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Fall Leaves near a barn on Conrad Road

Fall on Conrad Road

Wagner Awash

After a week straight of rainfall at Porcupine Mountains State Park, the flooded Presque Isle River was a raging torrent on October 11, 2018. As I looked down from a bridge over the river near its terminus at Lake Superior, I was struck by the thought that the various paths the water was taking made the water look like angel’s wings. A 10-second time exposure helped me accentuate that feeling

 

I have photographed pieces and parts of this old fishing boat several times this year during the 365 Project. Today, the head-on view with the rusted blue hull is what got me excited. F11.0 at 0.8, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 160 mm

A tip from a Pentwater area resident that had observed a lone sailboat in the mist on the way to work leads me to Long Bridge this morning to see if I can see what they have been seeing. Oh yeah! Thank you. F2.8 at 1/1250, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 112 mm

What a View

 

For years I have marveled at the beauty of this wooded hillside north of Ludington bordered by Lincoln Lake, the Lincoln River and Epworth Heights. I have made many images in all seasons of Mt. Epworth but this October 2020 image may be my favorite. The peak fall color, splendid clouds and the magic light combined to create a beautiful harmony.

The City of Algonac steams across the St. Clair River toward Canadian waters after departing Algonac, Michigan. The Walpole-Algonac Ferry Line has been in operation for over 100 years. Automobiles and passengers are transported between Algonac and Walpole Island in Ontario, Canada in seven minutes. F8 at 1/640, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 157mm

 I had visited Bond Falls several years prior to making this image. I had been wanting to go back since I drove out of the parking lot on that first trip! Finally, I made the voyage back to the falls from my hometown of Custer, Michigan. I was eager to see the beautiful scene as I walked through the pathway from the truck. It was just as stunning as I remembered. Because of heavy rainfall in the area the week before, the falls were roaring. It was powerful, and I knew it could be dangerous if I got too close. I worked for an hour making images of the area around the falls. Then, I could focus on every inch of the falls themselves. I tried to think outside the box. As I worked my way up the falls, my mind kept coming back to this spot. I knew that I had to get as close as I could, while being safe. I got in position, and went to work. I was so excited with the image that I made!

No one knows the lower stretch of the Pere Marquette River better than Ralph Anderson. Whenever the steelhead are running, it seems Ralph is on the river angling to land one. I admire Ralph's passion for trout fishing and his love of the river. People like Ralph understand what an amazing outdoorsman's paradise Michigan is. F2.8 at 1/640, ISO 1600, 300mm lens at 300mm

Breath of Life

A Sunday ride on an autumn afternoon is one of the best things about Michigan. We all have favorite spots we visit year after year to check out the fall color. This is my favorite tunnel of trees and the best image I have ever made there. I had been driving Conrad Road between Ludington and Scottville east and west for days to check the progress of the leaf color change on the massive old maple trees lining each side of the Polcin Farm. On this day, October 10, 2010, the trees and the light looked picture perfect. I set up my tripod in the middle of the road and carefully designed the image in my viewfinder. My camera had live-view capability, but I have studied images in a viewfinder for so long, I prefer, if the situation permits, to be able to still see the world through that little eye hole. I made certain to include everything inside the borders of my viewfinder that I wanted and to include nothing I did not want. Unless we are photographing fast-moving objects where it is impossible to see and evaluate everything visible through the finder instantaneously, Brad and I each painstakingly try to finish in-camera the composition of every image we make. Most of our artwork is therefore created in a 2X by 3X proportion because that is the proportion of traditional 35-millimeter film and now traditionally-proportioned digital sensors. I loved everything I saw in the viewfinder when I triggered my cable shutter release at this moment. Moments later, two people on bicycles pedaled over the hill at the back of the scene. I fired off a few quick shots to capture a peak moment of this added ingredient to the scene. Brad and I like to teach our workshop students that if an element doesn’t add to a scene, it probably detracts. The bicycle riders definitely added a human and storytelling element and, dwarfed by the giant trees, a “little person in the big world” sense of scale. As fine art, I prefer the naturalness of the image I made without the bicyclists, and that is why I selected that one for this book. But the storytelling image with the bicyclists is the one that the national-award-winning Pure Michigan tourism promotion campaign selected for billboards. They wanted the people looking at those billboards to imagine themselves pedaling their bikes in such a spectacular Michigan place. Brad and I pride ourselves on being visual storytellers; I love telling Michigan’s beautiful stories with my cameras.

How can one not bond with Bond Falls? I fell in love with Bond Falls the first time I visited there years ago. The magnificent Michigan Upper Peninsula waterfall has been drawing me back ever since. It was nearly dark already when my wife, Debbie, and I climbed the stairs to get to this spot during a September 27, 2013 visit. While my mind’s eye was yearning for more daylight, my tripod-mounted camera was able to accumulate enough light during a 30-second exposure to brighten the scene. The outcome from the movement of the water during that time made this my all-time favorite Bond Falls image.

 What better way to spend a beautiful fall day than traveling across Lake Michigan on the SS Badger on our way to shoot the vibrant color in the Upper Peninsula. Todd and Debbie Reed, Brad and Betsy Reed, Sarah Genson and I decided to have a fall get-away to the UP. It was a bright sun, blue sky, warm breeze, and smooth sailing way to start our journey. We then traveled through Wisconsin towards the Porcupine Mountains. We knew we wanted to make a stop at Bond Falls, and the closer it got to dark, the more worried we were that we would miss shooting the sunset there. We made it, got our waterproof clothing on and hurried to the falls. It was a stunning experience and a great way to end our first day of shooting!

After a long history of catching fish on the Great Lakes, the fishing tug Richard E. is now moored at the Manistee, Michigan ship museum site. I admire the ruggedness of these sturdy vessels and the men and women who went to sea in them. F5 at 1/80, ISO 3200, 24-70mm lens at 40mm

Storm in Grand Haven

Course of Nature