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Hamlin Lake Off Pontoon Boat

A setting full moon greets us as Brad and I wait for dawn's early light. The light of the moon should give us a jump on spotting a snowy owl we know is hanging out in a West Michigan field.

On an August evening during a photo trek to Big Point Sable Lighthouse I faced a momentary dilemma. I was shooting an extremely dramatic sunset over Lake Michigan to the west when I looked back to the east to see if the sky was "painting" the lighthouse with its brilliant color. As I turned what caught my eye was not the lighthouse-bathed in pink but the moon rising over a gorgeously "painted" dune just north of the lighthouse. The light was splendid and momentary. I knew there was not time to shoot all three pictures. While I was vacillating, my wife was decisive, declaring: "Shoot the moon!" So, I did. Thank you, Debbie!

Sailing to the Moon

Strawberry Moon

I always get a thrill out of photographing the moon as it is about to set in the west. On this frosty morning, the moon looks particularly huge and bright.

Sailboat and Moon

Grand Island Ice Caves

Blood Moon

I love the coldest mornings; they often render Lake Michigan waterfront scenes in incredibly sharp and colorful ways. The setting moon and rising steam made this a picture that warmed my soul. I live for moments like this when my camera takes me where my heart wants to go. I tell my photo students, follow your heart with your camera.

Still in use between Big and Little Sable Points, the Pentwater South Pierhead Light is the only remaining tower light boasting a traditional skeletal structure. Its erector-set-looking construction is interesting and has withstood Lake Michigan's fury for more than half a century. I usually take great pains to avoid photographic mergers, but I could not resist lining up the full moon with the light to create an illusion of the moon being the light of the lighthouse. The red light on top of the light is the real Coast Guard aid to navigation marking the entrance to Pentwater harbor.

Eclipse With Ludington Lighthouse Shore Light

On the evening of the second full moon of July 2004, my wife, Betsy, and I walked the Island Trail at Ludington State Park. We patiently awaited the moonrise over Hamlin Lake. Once the moon appeared, it rose so quickly I was only able to get a few good shots. The moon at night is one of the most difficult subjects to photograph because of its relatively rapid motion and the low-light conditions.

The moon is an extremely difficult subject to photograph. If you set your exposure according to the camera meter, then you get some detail in the night sky and foreground, but the moon is a solid white circle with no detail. If you underexpose by three or four stops, then you get the "cheese" of the moon, but no detail in the sky or foreground. The moon also moves so quickly that it requires a relatively fast shutter speed. When it's dark outside, the only way to get a fast shutter speed is to raise your ISO or film speed. However, high film speeds are grainy or noisy. The choice is yours.

For a few precious minutes, the light of the rising sun and the sunlight reflected from the setting moon balance on an April morning along the Lake Michigan shoreline between Ludington and Pentwater. Sunrise beach walks bring me alive as I watch the world about me come to life.

The moon is an extremely difficult subject to photograph. If you set your exposure according to the camera meter, then you get some detail in the night sky and foreground, but the moon is a solid white circle with no detail. If you underexpose by three or four stops, then you get the "cheese" of the moon, but no detail in the sky or foreground. The moon also moves so quickly that it requires a relatively fast shutter speed. When it's dark outside, the only way to get a fast shutter speed is to raise your ISO or film speed. However, high film speeds are grainy or noisy. The choice is yours.

Super Moon

With our minds on the new photography book that my dad and I are working on that will cover West Michigan, I decided to head north to Frankfort and my dad headed south to Muskegon to photograph the solar eclipse. In this area of Michigan, we witnessed about 75 percent coverage. We also had clouds to battle, but as we often say, clouds are your friend.

The moon setting in the West and the sun rising in the East created an extraordinary light show before my eyes at the Little Point Sable Lighthouse. The lighthouse has illuminated the most westerly point of land in the lower pennisula of Michigan since it was built in 1874. Little Point Sable Lighthouse is one of only a few brick lighthouses in Michigan still operating.

On the evening of the second full moon of July, 2004, my wife, Betsy, and I walked the Lost Island Trail at the Ludington State Park. We patiently awaited the moonrise over Hamlin Lake. Once the moon appeared, it rose so quickly I was only able to get a few good shots. The moon at night is one of the most difficult subjects to photograph because of its relatively rapid motion and the low-light conditions.