot vessel is designed to operate in seas up to 30 feet and winds up to 50 knots.

365 Week

Badger Going Out in Storm

Presque Isle River

Wednesday (3378)

This morning Rachel and I drove through the Porcupine State Park to head to the Presque Isle River. Our mission was to photograph Manabezho Falls. We got a serious workout hiking through deep snow to make this image. It was worth the effort and a fun adventure full of laughs and mishaps

Dream Voyage - Panoramic

Some of the first and last snowfalls of the season are often the most picturesque because of the better odds of higher temperatures that produce snow that sticks like glue. On this early November morning, I made certain I was at Ludington State Park shortly after daylight to start my search for snow shots before the wind started stirring and blowing the snow off the trees. When I spotted this scene along the Sable River I knew I had found what I was looking for

Manistee

A compelling aspect of visual art is that different people may look at the same image and see different things. While I was composing this photograph, I noticed that the rocks, seaweed, and water resembled the face of an old man. I named this photograph with the hope that my viewers would enjoy the same illusion.

The sun has set, the boat traffic has died down. It is a quieter time on Hamlin Lake, a time to savor the beauty of one of the most popular lakes connected to Lake Michigan.

Each night that I step onto the shores of Lake Michigan, I am amazed by the unique light show that unveils itself. No two sunsets are the same. Just when you think you have seen them all, Mother Nature renders a refreshingly new display of her beauty.

The moon setting in the West and the sun rising in the East created an extraordinary light show before my eyes at the Little Point Sable Lighthouse. The lighthouse has illuminated the most westerly point of land in the lower pennisula of Michigan since it was built in 1874. Little Point Sable Lighthouse is one of only a few brick lighthouses in Michigan still operating.

When I was a boy, I loved to slip silently through a field of knapweed in search of bumblebees to capture. Now, just looking at and photographing the knapweed is reward enough. Throw in the Lake Michigan shoreline north of Ludington for a backdrop, and I am in visual heaven!

I was feeling down and out from a nasty chest cold earlier today so decided to drive by the house I grew up in on the corner of Pere Marquette and Ferry in Ludington. Driving by this house, especially in the winter, always makes me feel better. F22.0 at 1/15, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Clyde Butcher continues to teach people all over the world that swamps are beautiful. He photographs the Everglades in Florida and has done more to save the Everglades than any politician. His photographs move people emotionally and that emotion is what is spurring the action to save the Everglades. Today I am photographing a swamp near the Eastmanville Bayou along the Grand River.

A cool new tradition in Pentwater every summer night is to give the sun a standing ovation as it dips into the water. I am sure this happens in several Michigan beach towns. It would be fun to try coordinating it statewide on the same evening and make it an annual event.

I made this image during one of our Advanced Weekend Photo Workshops. Michigan State was playing Michigan and it was towards the end of the game. Several photo students were listening to the game on their cell phones. I wanted to listen, but the light and clouds were getting so good that I knew it was "game time" for me to shoot. I got the shot, but better yet, Michigan State had one of the best comebacks of the entire year to win the game on the last play. Go Green!

What could be finer than sitting on the deck of the Weathervane Restaurant on the Charlevoix channel eating a fine meal with my wife Debbie and watching the boat traffic? I stop eating long enough to make this ringside-seat image of the outbound Beaver Island ferry Emerald Isle. The beautiful ship, the US31 drawbridge, and the Weathervane are Charlevoix icons.