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Sailing to the Moon

Over thousands of years, wind driven sand has polished smooth millions of stones along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The flat-sided stones are called ventifacts. I made this photograph near the Big Point Sable Lighthouse while on a hike to the northern boundary of the Ludington State Park.

I am looking from the deck of my Ludington home at one of the most dramatic skies I have ever seen. These rare mammatus clouds are sweeping ashore behind a storm that rushed through earlier. This is an amazing calm after the storm.

I had been in the indoor swimming pool with my kids all afternoon at my dad and stepmom's new condo and not paying attention to the sky. Our employee, Aubry Healy, texted me a cell phone shot she had made up near Onekama of some pretty awesome clouds. I told the kids it was time to go upstairs and get changed. When we got upstairs and looked out over Lake Michigan, my jaw hit the ground and I went into full "storm chaser" mode. I knew I had missed my chances of getting a good shot in Ludington, but I calculated that if I drove down to Little Sable Point Lighthouse near Silver Lake, I might be able to get the shelf cloud over the lighthouse. After a long 30-minute drive, I was in position waiting for the storm and shelf cloud to arrive. Within 15 more minutes, the rolling clouds were upon me. I was on the bright side of the storm so the lighthouse was lit in magic light. I waited until the cloud was in just the right location in relation to the top of the lighthouse and clicked the shutter. My grin was from ear to ear as my heart was racing with excitement. My dad and I live to chase Lake Michigan storms!

Rain Amaze

Northern Lights Over Epworth

Custers Last Stand

Sailboat at Sunset

The Director

The sailboat Condor strikes a gorgeous pose even while high and dry on its cradle for the winter. The sleek ...... ........graces the waterfront of Pentwater, one of Lake Michigan's most picturesque harbors.

Sunsets like this one, painting the beach and cottages along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Epworth Heights, are so exhilarating I feel privileged to be there to witness them.

From atop a high sand dune south of Big Sable Point Lighthouse, I could see the light projecting from the lamphouse intersecting with the light of the tail of the Comet NEOWISE. I decided to try to make a tight image that would emphasize that connection of light in the starry sky. Showing less of the light tower and none of the keepers’ dwelling kept the focus on the story I wanted to tell. Less is so often more..

Over time man has designed and built many beautiful things-the Colosseum in Rome, the Statue of Liberty, and the 1965 Ford Mustang just to name a few. They are each a perfect blending of beautiful lines and powerful angles. However, none of them compare to one of God's most beautiful creations of all time, the bald eagle.

Watching U.S. Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat 47284 performing a search and rescue mission off Ludington takes me back. I was a coxswain (boat captain) of this 47-foot self-righting vessel at Coast Guard Station Manistee for several of my 33 years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. F4.5 at 1/500, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

I enjoy isolating a scene by using a telephoto lens. Often the best color and most intense light can be captured best by zooming in on one small area. Tonight, along the Lake Michigan shoreline, I used a 200mm lens on a cropped sensor camera so I essentially had a 300mm lens.

Trees have grown up to block most of the view from the water of McGulpins Point Light, but a five-minute drive from the Shepler's ferry dock in Mackinaw City puts me face to face with the charming brick structure. F5 at 1/800, ISO 200, 14-24mm lens at 17mm

South Bayou Magic

Rolling Over Pentwater

Sailboat Sculpture