Search

Music To My Eyes

One More Adventure

Music To My Eyes - Panoramic

Passing by Whitefish Point

Presque Isle Blues

Shadow Waves

Speaking to God

Whispering Birch

Winter Therapy

Water rushes over Munising Falls. A small pile of snow remains as a reminder on this 78-degree afternoon that this is the next to last day of winter. Spring has come early to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. F22 at 0.6, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 31mm

As I am working to compose this picture, it suddenly strikes me that I see what looks like a face amidst the rocks and rushing water. I liked this scene downstream from Munising Falls before seeing the face; now I like it even more. F22 at 0.5, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

Au Train Falls is my favorite waterfall to photograph because you can stand right in the water. That helps photographers create strong immediacy and make the viewers of the work feel like they are really there experiencing the waterfall for themselves. My camera and lens got very wet, but that is the reason for insurance! F22 at 1/5, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

My son Brad is in position to photograph dawn's early light on Isle Royale. We are on the 45-mile-long main island of the Isle Royale archipelago. Another action-packed day of exploring and photographing Michigan's only National Park lies ahead of us. The large waves we encountered a day ago on our ship voyage from Houghton to Isle Royale have now disappeared. Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, has turned into a mirror overnight.

I could not resist exploring this cave Brad and I found while hiking on Isle Royale. The rugged yet beautiful view looking out of the cave made working my way inside well worth the effort.

If you like rugged places, come to Isle Royale. My son Brad has managed to work his way to the top of a rocky cliff to check out the view. I am appreciating the ruggedness of the view looking upward.

October 10 2012

There was no doubt in my mind that my son Brad was in heaven shooting ice sculptures created by mineral-colored water running down and seeping through the rocky cliffs of Grand Island. The massive ice walls that created this cave extended more than 100 feet up the rocky cliff walls. We were experiencing beauty beyond belief after hiking about a mile across ice-covered Lake Superior at the mouth of Munising Bay, a bay frozen solid by one of the coldest winters in decades. This “Don’t do this at home” expedition in March 2014 still stands as one of my most exhilarating, rewarding and memorable photography shoots. I am grateful to God for safe passage for Brad and me and three friends from the Charlevoix Camera Club, safe shooting inside the ice caves and for the beauty we found there. Upon our arrival at the island, Brad, Mike Schlitt, Bill Dietrich, Wally Barkley and I each went exploring various caves on our own, and we all came away with wonderful images; how could we not have since the sights we were privileged to be witnessing were so incredible—and incredibly challenging to reach. As harsh as Michigan Upper Peninsula winters always are, it takes an unusually long stretch of frigid weather for there to be enough ice to get to and from the island. Authorities and a couple of longtime local ice fishermen advised us against trying, but a local photographer and a local outdoorsman who had trekked there in past years said that if ever there was a good time, this was it. Several photographers had posted images from the Grand Island caves on Facebook a week earlier, but there had been a short warmup after that. The good news was that the thermometer had plummeted for the past several days prior to our arrival. Having been a certified ice rescuer in the Coast Guard, I understood the risk involved. A shift in the wind could quickly create open water gaps in the ice. Currents coming in and out of Munising Bay might have created or could create weak spots in the ice. I kept in mind the number one rule of ice rescue that I was taught in the Coast Guard: “No ice is safe ice.” I knew that if we got in trouble in this remote location, professional rescuers were most likely going to be far away and a long time coming. Survival time in the ice-cold waters of Lake Superior in winter would be short. We had prepared for the worst before leaving home. We brought a large, light ice fishing sled with two long quick-release lines attached to us to pull it with while staying far apart. This kept us linked to the sled and each other in case one or the other went in. We wore our life jackets snugged tight for extra hypothermia protection. We secured dry bags to the sled with dry clothing inside. I carried a rescue heaving line throw bag. Fortunately, we were able to accomplish our photographers’ bucket list mission without incident or need for rescue gear. There was comfort and wisdom in following the Coast Guard motto of being “Always Ready.”

Gerlach Workshop

I cannot imagine the gates of Heaven being more beautiful than this. I was exploring an ice cave at Grand Island on Lake Superior when I worked my way through a maze of ice formations and came face to face with what looked to me like an open doorway so splendid only God and nature could create it. This, for me, was truly a spiritual experience.

The long and winding, bumpy, two-track drive to Crisp Point Lighthouse was a big part of the adventure of going there on September 30, 2014. The moody El Greco sky over the lighthouse and Lake Superior as darkness fell added to the drama as I found a vantage where the sensor of my Nikon D800 digital camera, with a 30-second exposure, could accumulate what little light was there. I love how well digital cameras see in the dark!