Summer

The Wright Family at Thundering Aspens Hunt Club in Mesick have outdone themselves again. Today they let us be some of the first hunters to try their new hunting clays course. Of course, my Uncle Budde beat all of us with his trusted double barrel 20-gauge Winchester shotgun, but we all had fun. Along the way, I spotted this heart-shaped rock and had to stop and make an iPhone image of it.

I love watching thunderstorms sweep toward my home from across Lake Michigan. I have seen a lot bigger storms and bigger lightning bolts, but I still find the bolts of this storm exciting and alluring. Why is it that so many of us are drawn to storms? F5.6 at 30.0, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

I was in my van when I saw what I thought was a bee, flying around against the window. I grabbed my camera and put my macro lens on. I then waited until it flew onto a part of the window that would show off its beauty best, without showing what was outside. I learned later that it was a hover fly not a bee..

Daisies are one flower that always seems to make everyone smile. My aunt, Sheryl Reed, has several beautiful gardens at her home, but this daisy garden is by far my favorite. F7.1 at 1/320, ISO 400, 10-17mm lens at 10mm

Tonight was our last 20/20 Vision Workshop of the summer. The light was not very good so we all had to look harder and deeper for our photographs. The waves in the channel were a little bigger than usual and were making some interesting pattern images along the shore. F4.0 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

Just recently I was loaned a 10-17millimeter fisheye lens and I am loving it. Of course the lens distorts the natural world, but we teach our workshop students that distortion is not always a bad thing. In fact, done well, it can really make a scene go from good to great. F3.8 at 1/320, ISO 400, 10-17mm lens at 11.5mm

I live for days like this when Lake Michigan displays its awesome power and beauty. The feeling of 40-knot wind gusts in my face, sound of waves rushing and sight of water flying over the Ludington lighthouse overwhelm my senses. Before making this shot, I warned several swimmers about a recent drowning in the same location.

After getting the kids ready for the first day of school tomorrow, darkness fell quickly. I was not sure what to make for my photo today. I was running out of ideas when Kasey jokingly brought out a mermaid that grew in water. It was larger than my hand but very odd in texture. I made several different images at various shutter speeds while moving the mermaid. I was happy with the way this shot turned out.

One of my fellow CrossFit friends, Patrick Mousel, was out for a sunset run along the Lake Michigan shoreline at the Ludington State Park tonight. As he quickly approached, I got into position and made this "Pure Ludington" image. F22 at 0.4, ISO 100, 10-17mm lens at 10mm

I grabbed a single sunflower that had been sitting in a mason jar on my kitchen table and took it outside on my deck so I could make this image. I knew I needed a clean, simple background for the image I had built in my head while eating dinner with Julia and Ethan. The photo turned out better than I had imagined. The details in the clouds disappeared nicely when I exposed for the flower.

Magic light graced my wife Debbie's birthday party at our family cabin along the Pere Marquette River. My brother Budde and I planted these red pine trees 10 years ago. Now they have become a beautiful presence on our land. Tonight they complement the sky. F4.5 at 1/400, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

Storm clouds can be mesmerizing as they rapidly fly across the sky. These particular clouds seemed to have a wave motion to them. I waited for them to position themselves above the trees in the way that I was envisioning.

I never tire of the adrenaline rush I get when I see a great sunset forming, especially when I am not in position to shoot it yet. When I first realized that I needed to get to the shoreline of Lake Michigan tonight to shoot the sunset, I was standing on the tarmac at the Mason County Airport. I knew I only had about 15 minutes to get into position. I rushed off to the second curve at Ludington State Park and this was my reward. F13 at 1/15, ISO 100, 10-17mm lens at 16mm

Our 365 Project would not be possible if it were not for our general manager at the gallery, Sarah Genson. Today she came to visit us at our family cabin on the Pere Marquette River. If you look closely you can see her yellow sweater against the red siding. F11.0 at 1/60, ISO 100, 14 mm lens at 14 mm

People willing to walk a mile for a sunset get the best front row seats possible for watching another Lake Michigan light show. With every sunset episode being different, many of us never tire of heading to the Lake Michigan waterfront to watch the sun dip into the lake or the clouds. F4 at 1/320, ISO 400, 500mm lens at 500mm

When my Grandma Reed died last year, each family got to pick out one of her large Santa dolls. I leave this Santa out all year for us to enjoy and to remember all the wonderful Christmas gatherings at my Grandpa and Grandma Reed’s house. I used my macro lens and made this close-up image tonight.

I was drawn to the design of my butter dish from the second I saw it in the store. Tonight, I focused on showing it off in a unique shot.

Another shelf cloud was quickly heading to shore this morning as I was heading to work. I drove to Stearns Beach and ran down to the water’s edge to make this image before the storm came on shore.

After eating a wonderful dinner at my dad and Debbie’s condo that Debbie had made for us, I walked across the street with my camera gear to try and find a photograph. I was planning on photographing some of the boats in the marina or the Badger, but when I got to the end of the dock and looked down at the water, I knew I had found my image of the day.

The Badger steams through stormy waves toward the Ludington pierheads. Watching the sturdy ship and its crew battle the elements makes for exciting live drama. I imagine many of the carferry passengers are not enjoying the ride as much as I am enjoying watching. F4.0 at 1/1250, ISO 800, 500 mm lens at 500 mm