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Crisp Point Light

Little Sable Lighthouse

On Guard to guide mariners safely past a treacherous point that juts into Lake Michigan, Big Point Sable Lighthouse has stood the test of time since 1867. The Coast Guard stopped operating the lighthouse in the 1970s. Vandals nearly destroyed the vacant dwelling before volunteers teamed up to begin restoring the tower and keepers' quarters to their original grandeur. Today, Big Sable Light stands as testimony. People with a dream, goal, and willingness to give of their time, talents, and money can accomplish great deeds. Abraham Lincoln, who approved the light's construction, would applaud this achievement.

Big Waves on Lake Superior Cropped Vertical

Badger Going Out in Storm

Strawberry Moon

Big Sable Hot Spot

My dad taught me as a young boy that if you see an excellent sunrise to the east in Michigan to make sure to turn around and look at the sky in the west. I was blessed with a great teacher! The Ludington North Breakwater Light was glowing this morning with a pink and blue backdrop.

The Ludington lighthouse draws my eye whenever I am near it. So many times, it offers a spectacular picture but, too often, not quite splendid enough to trip the shutter. One foggy summer morning there was no doubt I should shoot.

Sunset at Grand Haven Lighthouse

365 Week 15

Tall Ship and Ludington Light Vertical

Big Sable Point Lighthouse has a lot of history. As for our family, both my brother Budde and son Tad got engaged at the top of the 1865 structure. On this April day, I made this image then spotted a couple at the water's edge obviously getting engaged. I recorded their historic moment with my camera from a distance and later gave them a photograph.

The Ludington North Breakwater was underwater for a short time on April 13, 2018, at the height of one of the largest meteotsunamis ever observed on Lake Michigan in the Ludington area. I photographed the flooded pier (image top left) from the Ludington beach at Stearns Park moments after a fast-moving hail and rain storm swept ashore. Only nine minutes later, I captured the much lower than normal water level (image bottom left) as the flood waters washed back into Lake Michigan. Notice the shallowness of the water and the amount of boulders visible along the edge of the pier. According to NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), two separate meteotsunamis occurred within a short time. GLERL said the meteotsunamis were caused by “short, extreme bursts of wind and pressure.” The Weather Channel reported that thunderstorms trigger most meteotsunamis. Small meteotsunamis are not unusual but destructive ones like this one tend to happen only once every 10 years on average, according to Eric Anderson of the research laboratory

A Great Night At Big Sable

I never tire of watching the carferry Badger sail into Ludington harbor. Of the thousands of times I have seen this grand ship steam into port, this October evening was one of the most spectacular. My wife and I were enjoying dinner at a relative's Crosswinds Estates home, near the harbor mouth, when the Badger and sunset-lit storm clouds approached Ludington simultaneously. Fortunately, I excused myself from the dinner table long enough to shoot as the ship entered the harbor.

Don't be afraid to rotate your camera to the vertical position. We often find many new workshop students are hesitant to see the world around them vertically. Practice making photographs both horizontally and vertically.

I have not experienced a winter with this much snow and ice since I was a little kid. I am in heaven this evening at the beach in Grand Haven. My dad and I love to photograph Michigan all year long, but we are especially fond of cold winter days when the sun is shining. D7000, F22 at 1/15, ISO 100, 10-20mm lens at