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I cannot hike the river bottom on our land without visiting the "Cedar Island" a half-mile upstream from our cabin. The magic I discover there today is spring grasses growing in a shimmering creek. The scene looks like an oriental painting to me. I choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the faceted patterns on the water's surface. F4 at 1/320, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

The Badger looked like a ghost ship this afternoon in the fog. Our biggest tip with shooting photographs in the fog is to make sure to shoot at least a stop and a half, if not two stops, to the plus side of your meter. If you shoot fog photos on any auto mode, your photo will be underexposed.

I love living near Oriole Field in Ludington and hearing Dennis Genson announce soccer games from my front yard. It takes me down memory lane. Tonight, I heard that familiar voice and headed to Oriole Field with my camera. This photo is of Megan Kokx, who is a sophomore on the Ludington High School varsity soccer team. F5.6 at 1/400, ISO 1250, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

Often making one picture leads to another. As I finish photographing some grasses in a creek along the Pere Marquette River, a fly that looks to me like a mayfly lands in the water just a few feet away. What catches my eye is the large concentric rings the fly and another that landed moments earlier are making on the water. How can such a small creature make such a big impression? F4 at 1/250, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

We had a family dinner at my brother and sister-in-law’s for the first time in a long time because of COVID-19. Paul and Sue’s back deck is surrounded by many trees – you truly feel as if you are having a picnic in the woods! Tonight, we were visited by many different varieties of birds as we enjoyed each other’s company.

Brad and I are both scurrying to find a picture of the day before speaking to the Alpha Graduates of Ludington High School. We have been frantically busy all day at the gallery so have little time to shoot today. I make a couple images on the Lincoln Hills Golf Club grounds I don't especially like. Then this robin appears just in time! F4.0 at 1/200, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

These are by far the biggest living maple leaves I have discovered in Michigan so far this April. Perhaps the abundance of water being supplied to the shoot they are growing from in this creek is causing the leaves to flourish. I marvel at the symmetry of their arrangement on the surface of the water. I photograph them exactly as I discovered them. F22 at 1/13, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 185mm

The fruit trees in Mason County are starting to blossom. I love this newer sculpture in Waterfront Park that is dedicated to the hard-working fruit farmers past and present in our area.

I love the return of spring and all of the pretty flowers and blossoms, but what I love the most is the singing birds. This robin was hard at work finding food near the public boat ramp off of Lakeshore Drive on Lincoln Lake. F5.6 at 1/1600, ISO 1000, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

Within minutes of starting to hike along the Pere Marquette River, I spot a beautiful sight

The blossoms are blooming! I drove the backroads home from Hart tonight and enjoyed the sight of each and every one! I decided to do something a little different for my photo of the day. I used a slightly longer shutter speed to allow for some movement in the wind instead of the typical fully sharp blossom shot I normally would shoot.

The sweeping view of the C-shaped shoreline from the Ludington city beach northward toward Epworth Heights has always appealed to me. I especially like it when Epworth comes to life for a new season and the cottages begin lighting up at night. F4.5 at 30.0, ISO 100, 80-200 mm at 80 mm

One of the beautiful signs of spring is the emergence of the marsh marigolds along the Pere Marquette River. Did these beauties appear overnight or did I fail to see them yesterday? How often do we overlook the natural beauty that is right there to behold? Too often, I think. I am trying to slow down more these days to allow more time to see what there is to see. In Michigan, beauty is all around us; I never tire of looking for it. F9 at 1/160, ISO 100, 105mm lens at 105mm

Rachel hates snakes with a passion. I hate spiders equally as much. We like to torture each other and text random snake and spider photos to each other. While mushroom hunting with Paul and Lisa Cooper today, I shot photos of this large snake with my iPhone and then sent one to Rachel. I know paybacks will be coming my way soon.

Later tonight my dad and I have to present a slide show at the West Michigan Birding Festival, so I got up early this morning and set out to make at least one more good image of birds. I headed to Lincoln Lake to see what I could find. After many failed attempts, I finally got one photograph that was sharp and well composed. F9.0 at 1/2000, ISO 800, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

While meandering back to our cabin along the Pere Marquette River, I spot at least a half dozen butterflies fluttering in the sunshine on the edge of a stand of large red pine trees. Patience and perseverance finally gets me as close as I want to get to one of the Red Admirals. The colorful butterflies seem to be springing up everywhere this April. F6.3 at 1/640, ISO 100, 105mm lens at 105mm

I have watched these goslings for weeks. I knew that I wanted to make a photo of them and tonight seemed like a good night for it, as they were perched on a mound surrounding their mom. As I was getting in position, the mom and goslings swam off their mound. Two other geese started to come near, and the daddy scared them away. It wasn’t the photo I was going for, but it turned out better than I envisioned.

During a walk with grandchildren Rachel, Ty, and Austin near their Waterford home, we take time to appreciate the tulips planted in a neighbor's garden. F4.5 at 1/200, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 185 mm

This tree located at the north entrance to Stearns Park beach has given my dad and I so many great photographic opportunities the last 40 years. We have made dozens of beautiful images of this quiet giant and tonight it looks even more magnificent than usual. This cottonwood tree just keeps on giving joy, beauty, and shade to thousands of passersby every year. F10 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

My high school friends Bryan and Veronica Copenhaver have recently moved back to the area after living in Alaska for several years. Brian called me to say they had a white egret in their pond. Sean and the kids and I drove out there in the rain and found the bird. Just as I was rushing into position to make my first image, a truck drove by and scared the bird away. I ended up photographing this pair of geese on their pond instead.