Winter

“Ice Break” and “Big Toot and Friends”

What a difference a day or so makes in Michigan! Before the infamous Bomb Cyclone winter storm hit Michigan in February 2019, I was drawn to the Ludington waterfront on a sunny morning to photograph three tugboats moored along the shore. I was happy with my shot. When the storm crossed over Lake Michigan from Wisconsin several days later, Ludington harbor looked more like Siberia. I knew right where to head to make a another good, but extremely different photograph.

I never tire of photographing the Ludington lighthouse, especially when it looks as magical as on this frigid January morning. I have gotten in place before sunrise, anticipating sun and steam as soon as the sun can hit the lighthouse and Lake Michigan waters around it.

Kitch-Iti-Kipi

Ludington New Years Eve Ball Drop

This 365 project presents many challenges. Among them is being limited to selecting just one image per day. I photographed this same snow-laden dock along the Pere Marquette River a couple days ago but opted for a different image as my final selection for that day. I am so pleased it looks just as intriguing to me this morning. F22.0 at 0.6, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Frost backlit by the rising sun highlights the shapes and shadowy forms of milkweed pods. I know the extreme range of tonal values will enable me to expose for the highlights and render the shadows darker and more dramatic than my eye is seeing.

Ludington New Years Eve Ball Drop

Traveling byways instead of freeways and highways is slower but gives me more new places to discover and more time to appreciate the views. After years of traveling byways throughout Michigan, I was stunned on January 31, 2017, during a meandering back roads drive through Oceana County to discover a barn I had never seen before. My view through snowflakes of this distinctive old barn made it seem to me like I could have been looking at an Andrew Wyeth painting. I had been an Andrew Wyeth fan for years; I think he could not have resisted painting this barn on this winter’s day if he had been there instead of me. The falling snow and blanket of snow on the barn roof and ground added to and emphasized the limited color palette of the scene. I loved the muted color of the grasses sticking out of the snow. I had only to find the best position from which to fit the layers of the scene perfectly together and “paint” the arrangement with light on the sensor of my Nikon D800 digital camera.

What a difference a day or so makes in Michigan! Before the infamous Bomb Cyclone winter storm hit Michigan in February 2019, I was drawn to the Ludington waterfront on a sunny morning to photograph three tugboats moored along the shore. I was happy with my shot. When the storm crossed over Lake Michigan from Wisconsin several days later, Ludington harbor looked more like Siberia. I knew right where to head to make a another good, but extremely different photograph.

Laughing Whitefish Falls

The kids and I were driving back from Hart via Little Sable Point Lighthouse. I left them warm in the van, while I ventured out to capture one of my first ever shots of this lighthouse.

Rim lighting is always dramatic, especially on frosty mornings in Michigan. With my large telephoto lens, the busy background goes out of focus very quickly making the grasses stand out even more.

When I finished photographing some pine trees covered in snow near Bear Lake, Michigan, I turned around slowly in waist deep snow to walk back to my truck. As I turned, I was pleasantly surprised with this scene. The pine tree shot was cool, but this scene was world class. I love these kinds of photographic surprises!

If you like to photograph ice, and also lighthouses, drive a few miles north of Frankfort, Michigan to Point Betsie Light Station in January or February. The combination of various ice sculptures, sand, wind, and clouds made this cold January morning a fantastic time to be shooting the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Upper Tahquamenon Falls

Tuesdays With Todd and Brad Reed

Manistee Lighthouse

"Get it while it's hot" applies in reverse to icicles. The snow and ice decorating the exterior of Scotty's Restaurant keeps drawing me back. Today it looks so chillingly beautiful it demands to be my picture of the day. Could there be better days to make this photograph? Possibly, but I know the January thaw is on its way. F11.0 at 1/30, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 120 mm

Upon discovering that, even in snowshoes, I was unable to walk over the five-foot snow drifts on the utility road to Big Sable Point Lighthouse, I had to figure out another way to get to the lighthouse. After using some good risk assessment, I decided my best course of action was to walk on the ice a few hundred yards off shore. After almost a mile and a half of treacherous walking and crawling, I made it to the lighthouse. Exhausted and hot, I made this image in seven degree weather, made chillier by 20 mile-per-hour winds. It was so worth the journey. D7000, F22 at 1/60, ISO 100, 10-20mm lens at 10mm