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Roadside fruit and vegetable stands are among my favorite photographic muses. This stand along M22 in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is one of my favorites to see and - when everything appears extraordinary - to photograph.

After five unsuccessful photo trips to the Schwass farm in Riverton Township, south of Scottville, I thought I was never going to take a good photograph of their winter squash. The challenge was to make a picture that would stir the viewer's emotions the way they had described the experience to me. On the sixth trip, a golden luminescence from the setting sun gave me the feeling they must have had. I was glad for the tips and my perseverance.

Squashing any notion I might have had that I was photographing pumpkins, grower Jim Schwass let me know they were actually winter squash. Visiting with the lifelong Riverton Township farmer while photographing the squash and his son's farm was one of those social bonuses that often make photo expeditions especially rewarding.

Pumpkins at Monton Farm

The Great Pumpkin Patch

My dad and I had several friends call and email us about the fields of pumpkins and squash along Chauvez Road south of Ludington. I photographed these just in time. The farmers and their equipment were right behind me getting ready to make their harvest. F5.6 at 1/640, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

This is the second photo in the 365 Project that I have made of the pumpkin patch and farm along Chauvez Road south of Ludington. I have been by at least five other times, but the light was never good enough. Early this morning however, the light was fantastic. F10.0 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 20 mm

IPhone XS Max. F2.4 at 1/30, ISO 640. Back dual camera at 52.0mm. October 23, 2020 at 8:06pm.

Picking out her pumpkin is a big task for 18-month-old Alice Stutzman. She checks some excellent prospects at Tice's Farm Market in Clare, Michigan. The pumpkin harvest is a traditional, colorful sign of the arrival of fall in Michigan. F11 at 1/125, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm