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Monarch Mondays

One day, while living on Hamlin Lake, I was looking for fall color pictures when I spotted this young boy on a neighboring dock. I could see the finished picture in my mind, and everything seemed to balance. I liked the setting and composition, but it was the boy who made the picture come together.

Pine needles, a birch log and a maple leaf came to rest together on the forest floor. It was the first day of November and colorful leaves were scattered everywhere along the Lost Lake Trail. I spent much of the afternoon looking down. But of all the thousands of colorful leaves I saw that afternoon, this one stood out.

I am running out of daylight when my 365 Picture of the Day appears right before me at the intersection of Iris Road and South Lakeshore Drive south of Ludington. To my eyes, this gated view looks heavenly. F22.0 at 25.0, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

I am always moved when I see attractive classic church steeples. I find it especially moving today seeing the First Congregational Church in Frankfort flanked by maple trees in peak color.

I was excited to discover the colorful rocks on the bottom of Lake Superior at Twelve Mile Beach would reflect on the underside of the surface of the water. Once I made this discovery using my underwater camera housing, I quickly tried to build a composition in my mind that would be powerful and unique. After having the vision, it was just a matter of changing my location and waiting for a big enough wave. D7000, F8 at 1/1000, ISO 800, 10-17mm lens at 11mm

One of Michigan's most impressive old barns stands out at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. People by the thousands view this barn on busy summer days. Today however, in the wake of the biggest snowfall of the winter, I am one of only a handful of passersby privileged to see it at its winter best.

Make the Journey

Monton Farm

Exploring the interdunal ponds at the Ludington State Park is always a fun adventure. The evening light tonight helped put life back into this scene of a dead tree.

The wake being made by a male mallard ripples the glassy surface of a pond turned golden by the setting sun. The tranquil scene reminded me of the wonderful Hamlin Lake outings I enjoyed with my parents and my brother Budde while growing up.

The 365 Project is still forcing me to explore new roads and areas of my "backyard" that I have never seen. Today I took a closer look at the old elevator at the train yard in Ludington. I was greeted with magic light and a beautiful reflection. F6.3 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 20 mm

I was having a rough day missing my brother who was deployed in the Army. As I was driving around looking for photographs, I found this awesome chicken coop alongside the road. It brightened my day and made me smile. As soon as I got back in my truck, my brother called me from overseas. It was fantastic.

Distortion is not a bad thing in photography; you just need to be aware it is happening and compose strong images working with the distortion. My underwater camera housing is set up to use my old Nikon D7000 camera body along with a fisheye 10-17mm lens. I made this image at 11mm knowing it would be greatly distorted, but I really liked the end result.

A fresh snowfall makes the historic Glen Haven Canning Co. building stand out even more than it already does along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Sleeping Bear Dunes.

October Clouds

Music To My Eyes

Hunters Point Park in Copper Harbor

The rich crimson color of these maple leaves stood out in the forest like colorful jewels when I discovered them from afar on the Piney Ridge Trail on a mid-October morning. As the leaves drew me closer, I was also drawn to the beautiful patterns the red leaves and dark branches made against the backdrop of green leaves not yet turned color.

The light has been great since before sunrise today and I have made several good images already. Now at 4:00 P.M. I see the most unique view I have discovered today. Never pass up a good cloud; this one looks delicately different. F5.6 at 1/200, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm