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365 Week 06

Deer Creek (Black and White)

Deer Creek

Winter painted a still life of the tugboat Kurt. R Luedtke and carferry City of Midland. I enjoy looking at ships, especially in winter. Ice and snow are among a photographer's best allies.

My wife Betsy and I were on our way to Crystal Mountain to go skiing when the sun popped out and created a layer of fog. I knew where a good photo could be made; I just needed to drive there before the light disappeared. This tree is near the corner of Fountain and Stiles Road. F10.0 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

An integrated tug and barge steams past Ludington South Breakwater Light while northbound on Lake Michigan. I wish the ship's crew smooth sailing and arrival at their home port before Christmas. F4.0 at 1/400, ISO 100, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

Thousands of people pack around downtown Ludington's main intersection for the second annual New Year's Eve ball drop. This is without a doubt the most incredible manmade event I have ever witnessed in our great community. F4.0 at 0.3, ISO 1600, 12-24 mm lens at 12 mm

I have been traveling since well before dawn today in search of magic Michigan moments. I have found several book-quality images but as I pull into the lakeshore parking lot at the end of Frankfort's main street, I am certain I am looking at another.

When photographing people outside, the color of their clothing and their placement in the scene are vitally important. My dad's bright blue coat is the only vibrant color in the entire scene so your eye is naturally drawn to it. I also used the rule of thirds and put my dad in the upper left third of the composition.

Ancient Caves

The Ludington State Park, in my hometown of Ludington, Michigan, is an excellent place to photograph the power and beauty of Lake Michigan. The clean, cold fresh water was kicking today.

Manistee’s 5th Street Beach looked like a scene from a science fiction movie today. The sand was frozen into random-shaped sheets that were layered on top of each other. The high winds today also created big waves on Lake Michigan. The best part of all was the magic light that appeared as we pulled into the beach to shoot.

Providing a contrasting backdrop for the heavy snowfall are the hulls of the carferries Spartan (foreground) and Arthur Atkinson, and the Spartan's snow-covered anchor chain.

Before a big house was built in front of our picture windows, my wife and I enjoyed an unobstructed, grand scenic world-class view of the Lake Michigan shoreline from Ludington to Little Sable Point. Now I use the "twice-as-close rule" to narrow my focus and exclude the big house from the images I make in front of our home. F6.3 at 1/125, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm

After celebrating Christmas, my wife Debbie and I headed north to Crystal Mountain Resort. On the way back home I decided to stop in Manistee to make a "Christmas Light" photograph. F10 at 8 seconds, 100 ISO, 300mm lens at 300mm

Be daring as a photographer and don't always photograph the obvious subject. Standing above the Upper Tahquamenon Falls, it was a fun surprise when I noticed this ice formation at the bottom of the falls. I reached in my camera bag and switched my wide-angle lens to my telephoto lens in order to isolate the ice against the dark rock wall and the frozen river.

I have always liked how oak trees hang onto their leaves long after the maples have fallen. Today some oak leaves and trees look like winter etchings along the banks of the Rainbow Rapids stretch of the Pere Marquette River.

Blades of Glory

A captive mature bull elk basks in the morning sunlight in northern Mason County. The light and shadow in this image create nice repetitive patterns.

When I first came upon this scene I quickly noticed an orange leaf stuck in the tired-looking snow fence. I frantically tried to make a good close up photograph of the leaf while the magic light was still hitting it. After getting frustrated and stepping back from the scene, I noticed the repetitive patterns and leading lines that the sand and snowfence made together. I recomposed the photograph and made the leaf an added ingredient. Little did I know that a few hours later I would be back out at the park photographing the Northern Lights.