Other Flowers

I enter a dark woods off of Piney Ridge Road and soon come to a wall of sand. I start to ascend the massive sand giant, stopping occasionally to let the burning in my legs recede. It is a race. Photographer versus the sunlight of early morning. I crest the peak and turn to the east to see if I've won. I notice beautiful yellow flowers at my feet. I get into position and only have to wait two minutes for the sun. Beautiful!

Small items in nature can have a large impact on the surrounding area, both physically and visually. These leaves were the only spot of color on a vast dune at the Ludington State Park.

When I was a boy, I loved to slip silently through a field of knapweed in search of bumblebees to capture. Now, just looking at and photographing the knapweed is reward enough. Throw in the Lake Michigan shoreline north of Ludington for a backdrop, and I am in visual heaven!

I have always been drawn to the color blue, especially when it is mixed with shades of green. The tropical looking waters of Lake Michigan and the golden dune grass blended together perfectly through my large telephoto lens in order to create the warm, calm feeling I was looking for.

Simplicity is one of the 20 concepts we teach in our 20/20 Vision workshops. Simple pictures can be hard to pull off because there is a very fine line between simple and boring. Thankfully the gorgeous sunlight reflecting off Lake Michigan helped make this simple picture beautiful and not boring.

Dreamscape

Frost backlit by the rising sun highlights the shapes and shadowy forms of milkweed pods. I know the extreme range of tonal values will enable me to expose for the highlights and render the shadows darker and more dramatic than my eye is seeing.

I love seeing the Michigan countryside flowers. Sweet pea along a farm fence line looked as pretty to me as any flower arrangement I can imagine. I am glad that I took a less-traveled road on this July 2017 day while meandering between Whitehall and Hart.

Rim lighting is always dramatic, especially on frosty mornings in Michigan. With my large telephoto lens, the busy background goes out of focus very quickly making the grasses stand out even more.

Home feels good tonight. I took time to explore around the yard after unpacking the camper. I have always thought Queen Anne’s lace does not get the attention it deserves. I decided to use her for my star.

These flaming red berries jumped right out at me as my dad and I were driving to Baldwin along US10. I had my dad stop the Suburban and I quickly hopped out to make this image. Because of the strong winds this morning, I had to raise my ISO to 6400 but I still wanted a lot of depth of field. I achieved that by shooting at an aperture of F13.

 

 

 

Yellow Flowers in Fog on Stiles Road

Sleeping Bear Dunes

A spider bridges the gap between clusters of blue vervain growing in the sand dunes south of the Sable River. I discovered the delicate flowers on one of many summer hikes I have made on these southern park trails that are far less traveled than most of the other trails in the State Park. I love the fresh views these trails provide as they weave through the sand, jack pines and wetlands tucked in the valleys between the dunes.

I have always been envious of my cousin Ryan Reed's artistic abilities. Not only is he a world class photographer, he also has a talent for drawing and painting. If I could draw or paint well, these wildflowers would be my inspiration.

A wild flower fights for space in a colorful sea of purple loosestrife--an invasive species which, despite all its beauty, threatens indigenous plant growth in the Pere Marquette River marsh and other wetlands connected to Lake Michigan. I must admit, I would hate not seeing its annual return.