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Time marches on, and so does sand. I look at this beautiful dune and the grass and forest land adjacent to it and know it will look very different the next summer. I wonder how much wind and water will change this beautiful area between Lake Michigan and Piney Ridge in ten years, hundred years, a thousand years. Our lives are such a miniscule segment of time gone by and time to come.

I had been an avid fan of Outdoor Photographer for several decades when my favorite magazine selected one of my images of Munising Falls to grace the cover of their October 2016 issue. Several other photographs made by my son Brad and me illustrated our six-page story about discovering and photographing fall color in Michigan. We were proud to see Michigan’s autumn splendor showcased nationally.

 

It takes a team effort to make some of our strongest images. Our assistant manager, Rachel Gaudette, was the first one on our team to spot this vantage point to photograph Laughing Whitefish Falls. The issue was two large logs stuck at the edge of the steep falls. My dad went into the woods and found a long stick that had a fork on the end of it. I then walked to the slippery edge of the falls and hooked both of the logs with that stick and slid them to the side and out of the photograph. My kneecaps were shaking in my tall rubber boots, but it was totally worth it for this image.

Sumac growing along Pere Marquette Highway reminds me of the flower patterns on some loud Hawaiian shirts. I am attracted to the color but on closer inspection am blown away by the patterns.

In the last few years, my dad and I have been very fortunate to spend a lot of time exploring Michigan's Upper Peninsula with our cameras. Besides shooting the Lake Superior shoreline, we love exploring waterfalls we have never been to. This morning we have made the short hike to Laughing Whitefish Falls for the first time. This might be my new favorite waterfall in Michigan.

Sumac looks like it is on fire as it "dances" in the breeze on an October day. When we head out fall color touring in Michigan, we are usually anticipating the color show provided by the maple leaves turning color. Sumac puts on its own show.

Bond Falls Offshoot

It is hard to imagine expensive jewels looking more beautiful than these birch leaves I have discovered along one of Michigan's lightly traveled unpaved roads. I sometimes wish more people could discover the world of wonder awaiting them on dirt roads. Then again, sometimes there is more of a sense of discovery knowing you are among the few who get to marvel at the sight.

October 28 2012

Converging Falls

 

My aunt and uncle, Sue and Randy Marble, just purchased a large canvas of this photograph of the White Birch Forest. This incredible forest is about 16 miles west of Grand Marais on Alger County Road H-58. The first week of October is often a good time to visit the White Birch Forest to see the surrounding maple trees in peak fall color.

Blasted

Legends Deer Ranch

Team Reed photographers Brad Reed, Rachel Gaudette, Dustin Kunkel and I were teaching a five-day workshop at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park at the west end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in October 2018 when I made this image at often-overlooked, Overlooked Falls. The fifth day in a row of rain didn’t stop us or our workshop students from finding and making good photographs. This “bad weather” workshop reconfirmed for me what I already knew; rain can be an outdoor photographer’s friend. My Nikon D850 and I survived and thrived in the rain.

 

Legends Deer Ranch

The skill and determination of the anglers who surf fish along the Lake Michigan shoreline is inspiring. Wind, waves, rain, and even lightning do not appear to deter the fishing desire of the most aggressive anglers.