Summer

Having captained Coast Guard boats on Lake Michigan for 30 years, I especially identify with the Mariner's sculpture in Ludington's Waterfront Park. I have the greatest respect for all Great Lakes sailors, including those heading for Wisconsin this evening on the carferry Badger.

Pentwater Lighthouses

Sailboat at Sunset

I am looking from the deck of my Ludington home at one of the most dramatic skies I have ever seen. These rare mammatus clouds are sweeping ashore behind a storm that rushed through earlier. This is an amazing calm after the storm.

Rain Amaze

Custers Last Stand

I love going down to the beach on calm summer mornings in Ludington. As I was getting out of my truck to go for a run, I heard the Badger blow its horn, letting boaters know that it was about to leave the dock. I delayed going for a run and grabbed my camera and tripod instead. I climbed the small dune just west of the playground and waited for the Badger to get between the pier heads to capture this image.

Sail Away

I had been in the indoor swimming pool with my kids all afternoon at my dad and stepmom's new condo and not paying attention to the sky. Our employee, Aubry Healy, texted me a cell phone shot she had made up near Onekama of some pretty awesome clouds. I told the kids it was time to go upstairs and get changed. When we got upstairs and looked out over Lake Michigan, my jaw hit the ground and I went into full "storm chaser" mode. I knew I had missed my chances of getting a good shot in Ludington, but I calculated that if I drove down to Little Sable Point Lighthouse near Silver Lake, I might be able to get the shelf cloud over the lighthouse. After a long 30-minute drive, I was in position waiting for the storm and shelf cloud to arrive. Within 15 more minutes, the rolling clouds were upon me. I was on the bright side of the storm so the lighthouse was lit in magic light. I waited until the cloud was in just the right location in relation to the top of the lighthouse and clicked the shutter. My grin was from ear to ear as my heart was racing with excitement. My dad and I live to chase Lake Michigan storms!

Watching U.S. Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat 47284 performing a search and rescue mission off Ludington takes me back. I was a coxswain (boat captain) of this 47-foot self-righting vessel at Coast Guard Station Manistee for several of my 33 years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. F4.5 at 1/500, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Rolling Over Pentwater

South Bayou Magic

Over time man has designed and built many beautiful things-the Colosseum in Rome, the Statue of Liberty, and the 1965 Ford Mustang just to name a few. They are each a perfect blending of beautiful lines and powerful angles. However, none of them compare to one of God's most beautiful creations of all time, the bald eagle.

Sunsets like this one, painting the beach and cottages along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Epworth Heights, are so exhilarating I feel privileged to be there to witness them.

I enjoy isolating a scene by using a telephoto lens. Often the best color and most intense light can be captured best by zooming in on one small area. Tonight, along the Lake Michigan shoreline, I used a 200mm lens on a cropped sensor camera so I essentially had a 300mm lens.

The sailboat Condor strikes a gorgeous pose even while high and dry on its cradle for the winter. The sleek ...... ........graces the waterfront of Pentwater, one of Lake Michigan's most picturesque harbors.

The light is blazing along the Lake Michigan shoreline tonight. I quickly line up some dune grass and the sun in a way that gives me the feeling that the sun is a big ball rolling down hill. F4.0 at 1/6400, ISO 800, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

Little Point Sable Light has stretched 108-feet skyward since 1874 to stand out by daylight and by night with its powerful beacon. Despite the modern array of electronics on many boats and ships, the lighthouse provides visual verification that a vessel is where electronic position systems indicate location. I have learned to not place all my trust in the electronic marvels.

Luci