Rachel's Images

The kids love gathering the chicken eggs. We hope to set up a stand at the end of our drive one year with fresh produce and farm fresh eggs.

I hadn’t made a photo yet today when I pulled into Brad’s yard. We were all going to watch a movie on the deck with the projector. This white flowering tree with the red blossoms in the background stood out to me.

After a busy few weeks, it was nice to spend a few minutes down by the lakeshore, soaking up the sunshine and fresh breeze. The second curve at the Ludington State Park was especially quiet today

The flowers in my mom’s garden made a great brilliant backdrop to this water-droplet-filled leaf.

I planned an early birthday vacation for Brad this weekend. We were supposed to be photographing hot air balloons over Torch Lake; however, Mother Nature decided otherwise. Instead, we drove around exploring areas of the lake we had never photographed before.

Today, Brad and I explored Old Mission Peninsula. There is so much to see! The Old Mission Lighthouse looked especially stunning today.

It was another fun day in the Traverse City area photographing and exploring. We ended up at the Jolly Pumpkin for dinner and hoped to be finished eating before sunset. After dinner, we walked to a nearby beach to catch the last of the sun’s rays.

Brad can be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I am not. Parasailing seemed to be just the right combination for a surprise birthday gift to him. To my surprise, I loved it! We had a blast, and definitely want to do it again with the kids!

At last, Bespop’s grapes have ripened! I have great memories of picking these with him or drinking the homemade grape juice we made from them on a cold winter day.

Lake Michigan was full of dramatic light and shadows this afternoon.

I get excited when I see the turning of leaves for the first time each fall, if it is a fall that lasts a few months, and we have time to enjoy it! This tree in our yard is always one of the first to turn each fall.

It is difficult shooting the sunset at home, due to our neighbor’s sprinkler irrigation system running north and south in the field to the west. I have had to work hard to compose shots where the sprinkler doesn’t take away from the feel of the image.

I was in my van when I saw what I thought was a bee, flying around against the window. I grabbed my camera and put my macro lens on. I then waited until it flew onto a part of the window that would show off its beauty best, without showing what was outside. I learned later that it was a hover fly not a bee..

After getting the kids ready for the first day of school tomorrow, darkness fell quickly. I was not sure what to make for my photo today. I was running out of ideas when Kasey jokingly brought out a mermaid that grew in water. It was larger than my hand but very odd in texture. I made several different images at various shutter speeds while moving the mermaid. I was happy with the way this shot turned out.

Storm clouds can be mesmerizing as they rapidly fly across the sky. These particular clouds seemed to have a wave motion to them. I waited for them to position themselves above the trees in the way that I was envisioning.

I was drawn to the design of my butter dish from the second I saw it in the store. Tonight, I focused on showing it off in a unique shot.

Growing up around the farm, we were fortunate for the amount of wildlife we would see on a daily basis. Now my kids get to enjoy the wildlife. We have watched this fawn and her twin all summer.

Good friends of ours have a cottage on Hamlin Lake. They graciously invited us out for the evening. I was on the lookout for photos driving there when we passed this barn and field on North Stiles Road. I loved the green in amongst the yellow, leading right to the barn.

My son, Joshua, spotted this toad in a hole in a tree at the farm. I grabbed my gear and carefully set my camera settings. Then it was a waiting game for it to pop back out.

These large mushrooms are always fun to spot in the summer. The kids found this one down our long lane at the farm.