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The 45-minute hike to Big Sable Point Lighthouse is rewarding even on those rare occasions when a good picture seems nowhere to be found. On this evening dune grass framed against the twilight provided a still life that stood out even more than the famous lighthouse.

I have always been envious of my cousin Ryan Reed's artistic abilities. Not only is he a world class photographer, he also has a talent for drawing and painting. If I could draw or paint well, these wildflowers would be my inspiration.

One of the high-performance sailboats from the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac looks fast even while made fast to a dock at Harbor Springs a few days after finishing one of the longest fresh-water races in the world. I am attracted to the shadows made by some of the many people attracted to the sleek vessel. F7.1 at 1/125, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 21mm

Workshop at Ludington State Park

Sky Drama

Ludington North Pier Light

Cotton Candy - Panoramic

Batten down the hatches! Storm clouds tumbling mixer-style steamroll threateningly ashore along the Lake Michigan shoreline on a June afternoon. This scene and the "Hot Pink" scene are among the hundreds of spectacular big sky views I have witnessed from my home near the Lake Michigan shoreline south of Ludington. They reflect the similar amazing scenes that unfold frequently all along the shores of Lake Michigan.

My wife and I watched from a high dune vantage point. We waited, for over two hours, for the sunlight to come into line with the water that was winding its way to Lake Michigan from the Bass Lake Outlet. I liked the resulting picture but looked forward to photographing that S-curve with a sky filled with storm clouds. I returned on such a day only to find winds and waves had swept away the S-curve and left a straighter stream behind.

After spotting and making an image of a dozen yellow iris flowers blooming in a marshy area on the Island Trail, I followed one of our main teaching concepts and moved "twice as close" and "twice as close again" and began looking for a stronger, simpler image that would reveal the true beauty and detail of the yellow iris. I liked this image better than the first shot, which failed to make the final edit of my images to be considered for this book.

In the last couple years, I have started noticing rocks shaped like hearts on Michigan beaches. Tonight, I am photographing this one in front of the Whitefish Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior. A workshop student once asked me how I find so many heart-shaped rocks. I thought about it for a while and decided that somehow they must find me.

After nearly 14 hours of driving, boating, and photographing, I decide I have earned my favorite Northern Michigan dinner, planked whitefish. Miraculously, I somehow get an outdoor table at Stafford's Pier House, 10 feet from the water and right in front of one of the most beautiful classic yachts I have ever seen. Fantastic summer evening, fantastic meal, and world-class Michigan view. It doesn't get any better than this. F4.5 at 1/80, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

Spotted Redone

Tahquamenon Falls River Reflection

It was a great sailing day in Ludington today. With a stiff and steady wind, I watched several sailboats cruising the lakeshore. I was geeked when one of the bigger sailboats decided to pass the pier heads under full sail.

One of the most ominous shelf clouds I have seen in years screams ashore toward Harbor View Marina in Ludington Harbor on the evening of July 26, 2020. These stormfronts tend to be such fast-movers, often advancing at 20 to 40 miles per hour, that I know I have to anticipate them and be in a good position to photograph them well in advance. For this storm, I set up my tripod and camera on the third-floor, outdoor deck of our waterfront home and waited to experience and record the storm.

A wild flower fights for space in a colorful sea of purple loosestrife--an invasive species which, despite all its beauty, threatens indigenous plant growth in the Pere Marquette River marsh and other wetlands connected to Lake Michigan. I must admit, I would hate not seeing its annual return.

Clouds are your friends. I preach this to my photography students at West Shore Community College more than they want to hear it. Clouds can add great ingredients to outdoor photographs. Sometimes, like on this fall evening, they make powerful subjects by themselves. At times clouds appear heaven sent. This one, over Lake Michigan, looked like an angel to my wife and me. We named it "Robbie's Cloud" in memory of an angel in our lives.

White camas flowers bask in the warm sunlight of a late June evening in the dunes at the south end of Ludington State Park. Summertime visitors seeking solace and new discoveries might want to consider a hike in this less-traveled region of the park.

While photographing morning light striking an American Flag and flagpole at Ludington Municipal Marina, a rainbow appears in the western sky over the marina. This is a bright spot in a day that will be marred by yet another Lake Michigan drowning at Ludington. F5.6 at 1/250, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm