Spring

Dogwood Trees hold a special place in my family’s heart. For years they had stopped blooming on our farm while I was growing up and we were worried they would never bloom again. Then, one year, they started up again! We have several of these favorite trees around the farm. This one looked radiant tonight.

I have used this same tree to frame pictures in both fall and winter. This morning

One of our workshop students and I stumbled upon this fawn near one of the trails north of the Beechwood Campground inside Ludington State Park this morning. The fog and light rain add to the mood. F2.8 at 1/25, ISO 400, 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm

My mom loves lily of the valley. We have many that grow around our garage at the farm. It seemed the perfect photo of the day to celebrate her 78th Birthday! Happy Birthday, Mama!

It is beginning to feel like summer and lo and behold there is a butterfly to make it appear even more summer-like. The butterfly swings in the evening breeze along with the tree branches. F3.5 at 1/100, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

The new walking paths inside Cartier Park in Ludington are great places to look for photographs. My daughter Julia pointed out these flowers to me. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

The kids, and several cousins were enjoying time together around Bespop’s pond today. Their laughter filled the air as they caught frogs, fished, and took the boat out. Suddenly, there was a difference in their voices. There was a huge blue racer climbing from tree to tree. This one terrified me way more than the, now small, snake I shot earlier in the week! The kids got a kick out of my squeals of terror each time it moved.

My dad, Sean, and I went golfing today at Hemlock Golf Course in Ludington. While we were golfing, a storm rolled in and it looked like we were going to get a lot of rain. Luckily for us, the rain held off. And luckily for me, I had my big camera with me in the golf cart.

Nikon D850. F16.0 at 1/40, ISO 1600. 105.0mm lens at 105.0mm. May 30, 2020 at 3:12pm.

I have been helping my dad, brother and several other veterans place more than 2,000 Americans Flags on the graves of veterans in Lakeview and Pere Marquette cemeteries today. Now I have returned to Lakeview Cemetery to make a picture that I think will honor all the veterans who have died in the service of our country. F4.0 at 1/50, ISO 100, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

My mom loves her hummingbirds. They are often the topic of conversation with anyone who enjoys summer days on the farm’s porch. I sat most of the afternoon, working on my patience, and watching these fast birds. Finally, I was able to capture one in my lens that was sharp but showed movement in the wings.

This is the perfect ending to an 80-degree-plus day. This is one more example of why people who have traveled the world are not exaggerating when they say the Ludington area is the best place in the world to experience sunsets. F3.2 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Nikon D810. F22.0 at 1/160, ISO 3200. 60-600mm lens at 240mm. May 27, 2020 at 8:50pm.

The atmosphere in the sky tonight is creating an interesting golden aura around the moon. This is the second time I have seen such a distinct aura this year. I had never noticed them in past years. F4.0 at 1/10, ISO 100, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

This beautiful rhododendron plant on Gaylord Avenue in Ludington caught my eye as I was driving to work this morning. I loved how the bright light seemed to be focused on one small section of the giant bush. F2.8 at 1/100, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Kasey is a forever lover of all God’s creatures. Including this frog….or these frogs?? You decide!

After making this image, I had to text Rachel and ask her what kind of flower this was in my side yard. She told me it was a bleeding heart and that those were some of her mom’s favorites.

I think Iris Road got its name because so many Iris flowers grew there before the Pere Marquette Township road was named. This morning on my way to work this particular flower looks picture-perfect from a distance. A closer look confirms my hunch. F4.0 at 1/125, ISO 100, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

We adventured around the pond today. There are a couple new calves that the kids wanted to check out. Since we were close to the pond, we decided we should check for frogs and turtles. The dragon flies were very busy today!

Pam Sprague, who is Sean’s manager at his hotel in Silver Lake, showed me these jack-in-the-pulpit flowers that grow every year in the woods behind the hotel. Telephoto macro lenses are so useful for photographing flowers. They allow you to get close and show detail, but they also help compress a scene and make the background less busy.