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Fresh Flowers

With a field full of thousands of sunflowers to pick from, I set out to create a picture with only one star of the show. After at least 20 minutes of studying hundreds of sunflowers near the edge of the big field along Conrad Road, I made my choice. I liked how beautiful this sunflower was and the spatial relationship between it and the sunflowers surrounding it.

I hiked the Island Trail at Ludington State Park religiously the spring of 2007, obsessed with finding wild flowers in bloom. After many days of trekking, this wild Iris greeted me on a dewy morning the first week of June in one of the wetland areas of the trail near Hamlin Lake.

Inspiring Fellowship

Trying to find a good vantage point to make a picture featuring a horse, fall color, and an old barn; I could not find a way to balance the composition or remove clutter. As I was walking away, milkweed stole my attention from the pastoral scene. I learned a long time ago to be alert for pictures other than the ones you anticipate taking.

Living Life

Ludington State Park

My great-grandma, Martha Delite Benson, had a passion for finding small treasures outdoors. She seemed to gravitate toward beautiful objects that most people would pass by. I believe her ability to "go deeper" into the scene and find the less obvious beauty in nature was passed down to my dad and me. As I photographed this delicate starflower at the Ludington State Park in June of 2006, I could not help but grin and think of my Great-Grandma Benson.

I love calm mornings when the water is so still it appears to be a steel-blue mirror. On an early morning adventure these lily pads near the Lost Lake Trail quickly grabbed my attention. I set up my tripod in the water and carefully composed the photograph while making certain that none of the reflections of the flowers were cut off. Once the ripples were gone and the water returned to its mirror-like state, I gently clicked the shutter.

Spring Time on Old 31

Sunny Days

Brad and I are both searching for flowers today. The unseasonably sunny weather is sure to have brought them out. He finds some right away. It takes me a couple hours. This tiny gem

Snowdrops are popping up all over Mason County today. I knew John and Marion Riedl had a great garden last year, so I drove over to their house near the gallery and looked around. John came out and said, "The snowdrops are in the backyard." Thanks for your help, John and Marion! F2.8 at 1/60, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 34 mm

This sight greets me as I crest a hill on Scout Road while searching for blossoming fruit trees between Shelby and Hart. This scene definitely merits a photograph.

Tulips appear to extend to infinity at Windmill Island Gardens in Holland, Michigan. Visitors from across Michigan and around the world flock to Tulip City each spring to see countless blooms, other Dutch heritage attractions, and Tulip Festival events.

Tulips and the De Zwaan Windmill are two of the spectacular ways Holland, Michigan celebrates its Dutch heritage. Today I search for just the right tulips with which to frame the centuries-old windmill. I set up the tripod low to the ground to make several foreground tulips stand out and surround the tall windmill.

What we feel and what we at first see through our camera lens often bear little similarity. Identifying feelings causes me to realize I need to haul out my largest telephoto lens to match the painterly, impressionistic feeling I am getting from this tulip garden in downtown Holland. Now all I have to do is organize my composition and focus only on my chosen star tulip so the viewers of my finished image will easily make their way through the maze of flowers in front to the one on which I want them to focus their attention.

Spring Blossoms and Flowers

Trillium Grand Rapids Aman Park May

A sunrise to rival the beauty of the evening primrose growing along the Pere Marquette River, south of Ludington, seemed too good to be true. It was true and the light and flowers were preserved on film.