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Fireworks in Ludington on the 4th of July

I have always admired the bravery of the commercial fishermen who venture onto Lake Michigan year around whenever possible. While making this shot of the Indian-owned and operated fishing tug Eagle, I wonder about the rugged vessel's life history; oh, if she could talk! F4.0 at 1/250, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 14 mm

The golden light of October in Michigan is a photographer's dream. With dark clouds, brilliant fall color, and magic light, this small sailboat in Sutton's Bay looked picture perfect.

The 225-foot-long Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock looks inspection-ready after arriving in Grand Haven for the annual Coast Guard Festival. Thousands of people will tour the Port Huron based buoy tender during the festival. The Hollyhock is responsible for about 150 aids to navigation in the lower Great Lakes. It also performs icebreaking, search and rescue, and environmental protection duties.

During one of our weekday photography workshops, my dad and the rest of our students rushed to the North Breakwater Light in order to photograph the Badger leaving the harbor. I stayed further back and tried to frame the entire ship along with the lighthouse and its reflection in one photograph. It wasn

I have always admired the bravery of the commercial fishermen who venture onto Lake Michigan year around whenever possible. While making this shot of the Indian-owned and operated fishing tug Eagle, I wonder about the rugged vessel's life history; oh, if she could talk! F4.0 at 1/250, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 14 mm

Pentwater Morning - Panoramic

Pentwater Morning

In stillness, another summer day dawns in Pentwater. The village provides the backdrop for a view of the popular boating harbor from the west shore of Pentwater Lake.

The Coast Guard was founded by Alexander Hamilton on August 4, 1790. In honor of the Coast Guard’s birthday today, I made this image down at Stearns Beach in Ludington at the newly redone Veteran’s Mall. My dad served in the Coast Guard for over 33 years. I used my external flash to light up the gold Coast Guard shield in the sidewalk and tried to time it when all the flags in the background were blowing sideways and looked nice.

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.

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

First Sailing of Badger Maiden Voyage

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.

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

4th of July Cruise

On my way home from Ludington State Park I have just enough time to shoot the sunset after finishing a photo tips program Brad and I put on at Big Sable Point Lighthouse. What a summer for sunsets this continues to be. F4.0 at 1/500, ISO 800, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

Boaters love to set course for Charlevoix, especially during the annual Venetian Festival. To capture the flavor of summer in Charlevoix I set out to photograph across Round Lake toward downtown during the blue light of dusk. Fortunately the night was so still that the sailboat moored in front of me was staying almost motionless, enabling me to use a long enough shutter speed to record the movement of two of the festival amusement rides.

Golden Harbor View