Summer

Neighbors on the Buttersville Peninsula have left a pleasing arrangement of beach chairs in front of their home. The soft blues of the evening sky and Lake Michigan complements the chairs. I am getting that tropical feeling that makes me want to relax in one of the chairs with a Shock Top beer. Instead I savor the view while making the picture. F22.0 at 2.5, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 14 mm

What a way to start my day. It is 5:58 a.m. as I am eased awake by the soft glow of the moon as it sets over Lake Michigan at Buttersville Park between Ludington and Pentwater. This is one of those gentle "wine shots" that are great to savor with a cup of coffee while the tripod holds my camera. F16 at 2 seconds, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 23mm

Less than five minutes after photographing the moon setting in the western sky, I turn my attention to the eastern sky to watch the sunrise paint the clouds with light and color over the carferries SS Badger, at left, and SS Spartan. I am blessed to live within 500 yards of where my tripod is standing. Life is good on the Buttersville peninsula with Lake Michigan to the west and Ludington harbor to the east. F16 at 1/5, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 21mm

I am eye to eye with a rare Karner Blue butterfly. The imperiled butterfly lives for only about two weeks and is about the size of a quarter. The U.S. Forest Service Baldwin office has allowed me to assist seasonal biological technician Justin Bragg as a Karner Blue counting volunteer today. F10.0 at 1/200, ISO 800, 105 mm macro lens at 105 mm

Today my dad and I were invited by Dr. Heather Keough of the Federal Forest Service to help count the Karner Blue Butterflies that live in the Manistee National Forest. The Karner Blue Butterflies are an endangered species. Dr. Keough and her team are trying to re-grow the Michigan savannah so that the rare creatures can reproduce naturally. F9.0 at 1/80, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

A young buck stands at attention above the railroad tracks near the Manistee Industrial Park. When I first spotted him and his brother, they were standing right on the train tracks. Lucky for me, they moved onto the flower-covered ridge and I was able to use the tall grasses as my foreground element. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 400, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

Tonight, I took Julia with me to one of my dad's and my photo workshops at Big Sable Point Lighthouse and told her if she was well behaved during the seminar then I would take her to the top afterwards. Julia made sand angels while my dad and I talked to the workshop attendees. Julia loved her first view from the top of "Poppy's Lighthouse!" F16.0 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

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As my wife Debbie and I are on our way to our anniversary dinner at the Glenwood Restaurant in Onekema we make a stop at one of our favorite northern Michigan shops, MacBeth & Co. A sign on a portion of their building, which formerly housed the Onekema Square Deal Feed Store, catches my eye. The sign, like the building, feels old. F5.6 at 1/60, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 175 mm

An estuary near my Ludington home teams with new life every spring. Today I am attracted at first by the bright yellow buttercup flowers. But then I see the real prize: Buckeye butterflies that are being attracted to the nectar of the flowers. All I have to do is stay still and wait for the butterflies to come to the flowers in front of me. F5 at 1/500, ISO 100, 300mm lens at 300mm

This morning I took two students for a private workshop shooting adventure to Ludington State Park. We headed to the boardwalk on the eastern edge of Beechwood campground to photograph the mid-morning light. One of the students found this water lily and we spent several minutes photographing the scene together. F13.0 at 1/8, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm

I have always loved this stretch of the driveway into Todd and Brad’s family cabin on the Pere Marquette River. The scenic, tree-covered, curved road is fun to hike on. Tonight, it looked especially charming.

Our photography workshop students are getting a lesson this evening in getting close to your subject. My wide-angle lens is close enough to this wave and reflection to be getting wet on some of my shots. This wave is close, not too big and not too small

My aunt, Toni Greene, and her husband Tom, own a home a few blocks to the west of Chuck Wagon Pizza that is near the Lake Michigan shoreline. Tonight, I went to the beach near their home and photographed the warm setting sun while I got my feet wet in the big lake.