Spring

Sitting in the middle of a Michigan field on a breezy summer day, I feel like I am watching a motion picture as the grasses and wildflowers sway in the breeze. Lowering my vantage point places me in the grass and makes the viewer of my images feel immersed in the grass with me.

The underside of an old fishing vessel is a great place to explore with a camera. The colors and patterns can be mesmerizing. F22.0 at 1/10, ISO 500, 18-50 mm lens at 27 mm

Color Coordinated

The maples are a favorite spot for my kids and their cousins. It is close enough to my parents’ house that they can venture out without supervision, yet the trees feel miles away. My mom enjoys sitting on their porch watching them play. They spend a lot of time exploring here under what I call “The Triple Trees”.

Eric Riggs bought this brown duck when it was only a few weeks old and released it into the wetlands near his home. The duck is technically a wild critter now, but he is very friendly and curious. Julia, Ethan, and I got a kick out of his honking abilities as well. F5.6 at 1/400, ISO 1000, 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Betsy and Sean’s house on Riverview in Ludington has always had beautiful crocuses growing in the backyard. I used my 105mm prime macro lens to shoot a close-up photograph of one of the crocuses. I was attracted to the wild purple and white patterns on the inside of the flower.

Dotties Delight

I grew up with orchards, flowering bushes, and gardens surrounding our farmhouse. I was fortunate to purchase a home that also has apple trees and several flowering bushes in the yard. This is one of my favorites.

Do you see them? Look closely. Do you see them now? Two fawns lying in the wet leaves. I made this image in my Uncle Rod’s backyard. He had spotted them while standing on his deck. He called me and I came out and stood in the rain to make this image.

For a very short time, the fruit country south of Ludington blossoms into a fairyland. This evening view is from Hawley Road looking north. F5.0 at 1/200, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

While on a hike with my cousin Ryan, I made this image south of the first curve at the Ludington State Park. I stood at the bottom of this steep dune and shot upwards.

This fisherman may or may not be catching fish but he definitely has a front row seat for one of the biggest and best sunsets so far this spring. I would like to trade places for a while. F5.0 at 1/640, ISO 100, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

My kids aren’t afraid of anything! Often, I must ask what is in their hand before they open their “surprise” to show me. Today it was a salamander. It brought back many memories of when I was little, and always squealed with delight at finding them, and I too rushed to show my mom and dad.

Fruit Country

Don Allen of Ludington has been part of the local garden club for many years. His backyard is unbelievably gorgeous from early spring until late fall. He invited me over to photograph tonight and I was immediately drawn to this clump of primrose. F22.0 at 0.4, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 38 mm

I photographed this old house on Sugar Grove Road this winter but felt compelled to make a new image upon spotting springtime flowers in the front yard. The flowers put a little life in the abandoned building and make me wonder about the people who planted them and lived there many years ago. F5.6 at 1/125, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 17 mm

While hunting for morel mushrooms today with Julia and Ethan at Victory Park, we found this delicate little flower. I used my 85mm portrait lens to isolate the flower and soften the background.

Discovering the woodlands in the Claybanks area of Oceana County carpeted with trillium is for an outdoor photographer like winning the lottery. Brad, our business manager Sarah, and I go our own ways to capture our personal vision of the flower story we want to tell. For my part, I find three trillium flowers that I can place front and center in my composition. Focusing on them while letting the rest of a hillside full of flowers show up more softly in the middleground and background tells the rest of the story without stealing the show from the "stars" in the foreground. F9 at 1/100, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

Marching with Mom

A redheaded woodpecker stands out in golden evening light in the front yard of John and Susan Persson's home along the Lake Michigan shoreline north of Summit Park. I was looking for wildflowers to photograph when someone else spotted several woodpeckers. F4.0 at 1/250, ISO 800, 500 mm lens at 500 mm