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I decided that today was a good day to take my dad’s 13-foot Boston Whaler out onto Lake Michigan and try to make some unique images with our underwater camera housing. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to capture an image I had envisioned for over eight years. I wanted to make an image that made it appear like the Ludington North Breakwater Light was floating on top of the water.

On a few days during the 365 Project, it has been very difficult to pick which photo to use for the photo of the day. Facebook has been helpful because we can have our fans vote for their favorite. This butterfly I photographed at Big Sable Lighthouse after our photo talk was the winner. Thanks for all the great comments and your votes! F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

Brad and the kids came out to the fairgrounds for dinner tonight. After we finished eating, some of the kids were riding bikes and scooters on the campground roads. Others were drawing pictures in chalk on the pavement. Julia drew this and it called to me to make a photograph of it.

These apples in an orchard along Meisenheimer Road south of Ludington may not be ready to pick yet but they sure look good enough to eat as I look through my viewfinder after a brief rain shower. F4.0 at 1/13, ISO 160, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

Tonight, Julia, Ethan, Aiden, and I decided to play 9 holes of golf at Lakeside Links south of Ludington. As Aiden was about to tee off, I looked up and spotted these Canada geese flying in a large V-shaped formation. I grabbed my camera out of the back of the golf cart and went to work making this image.

One of the best gifts my dad has given me in photography is the ability to stand in one spot and survey an entire landscape, envisioning what a photograph would look like from different vantage points and with different lenses, without ever moving from one spot. It is nights like tonight that I really appreciate him teaching me to previsualize photos. F10.0 at 1/50, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 135 mm

The last day of fair is here. The auction was today, and the animals have sold. One last night to soak in the feel of a familiar tradition. I found this spot on the trail between the fairgrounds and the Walmart parking lot. You would never think it would look like this back in that little woods.

On the second foggy morning in a row I am on my way to photograph a barn on Amber Road in this soft, diffused light. I am almost there when a bunch of dew-covered spider webs along the roadside catch my eye. On closer inspection, this spider web and its creator demand my attention. F9.0 at 1/160, ISO 640, 105 mm macro lens at 105 mm

Most grand scenic photographs need a strong foreground, middle ground and background. Sometimes it is difficult to have a strong foreground if there are no objects in your photograph that are close to the camera. One trick is to angle your lens down at a 45 degree angle and distort the foreground to make it look larger than it really is. F4.0 at 1/200, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 90 mm

A brisk wind snaps the POW-MIA Flag and American Flag to the attention of a passer-by this evening at Coast Guard Station Ludington. The POW-MIA flag salutes all present and past American POW-MIAs and reminds us of the price they and their families paid and are paying to help keep America free. F3.5 at 1/500, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 120 mm

I never get bored trying to photograph sunflowers. I look forward to that challenge every year. I was really drawn to the dynamic light hitting this sunflower tonight on Jebavy Drive.

While shooting our book on Ludington State Park in 2007, my dad and I learned that when the light is way too bright or too flat to make strong images then that is the time to try photographing reflections on the water. Tonight the light was flat and dull so I photographed the clouds reflecting in the river from the Sable River Bridge. F2.8 at 1/80, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

I came across the Woodland Farm Market driving back from dropping the kids off to their dad one weekend. I was in heaven! They have the biggest, most flavorful blackberries for sale here. I bought many quarts for the blackberry jelly that I was making and have every year since!

The Gold Coast Festival, a Ludington art fair Brad and I have shown our artwork at for years, is today at City Park. Nearby I spot some of the most stunning maple leaves I have ever seen in the yard of our former neighbor, Stephanie Thomsen. A silver coating on the crimson leaves looks almost like chrome plating. F7.1 at 1/60, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Barn Quilts are such a cool addition to the countryside. I am really glad that in the last several years, Mason County has gotten so many new barn quilts. This one is on the side of the Shagway Arts Barn north of Ludington.

One of the concepts we teach in our workshops is to put triangles or pyramids in the base of your compositions. That is what I tried to do in this photograph. When you place a strong pyramid shape in the bottom of your image, the viewer is drawn into the photograph. F6.3 at 1/60, ISO 640, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I had Rose of Sharon bushes at my old house. I wished that I could have taken them with me. Much to my surprise, when I moved into our current home, a Rose of Sharon bloomed in our front yard!

A purplish leaf fell to the ground today. I hope it’s not a sign that fall will come early.

It is a spectacular summer afternoon to be at Epworth Heights. Brian and Leah Roche of Columbus, Ohio walk along the North Beach sidewalk en route to meet some friends on the beach. F8.0 at 1/320, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 16 mm