Summer

Brad can be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I am not. Parasailing seemed to be just the right combination for a surprise birthday gift to him. To my surprise, I loved it! We had a blast, and definitely want to do it again with the kids!

Seemingly out of nowhere, a storm front shows up on a sunny morning on the Crosswinds beach at Ludington. I love watching with an unobstructed view of the Lake Michigan shoreline as dramatic cloud formations like this one rush toward me. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 80, iPhone camera

The Princess of Ludington is a new ferry that gives people a shoreline cruise out of Ludington. I think this is such a great idea and an awesome thing for Ludington. I waited until the sun showed through one of the windows of the ship to click the shutter. As Sam Abell, from National Geographic would say, see more and shoot less.

At last, Bespop’s grapes have ripened! I have great memories of picking these with him or drinking the homemade grape juice we made from them on a cold winter day.

This is by far the roughest water and biggest waves I have attempted to photograph in using our underwater housing. Using over six hundred feet of strong line, a full body survival suit, and being tied off to one of the picnic tables at the water’s edge on Stearns Beach in Ludington, I ventured out into an angry, but beautiful Lake Michigan. I got pounded and tossed around, but it paid off.

Lake Michigan was full of dramatic light and shadows this afternoon.

The new trout statue in downtown Baldwin is incredibly well done and is a magnificent work of art. As my mom and I were on the way to Legends Ranch to photograph the Veteran’s Hunt, we stopped to make this image of the towering fish. I used my external flash to highlight the details in the sculpture.

Everything appears to be growing bigger, better and well ahead of schedule this year. The dune grass along the Lake Michigan shoreline is in full bloom at least two weeks early and this evening it looks picture perfect to me, along with the clouds that usually don't look this good until October. F4.0 at 1/400, ISO 400, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

I get excited when I see the turning of leaves for the first time each fall, if it is a fall that lasts a few months, and we have time to enjoy it! This tree in our yard is always one of the first to turn each fall.

Today I walked across the street from our new house and explored the land along the Lincoln River. The grass and cattails were several feet above my head and showed no sign of slowing down their growth. It was also a mosquito heaven and I was dinner. The photo made the excursion worth it. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Since I was a young boy, my Papa Bill would convince his musician friends to play live music for us at family gatherings or his famous barn parties. One of the staple musicians has always been Al Villadsen and his concertina. Al played again for us today at Wilson Park on Hamlin Lake as we enjoyed our annual Labor Day Marble family reunion.

It is a blue morning along Lake Michigan and I am a blue person. By that I mean I love the color blue; don't ask me why, but I always have. Some might say I wear blue clothing way too often. They probably don't notice as much my penchant for blue pictures. Now they know. F4.0 at 1/320, ISO 200, 12-24 mm lens at 12 mm

It is difficult shooting the sunset at home, due to our neighbor’s sprinkler irrigation system running north and south in the field to the west. I have had to work hard to compose shots where the sprinkler doesn’t take away from the feel of the image.

About the size and weight of a ping pong ball, a newborn piping plover scurries along the Lake Michigan shoreline on its spindly legs. Naturalists helped the rare bird get its life started by erecting a protective cage over the nest its parents made on a highly trafficked area of West Michigan beach. F4.5 at 1/1250, ISO 800, 500mm lens at 500mm

With or without all the "bling" it is wearing, an adult piping plover is simply a beautiful creature. The bands help researchers keep track of the endangered bird, enabling them to know exactly which bird this is no matter where it travels. This plover and its mate are among less than 60 mating pairs currently identified along the Great Lakes. F4.5 at 1/1250, ISO 800, 500mm lens at 500mm

The Wright Family at Thundering Aspens Hunt Club in Mesick have outdone themselves again. Today they let us be some of the first hunters to try their new hunting clays course. Of course, my Uncle Budde beat all of us with his trusted double barrel 20-gauge Winchester shotgun, but we all had fun. Along the way, I spotted this heart-shaped rock and had to stop and make an iPhone image of it.

I love watching thunderstorms sweep toward my home from across Lake Michigan. I have seen a lot bigger storms and bigger lightning bolts, but I still find the bolts of this storm exciting and alluring. Why is it that so many of us are drawn to storms? F5.6 at 30.0, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

I was in my van when I saw what I thought was a bee, flying around against the window. I grabbed my camera and put my macro lens on. I then waited until it flew onto a part of the window that would show off its beauty best, without showing what was outside. I learned later that it was a hover fly not a bee..

Daisies are one flower that always seems to make everyone smile. My aunt, Sheryl Reed, has several beautiful gardens at her home, but this daisy garden is by far my favorite. F7.1 at 1/320, ISO 400, 10-17mm lens at 10mm

Tonight was our last 20/20 Vision Workshop of the summer. The light was not very good so we all had to look harder and deeper for our photographs. The waves in the channel were a little bigger than usual and were making some interesting pattern images along the shore. F4.0 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm