Spring

Reflecting on Life

Rolling Into Empire

The sand dunes at Big Point Sable were formed several thousand years ago. Wind and water have been changing them ever since. I took this aerial photograph more than 20 years ago, when rising Lake Michigan water levels were threatening to wash Big Point Sable Lighthouse away. Most of the ponds visible between dunes in this scene were dry when I last explored this region.

Shooting with Friends

Spring Time on Old 31

Northern Lights At Big Sable Point

I have always found the bark of birch trees to be interesting and attractive. This decaying birch on the Piney Ridge Trail at the south end of Ludington State Park stopped me in my tracks on an April 29 afternoon hike. Though the trunk was badly decayed, the patterns, varied tones and textures interested me. I made this image with budding maple branches as the backdrop. The same scene would look dramatically different on Oct. 27 (see next picture and caption

Hearing birds sing in the springtime is therapy for my soul. Photographing small birds is a bigger challenge than most people would expect. They flitter around so fast that it is hard to make a photograph that is in focus, sharp, and well composed. My hat goes off to those photographers who make a living photographing birds.

Spring Dance

State Park Beauty

Brad and I are both searching for flowers today. The unseasonably sunny weather is sure to have brought them out. He finds some right away. It takes me a couple hours. This tiny gem

Underway and making way, slow but sure, a turtle plodded along the beach near the Ludington State Park Beach House. The turtle’s slow pace gave me time to create an artistic composition that emphasized the beauty of its tracks. The highlights and shadows resulting from the bright, low-in-the-sky evening light raking across the beach made the tracks more distinct and more beautiful. This is one of my son Brad’s favorite images of mine. Brad was ecstatic when he saw the Fuji Velvia slide of this image after I dug it out of the slide storage box it had been living in for years.

I love to meander through Michigan's orchard country. Today my friend David Hackert has given me the privilege of photographing one of his family's orchards south of Ludington. I am grateful.

Daylight is fast fading away when I finally find a picture that feels good. The combination of the diverse patterns and textures of the log, feather and sand make for a good mix. F32.0 at 20.0, ISO 100, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

I find the "real deal" far more impressive than any fake lawn ornament I have ever seen. Even the placement struck me as ideal as I stopped my truck along a country road near Twin Lake to make a still-life image while the farmyard attraction stays still. Stopping also gives me time to truly appreciate the tender loving care the owners of the Ponderosa have given to their fine old barn.

Bass Lake Outlet North of Pentwater is a secluded place I look forward to coming back to, the next day or next season, with great anticipation. Wading in its shallow stream that meanders in everchanging routes toward Lake Michigan or taking up a spectacular vantage point to watch night fall, is a favorite pastime.

Sunset Bay

Earlier in the day Brad and I were shown this Charlevoix spot and thought it had good potential for an evening shoot with students taking part in our photography workshop. Now at 6:39 P.M. I can hardly believe the glorious light as I make this picture after helping some students make some strong images of their own design. F9.0 at 1/15, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

I am certain I have watched more than 10,000 sunsets and afterglows. This one, along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Ludington State Park on May 24, 2014, was one of the prettiest I have ever witnessed.