Spring

I love living so close to Cartier Park now. The kids and I can walk there pretty quickly from home. Tonight, we walked there together and we spent time enjoying the beauty of the dame’s rocket flowers.

A couple standing on the edge of a 450-foot-high Sleeping Bear Dunes bluff find themselves above the clouds as a cold front sweeps across Lake Michigan toward them. F10 at 1/800, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

After dinner at Brad’s house, the kids played there while I ran to the Sauble River outlet to shoot the sunset. I liked seeing the different variety of waves lapping to shore.

Whitetail deer are beautiful by themselves. This one looks especially pretty amidst cow vetch and green grasses. The doe glances my way momentarily after spotting me. I make two exposures and leave. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 400, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore area was voted the most beautiful place in America in August 2011 by ABC's Good Morning America. The view today from the top of one of the tallest dunes at Sleeping Bear helps prove why ABC was correct in their judgment. When you can stand above the clouds on a sand mountain and look down at the endless turquoise waters of Lake Michigan, you know you are experiencing a world-class view. F22 at 1/40, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

After dinner the kids and I were in the backyard and we heard a strange noise coming from the woods behind the house. When I went to investigate, I found a family of baby raccoons walking across the ground. I ran to my truck and got my big lens. By the time I got back the babies had climbed part way up a very tall tree. This little guy was the only one in the sunlight.

This is the view looking over the edge of the 450-foot-high Lake Michigan shoreline bluff at Sleeping Bear Dunes. My vantage point is from one of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore scenic lookouts along the 7.4-mile Pierce Stocking Drive. F16 at 1/320, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

The kids and I took a drive around the farm with my mom and dad tonight. I have always enjoyed the shape of this tree. In the far background, you can see our barn and farmhouse. It is a picture-perfect setting.

A massive storm cloud rolled in quickly off Lake Michigan and devoured my dad, me, and several naive spectators this afternoon at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Being 450 feet above Lake Michigan allowed us a vantage point that was above the clouds. When the storm cloud finally hit us, we were lost in a freezing cold sea of white nothingness. It was a religious experience to say the least. F11 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 23mm

My brother and sister-in-law’s yard has a large variety of beautiful flowers and plants throughout. Today I worked at capturing this poppy in magic light. To me this flower looks like a strange bug with big eyes and a large mouth.

Like an enormous tidal wave, a shelf cloud hundreds of feet high extends out of sight as it sweeps ashore. I have an eye-level view of the fast-approaching front from the observation platform built atop a 450-foot-high dune bluff on the Lake Michigan shoreline at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. F11 at 1/1250, ISO 280, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

My mom’s yellow roses climb the wall of the farm’s garage. Each year we welcome their sight. I hope to transplant some of them to our home soon.

Clouds bear down on Lake Michigan's eastern shoreline and begin to climb the bluff toward me at Sleeping Bear Dunes. Moments later my son Brad and I are literally in the cloud in near-zero visibility. What an incredible experience! F11 at 1/1600, ISO 280, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

My dad called me early this morning to tell me that he thought it might be a good sunrise. I crawled out of bed and drove to Lincoln Lake. I made this image near the bridge on M-116.

After a dinner with family visiting from Cleveland, I noticed tiny daisies in the yard of their vacation home. It was covered in them! I crawled around until I saw a perspective I liked.

After spending the day photographing the Leelanau Peninsula, I return to Ludington in time to vote in the local school election. On my way home from voting I am rewarded with this uplifting Lake Michigan view from the bluffs of Buttersville. F11 at 1/500, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

The Pentwater River flats along Long Bridge Road are always a great place to photograph the sunrise in Michigan. This morning, the water was actually more colorful than the sky. It was worth getting up at 4:45 a.m. to get here in time to make this picture. F8 at 0.4 seconds, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

I micro-compose this composition and lock down the tripod 15 minutes before sunrise, then help some of our photography workshop students fine-tune their compositions in the Pentwater River marsh east of Long Bridge Road. The sun pops up and my shot is completed with nothing more than a quick push of the shutter button. F10 at 1/1000, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 24mm

Cattails, known as "punks" by some, were glowing this morning along Long Bridge Road just southeast of Pentwater. I created a pyramid at the base of the photo with the short, dark grasses and then also positioned my camera so the tall cattails created another pyramid. I love how this photograph feels. F8 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 30mm

I round the bend of the Ludington North Breakwater with a photography workshop student and am surprised to see a bride and groom strolling toward me. With no time to get the camera on the tripod, I draw on skills honed in my newspaper days and quickly compose a hand-held shot of the newlyweds, Ashli and Jon Solitro. F5.0 at 1/200, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm