Summer

Peaceful Evening

The lighthouse keepers at the New Presque Isle Lighthouse near Alpena, Michigan were gracious enough to stay open late to allow my dad and me to climb to the top of the 113-foot tower overlooking Lake Huron. Michigan has 149 lighthouses lining its shorelines and the view from the top of the New Presque Isle Lighthouse has to be one of the most unique. The point of land that the lighthouse sits on is almost completely surrounded by water. F16 at 1/100, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Peaceful Evening - Panoramic

Manistee Light

All is quiet along the Lake Michigan shoreline on a spring evening before this historic summer resort comes to life for another season.

 

Mary Shoup was an amazingly upbeat person. Even after suffering from polio and its nasty side effects for most of her life, Mary continued to smile and make it her mission to make others happy. Her life was cut short, but when I saw this wild iris growing in Hamlin Lake on the Island Trail at Ludington State Park, I was reminded of what a beautiful person Mary was.

In photography and in life, getting close to someone or something brings out feelings you have never felt before. That’s the kind of strong feelings I seek when I am fortunate enough to be on the Lake Michigan shoreline with my camera on an evening like this.

Manistee Summer Set

After getting several notices on our phones the last few days that the Northern Lights might be out on Sunday night and early Monday morning, my dad picked me up from my new house in Ludington around 9pm. We drove to Point Betsie Lighthouse just north of Frankfort, Michigan. Shortly after getting on location and figuring out where we wanted to shoot, my dad and I noticed a large white pillar of light appearing to the left of the lighthouse. A few moments later, the colors of the Northern Lights appeared. Luckily, my camera was taking an almost three-minute exposure during this time. By the end of the long exposure, the pillars were gone and the colors faded quickly. My dad and I stayed until 2am hoping they would come back. Once the clouds rolled in, we headed home with giant smiles on our faces because we were pretty sure we each got at least one nice photograph!

Snacking its way to Lake Michigan, water from Bass Lake catches sunlight on a September evening.

Michael Wolff of Ludington enjoys a leisurely kayak ride in the Ludington channel tonight just before sunset. It is so nice when locals can enjoy being tourists in our own town. Ludington is hard to beat on a warm summer night. F9 at 1/320, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

When a fast-moving Lake Michigan storm front comes through, I am always on the lookout for the sky spectacle that may follow. Tonight my weather knowledge pays off. This view of the SS Badger heading out of Ludington harbor greets me as I hustle to the waterfront after photographing a storm front at Pentwater. F8 at 1/200, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 20mm

 

Nobody is going to believe this is real. I can't believe what I am seeing. The clouds, the rain, the haze, the sun, the big waves, the Badger, and the color! Surreal. These were the thoughts running through my head the evening of August 20, 2009 as I was shooting this photograph during one of our weekday summer workshops. I was just glad our students were there to verify that this dream actually happened.

The first time I photographed Big Point Sable Lighthouse at night was in 1970. It was an assignment for a photography class at Michigan State University while pursuing a journalism degree. I continue to enjoy hiking to the light, setting up my tripod in the sand, waiting for darkness to fall and the light more than 100 feet overhead to beam forth. The solitude of the 30 to 45 minute walk, in the dark, back to my vehicle makes the photo trek to the lighthouse more gratifying.

Marvelous Manistee

Racing Home

Our friends Dave and Chrissy Hall, lifelong visitors and supporters of the Ludington State Park, graciously offered to take my dad and me in their airplane to photograph aerial views of the park and its surroundings. On a clear May evening in 2007, I made this photo from several thousand feet in the air. The photograph clearly shows the Lake Michigan shoreline, the Sable River, all of Hamlin Lake, Big Point Sable Lighthouse, the Nordhouse Dunes, part of the Manistee National Forest and the entire Ludington State Park.

My grandpa, Bud Reed, would have turned 93 today. Earlier today we dedicated a sculpture in his honor in the new Veteran's Mall in Stearns Beach in downtown Ludington. I felt my grandpa's presence on the Lake Michigan shoreline as I was making this image. I love this photograph and believe it is one of the best I have ever captured.