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Workshop at LSP

I am always trying to find x’s in nature because they naturally create dynamic diagonals in my images as well as triangles. This wave breaking over the jetties at the first curve along Lake Michigan at the Ludington State Park made a perfect x

My wife and daughter love to draw and color together. The weather in Ludington this week has been unseasonably warm and wonderful so they decided to take their artwork outside. Betsy drew the butterfly and then Julia lay down to color it in with her sidewalk chalk. I was drawn to the beautiful light hitting Julia's face. F4.5 at 1/250, ISO 320, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I am in position before 6:30 A.M. The moon drops behind streaks of clouds as it sets over Lake Michigan. The pre-sunrise color in the sky is breathtaking. I am in heaven shooting the moon. F5.6 at 0.6, ISO 400, 500 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 700 mm

Not far from Papa Bill’s house on the corner of Jebavy and Dewey Road, I found this flooded forest. I pulled off the road and got wet feet wading into this newly formed swamp. The image would not have worked if I shot it from five feet farther back. I had to get wet to create the immediacy I needed to put you into the scene.

I am still experimenting daily with my external flash. Tonight I wanted to show some motion in the dune grass, but still have it look somewhat sharp so I set my shutter speed to 1/200 of a second and used the rear sync option on my flash. With rear sync, my flash went off at the end of my exposure, freezing the motion of the blowing grass. F7.1 at 1/200, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 40 mm

A fisherman has a stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline near Hurricane River Outlet all to himself. What a peaceful way to enjoy a next to last day of winter that looks and feels more like summer. F18 at 1/200, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 23mm

We have several special buildings on our family farm. One being my Bespop’s milk parlor. Tonight, the clouds and blue sky were the right accent to the weathered building.

I drove to the land our family owns in hopes of finding some flowers in bloom that were planted years ago by the Betka family. Sure enough, I found them along Conrad Road and moved in for a closer look with a macro lens. F13.0 at 1/25, ISO 400, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

The Hurricane River Outlet looks like a boiling caldron tonight as melted snow dramatically increases the flow of water downstream to Lake Superior. This spot between Munising and Grand Marais is one of my favorite places in Michigan's fabulous Upper Peninsula. F4 at 1/640, ISO 400, 24-70mm lens at 26mm

While driving home tonight, I stopped on Old US-31 to photograph the setting sun over the Pere Marquette River Flats. I set my lens aperture to F22 to make the sun rays more visible.

This morning before I went into House of Flavors for some breakfast I took this photo of the famous ice cream parlor. I love how the left and right sides of this photo are almost perfect clones of each other. F6.3 at 1/80, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

The power and force of the rushing water tonight at the mouth of the Hurricane River really caught me by surprise. I had been to this same spot six months earlier and the water was flowing slowly enough that I could stand in the river with my camera and tripod. If I tried to replicate that photograph today, I'm sure I would instantly be knocked down and washed violently into Lake Superior. F22 at 1.3 seconds, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

As fast as her little legs would carry her, our granddaughter Julia was a blur as she flew across Waterfront Park with her new dragon. The toy dragon came with a meal that Julia's Grandma Debbie got her for a picnic outing. F22.0 at 1/30, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 92 mm

A golden sunrise over Hamlin Lake is hard to beat. I really like all the layers in this photograph. The soft rays of light in the clouds combined with the beautiful ripples on the water made for a picture perfect moment this morning as I stood with my camera and tripod near the warming shelter on the north end of the Island Trail at the Ludington State Park. F8 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 70mm

365 Week

Tonight was the most reflective I have ever witnessed Lake Michigan in my entire life. The big lake was a perfect mirror. The kids were busy running up and down the shoreline as I was making this image. Life in Ludington is such a blessing!

The front yards of Jeannie Krieger's house and Terry Murphy and Deb Dila's house on Rath Avenue in Ludington are covered with these gorgeous glory of the snow flowers. Using my wide-angle macro lens and carefully getting as close to the flowers as I could; I made this photo in the bright sunlight. F5.0 at 1/640, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 20 mm

An oak tree clinging to life by the tips of its roots rises toward the sky atop a sand dune along the Hamlin Lake shoreline. I have long marveled at this tree's will to live near the north end of the Ridge Trail at Ludington State Park. This view is my reward for hiking an hour in the dark to be at this spot by sunrise. F10 at 1/50, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

The fast start to spring has made the dune grass unseasonably beautiful. Now I have the light of yet another great spring sunset over Lake Michigan to make the picture golden. F13.0 at 1/400, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm