Other Fruit, Vegetables

Every spring since I was a very small child, I have spent time in the Michigan woods with my family looking for morel mushrooms. Today, I had the amazing honor of hunting for the elusive mushrooms with one of the best morel mushroom hunters in North America. Roger Thurow, a Scottville, Michigan native, has won the national morel mushroom hunting championship multiple times. He took me to a few of his favorite spots and showed me the ways of a master. I will never forget this day. My wife, Betsy, and our kids enjoyed eating the bounty.

A clump of dune grass stands unassailable against winter's onslaught. I love to see the changes that snow brings to subjects that appealed to me in a different way before the snowfall.

I am between teaching classes at West Shore Community College walking across campus from the cafeteria to my classroom when I notice how the brisk wind is bending cattails along the pond. I don't mind getting snow in my hiking boots while trudging through it to get close enough to make the picture I envision. F3.2 at 1/100, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 86 mm

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.

My high school math teacher, Mr. Bud, told his students many funny stories of his days working as a park ranger at the Ludington State Park. Mr. Bud also taught us to KISS: Keep It Simple, Silly! I often try to apply KISS to my photographic compositions. Simple compositions can become great art.

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

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.

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.

My favorite new lens is my Sigma 18-50 mm F2.8 EX DC Macro. I love that this lens is a wide angle, but also a macro. Wide-angle lenses capture a large degree of the scene in front of you and macro lenses allow you to get close to a subject and focus very finitely. I used that lens to make this image of some grass at the entrance to Stearns Park. F3.5 at 1/500, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

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.

Trying to find a good vantage point to make a picture featuring a horse, fall color, and an old barn; I could not find a way to balance the composition or remove clutter. As I was walking away, milkweed stole my attention from the pastoral scene. I learned a long time ago to be alert for pictures other than the ones you anticipate taking.

Today I was really struggling to find a good photograph. I ended up at the south end of Ferry Street overlooking Pere Marquette Lake. When I got out of my truck I noticed a bright red spot of color in the distance. I used the snow on the ground to isolate the rose hip against a clean contrasting background. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

The view on Old Mission Peninsula from a scenic overlook along Center Road across a portion of the Chateau Grand Traverse Winery vineyards toward Grand Traverse Bay is splendid this October evening.

While my wife is enjoying some wine tasting, I am visually taking in grapes through my viewfinder at one of the many Grand Traverse area wineries. I find just looking at the grapes intoxicating.

On my way to West Shore Community College, I cannot pass up taking a closer look at the frosty branches along the Pere Marquette River. I know it won't get any better than this today. I like the S-curves and dynamic angles of this branch. I like the matching repetitive pattern of the background branches that I keep out of focus to create layers. F3.5 at 1/5000, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Of the thousands of plums growing at The Gary Crane Farm, this one stands out as ripe for picking to be the subject of one of my photographs today in the u-pick orchard at Fennville. To me, my selection looks beautiful and delectable.