Ludington State Park

Using my 60-600mm lens tonight at 600mm, I was able to isolate the colorful, pretty parts of the sky in the camera. Most of the sky was boring and flat looking, but right around the sun it was an intense orange color. We teach our workshop students that you need to learn to see like your camera sees.

After being seconds too late to photograph the magic light at sunrise this morning and also missing great light hitting the Ludington North Breakwater Light with a giant rainbow, I finally got my prize at Big Sable Point Lighthouse this afternoon. Lake Michigan in October is cold, but worth it for the composition I wanted. F14.0 at 1/100, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 22mm

After work I made a drive to the Ludington State Park to enjoy the shoreline for a bit. This huge piece of driftwood was a great accent piece and counterpart to the jetty.

I am getting wet making this picture but moving close to these jetties is, I know, vital to making an image that will put the viewer there. The water rushing over the tops of my waterproof shoes is cold and distracting but the image in my viewfinder is also a rush. F4.0 at 1/8, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 14 mm

Setting your camera to the "bulb" setting allows you to take very long time exposures. I used my glow-in-the-dark watch to count 90 seconds for this exposure because the sun had set 45 minutes earlier. I also used a rear-sync flash to help brighten the foreground. The end result was a surreal looking shoreline. F22.0 at 90 seconds, ISO 100, 14 mm lens at 14 mm

The low clouds were a seamless backdrop to the dune grass at the Ludington State Park this afternoon.

It is hard to beat the intensity of the sunlight right at sunset in late November. While making this photograph it reminded me that I am blessed to live in such a beautiful and diverse area of the natural world. F3.5 at 1/20, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 38 mm

We had a dramatic sky tonight over Lake Michigan. As often happens, the afterglow was even better and more colorful than the sunset at the first curve at Ludington State Park.

Among the most overlooked beautiful places at Ludington State Park are the dunes on the inland section of the park east of M-116 and south of the Sable River. This evening the view as I see it is spectacular. F4.5 at 1/125, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 13 mm

I stayed up late tonight trying to photograph the Northern Lights out at the Ludington State Park. Unfortunately, the Northern Lights did not appear, but the lights of Wisconsin were visible, along with thousands of stars.

Before work this morning, I took a nice drive around the Ludington State Park. It was great to have a few minutes of peaceful quietness before starting the workday. This interdunal pond matched my peace.

Nikon D810. F22.0 at 1/60, ISO 100. 24-70mm lens at 24mm. December 14, 2020 at 1:28pm.

I got up early this morning to be able to shoot a sunrise photo. I drove to the Ludington State Park in the dark and waited to see if the sunrise would be any good. Luckily for me, it was a gorgeous sunrise today.

It has been a while since I had my toes in the water. That didn’t quite happen tonight either, but I did have my boots in the water! With no snow, it doesn’t feel very much like winter here, more like a long fall.

Life is good in Ludington. Bring your family and friends here year round and you will find some of the most beautiful lakeshore in the entire country. On this mid-September day, I had the entire Ludington State Park to myself. Priceless! F11 at 1/320, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 35mm

366 Days. Impossible. That is what I thought when Brad asked me to join him on this project. There were days I didn’t think I would make it. Couldn’t make it. I took solitude at the beach tonight, on New Year’s Eve. Reflecting on the past year. On our 366 Project, on COVID-19, on the goods and bads. At 5:05pm, I made my last and final image. I did it! 

I took a Christmas Day drive to the southern region of Ludington State Park today to find my photo of the day. I feel this is a photo I would not have been able to make a year earlier because I didn't really see the world in photographs as well as I do now. The 365 Project has made me a much better photographer. F10.0 at 1/100, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

There is a lot of truth in the saying, "There is no place like home." As I was photographing this beautiful sunset at the First Curve in the Ludington State Park, I was feeling very fortunate to live in Ludington my entire life. Thousands of people visit here every year and dream about the day they can retire to Ludington. I hope to forever call Ludington my home. F6.3 at 1/40, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 44mm

This is the second major Northern Lights show on a Tuesday this year. Thanks to a 9:00 p.m. text message from Don Klemm informing me of the light show, I drove to the Ludington State Park and made this image over the Beach House. F2.8 at 151 seconds, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 20mm