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Betsy and Sean’s house on Riverview in Ludington has always had beautiful crocuses growing in the backyard. I used my 105mm prime macro lens to shoot a close-up photograph of one of the crocuses. I was attracted to the wild purple and white patterns on the inside of the flower.

I grew up with orchards, flowering bushes, and gardens surrounding our farmhouse. I was fortunate to purchase a home that also has apple trees and several flowering bushes in the yard. This is one of my favorites.

Don Allen of Ludington has been part of the local garden club for many years. His backyard is unbelievably gorgeous from early spring until late fall. He invited me over to photograph tonight and I was immediately drawn to this clump of primrose. F22.0 at 0.4, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 38 mm

One-year-old Caly Eisenlohr stands out beautifully in a sea of dandelions. I was making an image of an orchard and the dandelions in full bloom along Pere Marquette Highway when Caly's parents, Jerrod and Tara, decided this was the perfect setting for them to take pictures of Caly and her three-year-old brother Owen. F4 at 1/320, ISO 400, 500mm lens at 500mm

While hunting for morel mushrooms today with Julia and Ethan at Victory Park, we found this delicate little flower. I used my 85mm portrait lens to isolate the flower and soften the background.

Discovering the woodlands in the Claybanks area of Oceana County carpeted with trillium is for an outdoor photographer like winning the lottery. Brad, our business manager Sarah, and I go our own ways to capture our personal vision of the flower story we want to tell. For my part, I find three trillium flowers that I can place front and center in my composition. Focusing on them while letting the rest of a hillside full of flowers show up more softly in the middleground and background tells the rest of the story without stealing the show from the "stars" in the foreground. F9 at 1/100, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

I select this trillium to stand out from others in its vicinity. I want to convey the feeling of this one flower being surrounded by others, but I want the attention to be only upon this one. Like a golfer selecting the right club, I select the right lens to accomplish the mission

This was the first time I experienced being able to stand in a seemingly endless field of trilliums. It was magical. Even with the frosty nights the last few weeks, this trillium is still looking up. F14 at 1/100, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Lying in the middle of a hilly, curving country road is not a good idea, but it was necessary for this photograph. Luckily Sarah Genson and my dad were my spotters and helped me avoid being run over. I used my largest telephoto lens in order to soften my background and get rid of the "junk" in the rest of the scene. F8 at 1/250, ISO 800, 600mm lens at 840mm

Mom's Tree

Hiking with my West Shore Community College advanced photography students, I spot trilliums in the woodland along the Pere Marquette River. Trilliums are simple in color and design, yet their simplicity is what makes them beautiful. F10.0 at 1/125, ISO 100, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

Lillies collecting rain on a summer evening catch my eye in a Pentwater garden. The flowers have caught some sun as well, making them stand out even more. Often I like to feature one flower over the other through vantage point and selective focus, but I am thinking this is a pair that complement each other perfectly and they should therefore receive equal attention.

I need look no further than the end of my street at Crosswinds in Ludington to be shocked by the brightness of these flowers. I decide to make one of them stand out by getting very close to it and choosing a shallow depth of field that will put only it in focus. My intent is to keep the focus of attention on the foreground flower.

Summer Is Here

Sunflower Power

It is good to be home. Maui was beautiful, but I still don't think the beaches there hold a candle to our beaches in West Michigan. Our flowers are just as beautiful too. I realized that I take our natural beauty for granted. This tulip in my front yard helps remind me of how blessed I am to live in Ludington. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

I lay on my stomach, trying to get the composition I was searching for. Tulips are one of my favorite spring flowers. The lady who owned our home prior to us, planted many around the yard. I love watching them bloom.

Lilacs send me back in time to the backyards of my grandparents and parents. I wanted to make this picture look like a nostalgic dream of times past so I placed the camera on a tripod and zoomed the lens during the exposure. F20.0 at 1.6, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

This is the first spring in my new house and yard. Every few days it is a new surprise what kind of plants and flowers will bloom. Today these beautiful little flowers appeared at the base of one of the huge oak trees next to my house.

Wild Days Ahead