Potpourri

How could anyone with a camera resist the color and activity in front of this gift shop in Sutton's Bay, Michigan? I couldn't! Just fun to stand and look!

Frost Moon

I thought I read somewhere that the full moon in November is called the Frost Moon. I certainly understand that after shooting this one on a clear, cold, 40-degree night!

Ferns

These ferns are a sea of green on the forest floor by mid-spring, but when done in black and white the texture and detail of each fine leaf really jumps out.

Old and New

An old Church clock tower is reflected in a modern glass and steel high-rise in beautiful downtown Toronto, Canada. Scanned from my original Kodachrome slide from 1984.

Rico

This is the the newest addition to our family, Rico. I caught up with him (not easy to do) on a sunny stair step in the foyer. I love the light on his fur, making him look almost angelic, which couldn't be farther from the real Rico!

Snowy Sentinel

This is one of my favorite images of all time. The light and shadow formed by four simple elements is so clean. This was taken just outside of Traverse City one late February day a few years back. It was very cold and crisp, and I remember being almost blind for moments at a time with the bright sun on that flawless blanket of snow that covered this huge field.

Turning

Autumn is my favorite season, and so I've probably got more than enough shots of the changing foliage. Still, I wanted to post this one. Even without anything special about the setting, I really liked the transition in the leaves, from summer green to early yellow and finally the red painted on the tips of the branches.

Sunflowers Forever

I wanted to spend a lot more time shooting in this huge field of sunflowers, but their were bees everywhere. Go figure!!

Makin' Waves

This shot was taken on an extraordinarily calm December day on Lake Michigan. It was early in the day and very cold. In fact, I remember some thin ice starting to form in a couple of spots very near this Gull. The splashing of his "bath", caused these beautiful concentric rings in the glassy water that spread out for probably a hundred yards...not all visible in this shot that has been scanned and cropped from my original Kodachrome slide.

Melting Away

Occasionally I will divert my attention to the abstract. It's not for everyone, but I like to look for interesting patterns and shapes in common items. This was a view I had of a roof section at a home we owned back in Michigan. Sometime during a winter thaw, the sun threw an angle on the roof and melted away what it could, and left this pattern of snow.

Ludington Light

The Ludington light stands sentry as a weather front rolls in off of lake Michigan. I took this shot from the deck of the S.S. Badger as we departed for Manitowoc, Wisconsin and yes, it was a rough crossing!

Driftwood

Cedar groves often hug the shorelines, and even overhang the shallows of many northern Michigan lakes. And when they fall, their bleached bones can make some interesting artforms.

Inside Out

This is a very different perspective which, unless it is explained, very few people can correctly identify. Stained glass? A painted mural? A mosaic? Nope. This is the inside of a hot air balloon as it's being inflated. I crawled in next to the burners to take the shot. It was a bit warm, but the colors with the daylight outside were irresistible!

Key West Chapel

This very old Episcopal Church in Key West became our Christmas Card a few years ago. The stark white architecture really stood out in contrast to that typical Florida sky.

Harvest Wagon

This colorful roadside display was such a nice autumn sight, that I had to turn the car around and go back to shoot it. Unfortunately, I didn't have a clear shot at including the old farmhouse behind it. It would have been neat to get it in the frame.

High Flyin'

Daughter Amy at the 2007 National Cherry Festival. Just ahead of me on the swing ride, and the smile tells the story!

Northern Light

Not just a very colorful sunset, but a nice silhouette that I couldn't resist.

Two by Two

The symmetry that can be found in nature can be amazing. You can find it in seashells, spider webs and even in simpler things like this tomato plant.

Shades of Gray

This shot I took in Alberta, Canada was like a postcard in color. I thought I'd try it in black and white, and try to emulate my photographer hero, Ansel Adams. Of course, he would have found more tonality in his range of black to white, but this was a fun experiment.

Forgotten

I love to tour old graveyards; lots of history and some surprising and sad stories. These very old wooden markers were too weathered to read any names, although they were at least 1870's vintage. It leaves me to wonder what happened to those who attended the burials of these people, and any ancestors they may have had? In any case, it's a beautiful resting spot.

Carnival Perspective

Before the crowds arrive, there are a lot of interesting abstracts to be found around the summer carnival. Outrageous color, shapes and forms.

Better Than Average

Sunsets are one of everyone's favorite subjects. But we can also get a little bored when looking at so many of them, so I try to be frugal! This one I saw at Michigan's Burt Lake and found it to be uniquely beautiful with it's variation in cloud-types leading up to a gorgeous deep blue sky overhead.

