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It is a dark, rainy September day but I keep reminding myself we are always preaching to our photography workshop students that bad weather is good weather for photographers. I just have to find the good. From my truck, the apples trees in a Mason County orchard do not look attractive. But when I move 20 times closer and throw in a little light from my truck headlights, these apples look better than candy apples at a country fair.

365 Week

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.

Chet Miller knows how to stop traffic passing by Miller's Northwood Market along M22 between Onekama and Arcadia. On this day Chet has filled up the engine compartment of an old Chevrolet pickup with an assortment of gourds. I can't resist pulling my Chevy pickup off the road to photograph Chet's creation, visit with Chet about his fast-pitch softball days, and take home some vegetables and preserves.

Many of my summer evenings in Ludington are spent with family and friends. I had not shot any photographs for a few days, so on this evening, my wife, Betsy, and I politely excused ourselves from a family gathering and drove to the First Curve at the Ludington State Park. A delicate blade of dune grass first caught my eye. I lay down on my stomach and started shooting. Summer

I was running out of daylight yesterday and worried that I would have to shoot my photo of the day for the 365 Project in the dark, when the sun broke through the thick cloud layer and cast magic light along the Lake Michigan shoreline. I quickly found some beautiful grass to frame my photograph. F2.8 at 1/6400, ISO 640, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

The Orchard at my parent’s farm may not be what people typically think of when they hear the word “orchard”. A lot of them assume we have several acres of trees, and although it might be small compared to many, it’s ours. The lilac bushes that surround the orchard might not be world class, but they’re ours. The tire swing hanging in the middle of these might seem ordinary to others, but not to us. My family has made many memories while playing baseball in the orchard, hide and seek in the lilacs, and of course being pushed on that tire swing. They’re one of the first things you see when turning into the driveway after a long day of traveling, and once your headlights hit them, you can breathe a sigh of relief because you’re “home”. Now, as my siblings and I have our own children, they too know that feeling, and are busy making their own memories in the orchard, lilacs, and Papa’s tire swing (as my two kids call it). These memories will last forever, and will continue to grow for generations to come. 

As many of you know from the great Facebook debate, I had a hard time choosing which photo to use today. The pears at Meijer that I shot with my iPhone versus the ice at the end of Ludington Avenue I shot with my big camera. After reading the comments and objectively looking at the two compositions, I felt the pears were better art. F2.8 at 1/60, ISO 91, iPhone camera

Whoever thinks swamps are ugly has never really seen one. Look past preconceived notions or connotations. Spend time getting acquainted with the swampy areas of Ludington State Park. The result: seeing and savoring scenes like this one I discovered while hiking the Island Trail.

Nothing pops out of the countryside more than bright red Michigan tart cherries. They are so bright and shiny they glow in the daylight. I never get tired of taking photographic road trips through the orchard country of Michigan's West Shore counties.

When bright sunlight hits water, it creates a wonderful array of sparkles. When those sparkles are photographed, the aperture ring inside the lens makes them appear as perfect geometric shapes. I feel that the sparkles make this photograph a stronger image.

Oh, to experience another winter morning as stunning as this. I love below-zero mornings; the sky is usually crystal-clear and the morning light brilliant. But I never imagined the beauty that would await me at the Sable River Outlet this February morning. Steam coming off the water at sunrise had turned the grass to shimmering white shafts on the dune south of the outlet.

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.

Today was a busy day. I didn’t have a chance to think about a photo until well after sunset. For Christmas I had received a potpourri dish from my brother and sister-in-law. One of the ingredients was a dried orange. The textures and tones called for a macro black-and-white image.

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.

The soft looking texture and repetitive pattern of a rolling field of asparagus appealed to me as I was photo hunting near the Mason Oceana County line on an October afternoon. It was that subtle kind of picture I like to call "wine shots" because they affect you slowly but they tend to grow on you with time.

It always amazes me how living things survive and even thrive in the toughest environments. I spotted this colorful lichen growing from a heart-shaped knot in a rotting log at Wilderness State Park north of Cross Village, Michigan, on a cold February day.

When my dad stumbled upon these tiny red flowers and fungi, it totally brightened my day. We had been photo hunting for over six hours without much success until we found this scene. Finally, our artistic souls were happy again. Never underestimate the power of flowers.

Looking like a corsage decorating a log, lichen abloom in February adds a burst of color to the winter landscape at Wilderness State Park.