Puppy Love

This is our adopted mutt Jenna. Such a sweet dog. We've probably only got about 2000 shots of her, but I love this one because of the late afternoon sun on her fur and the expressive eyes.

No Sunblock Required

In a very thick fog, the swim area at this beach appears to be infinite in size as the ropes and buoys disappear into the distance. I liked how they float in space on a this perfect mirror, with no differential between water and sky.

Sailing Away

This impressive double-masted schooner plies the waters of Grand Traverse Bay every summer. With the color of the water on this day, you could almost be watching it sail past the entrance to Hopetown Harbor, Bahamas.

Shady Sentry

This giant old Maple has probably seen 150 northern Michigan winters. It sits in the side yard of an old farmhouse. I like to think that maybe it was planted the same year that house was built. How many buckets of sap? A tire swing back in the '30's? A broken arm for a little climber in the 19th century? A shady rest for a farmer as it grew right on the edge of his field through 100 or so plantings and harvests.

Blue Moon

A rather unconventional shot of the moon. I got a bit tired of shooting it in a black sky. This one from just after sunrise, catches it fading into blue.

Annuals

I like to shoot wildflowers, but I usually avoid the garden variety, even with their color and beauty. It seems like cheating somehow when they can be so easily captured. Sort of like taking pictures of zoo animals! So this is an exception. It was a combination of several varieties that were in a pot that my daughter gave to her mother for Mother's Day. The colors combined here are what possessed me to get the camera out.

Bob Captured

This is a portrait of my parent's cat "Bob". As you may have guessed from his name and his appearance, Bob is part Bobcat and part domestic feline of some sort. He doesn't like to have his picture taken, and in this case, the look he gave me was unquestionably from the wild side!

Heron Flight

This large Heron took flight and passed right in front of me as I stood in my parent's backyard in Florida. I like the symmetry of his wings. Florida is always a great location to shoot exotic flora and fauna, and yet ironically, I have another image very similar to this of the same species, taken in my backyard in Chicago, in the very same month. I would say that might define a successful species!

In Hiding

This little frog probably thought he'd found the perfect hiding space. Well, almost perfect. Comfortable for sure!

Abandoned

I always wonder about the stories behind the old abandoned properties I see dotting the landscape in northern Michigan. What happened to the original owners, and why doesn't anyone have a need for them now? This one especially, because it is not an old farmstead, which is the most commonly neglected. This is a large house, maybe an inn, by virtue of it's long stately, pillared porch. Probably built around 1900 if you gage it by the huge Douglas Fir, which was obviously planted purposely in the front yard, probably when it was only 4 or 5 feet tall!

Sun-Quenched

Infinite points of setting sunlight sparkle off this miles-long reflection on Burt Lake in northern Michigan. I decided to shoot below the sun itself, so that the water was exposed correctly and not obliterated by a blinding sun.

Sweet Water

With the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan in the background, the pink and lavender of these wild sweet peas really jumps out along the shore. I'm still not sure I like the windsurfer in the background, but he (or she) is sufficiently blurred so to add just a little human element, which is not inappropriate when you consider how much these pristine waters mean to the residents and visitors of this beautiful inland sea.

Summer Sky

No, this was not taken from an airplane window. This amazing cloud formation was just west of my home outside Chicago on a warm August evening. Even more amazing, was that I don't recall getting even a sprinkle of rain out of them.
With a long lens and selective cropping, I just made it appear that I was flying through them.

The Shack

I'm always searching for subjects to capture in black and white. This old tool shed in Michigan's Leelanau peninsula looked like a good candidate. There wasn't a lot of color anyway, just the old gray shed in a sea of green. Now with just a little computer work to add a bit of infrared effect, I think it shows a nice mood in the range of grays.

At the time I found the scene, I had just finished reading a book called "The Shack" (highly recommended), and I think that's why it drew me in.

Catnap

"Skittles" is one of three pets currently sharing our home. She is the senior member, at 17 years! I hate to even calculate the "cat" years! These days she eats and sleeps (and that other thing) and that's just about it. But at her age, we don't expect anything more. She's been a fine companion and we're lucky to still have her with us.

I watch her walk through the house and I always kid the family that if she steps into a beam of sunlight, down she goes. It's that quick! In this particular shot, I was able to catch her after the sun moved a bit, and created these nice horizontal shadows through the louvered blinds. I think there's a nice contrast between the hard shadows and Skittles soft fur and a warm carpet.