ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED HERE ARE
LOWER RESOLUTION IMAGES FOR WEB DISPLAY.
Many of my images begin with my outdoor excursions during non-ideal lighting conditions, when there are no interesting clouds, and I try to find foreground elements which could be combined with a great sky later. I prioritize the sky in my landscape photography – it must be interesting. For me a great sky always involves clouds – sunrises with clouds, sunsets with clouds, dark stormy clouds, interesting cloud patterns, etc. When I find good foreground elements, I use my imagination to envision how they could combine with such a sky and great light. I note their locations and especially if they can be combined with a great sunrise or sunset. When I find a good spot, I often use a compass to help with the direction of the sunrise and sunset. I end up with a variety of morning spots and evening spots, which are mostly seasonal because the position of the sunrise and sunset change so much with the seasons here in northern Michigan. Those spots also change often because foreground elements constantly change, especially as lake water levels fluctuate, storms reshape shorelines and forests, and seasonal colors peak. Some shoreline areas I find can have good foreground elements that can be combined with interesting cloud formations in almost any direction, but the viability of those areas is highly dependent on the water level of Lake Huron.
I use weather reports to help increase my chances of being able to use a good sky but living on a narrow peninsula gives me the opportunity to walk a short distance to confirm a great sky via direct observation. I have learned that I must judge the potential for a great sunrise about 30 minutes before the actual sunrise, so I have time to get to the right location. The best light of the sunrise often happens about 5-10 minutes before the sun hits the horizon. And this light is created by the sun’s rays angling through the earth’s atmosphere near the surface, where the blues and violets of natural light are scattered away, and reds, pinks and oranges are left to dominate. When that light hits the underside of clouds the sky can be ablaze! The same thing can happen about 5-10 minutes after sunset, when all goes well.
When sky, lighting, and compositional elements have good potential for combining well I especially like to find and frame a scene that invites the viewer to imagine traveling through it, especially with a scene that has multiple options or paths, offering the freedom of many choices.
Freedom is an innate part of our psyche because it has been necessary for our survival in our past – the freedom to interact with our environment to secure our water, food, and shelter. Birds represent freedom in many ways, but landscape photography can do so as well.
Blazing Pre-sunrise Rainbow (click for larger image)
Rainbow Sunset (a natural phenomenon) (click for larger image)
Inflection Moment (click for larger image)
Fire Beach (click for larger image)
Path to Peace (click for larger image)
October Alvar Sunset Rainbow (click for larger image)
Beavertail Sunrise Reflection Pool (click for larger image)
Striations (click for larger image)
Natural Bacteria Iridescence Sunrise (click for larger image)
North Huron Island Rainbow (click for larger image)
Wind Shear Sunrise (click for larger image)
Rocky Cove Sunrise (click for larger image)
Resisting Winter (click for larger image)
Painter’s Palette Ceiling (click for larger image)
Alvar Beach Fire Sunset (click for larger image)
Ominous Alvar Cumulonimbus (click for larger image)
Fire Beach Sunrise 2 (click for larger image)
Flow Growth (click for larger image)
Agate Wall Evening Shower (click for larger image)
Dazzle Creek (click for larger image)
Nebular Ice (view up a frozen waterfall) (click for larger image)
The Basin (click for larger image)
Horseshoe Pond (click for larger image)
Framing Michigan Fall (click for larger image)
Mirror Beach (a natural phenomenon) (click for larger image)
Fire Beach Sunrise 4 (click for larger image)
Yellow Rocks Rainbow (click for larger image)
Collide (click for larger image)
Fall Evening Swamp Reflection (click for larger image)
Cyan Passage (click for larger image)
Alvar October Sunset (click for larger image)
Red Jack Lookout (click for larger image)
Illuminated Sleet Storm (click for larger image)
Hourglass Cave (click for larger image)
Surge (click for larger image)
Fire Beach Sunrise 3 (click for larger image)
Miner’s Cave Passage (click for larger image)
Underwater Bear Attack (click for larger image)
Alvar Sunrise (click for larger image)
Cloud Top Wind Shear (click for larger image)
Creek of Doom (click for larger image)
Murder at Alvar Beach (click for larger image)
Ice Embers (click for larger image)
Pickford Hay Field (click for larger image)
Split Rock Sunset (click for larger image)
Cumulus Fall (click for larger image)
Sunset Splash (click for larger image)
Laser Shot (click for larger image)
Alvar Doom (click for larger image)
Fall Snow Reflection (click for larger image)
Dynamic Coast – northern Lake Huron (click for larger image)
Blood Cove (click for larger image)
Beavertail Bay Before the Storm (click for larger image)
The Aftercrash (click for larger image)
Tamarack Creek First Snow (click for larger image)
Turbulence (click for larger image)
Ember Field (click for larger image)
Pictured Rocks Wall Falls (click for larger image)
Fall Shorebird Reservoir (Lesser Yellowlegs bottom left) (click for larger image)
Prentis Creek First Snow (click for larger image)
Lake Superior Fall Shoreline (click for larger image)
Peninsula Sunrise (click for larger image)
Loon Passage (click for larger image)
Whitewater Rush (click for larger image)
Lake Huron Morning Blend (click for larger image)
Fall Cedar Trunks (click for larger image)
Lake Superior Fall Shoreline Puddles (click for larger image)
Huron Sun Halo (click for larger image)
Lake Huron Shoreline First Snow (click for larger image)
Split Rock (click for larger image)
Rust Rock Cove (click for larger image)
Wet Wall (click for larger image)
Mud Lake in Fall (click for larger image)
Snow Plastered
Ice Pillars Archway (click for larger image)
Northern Lake Huron Peninsula Tip in Winter
Frozen Falls (click for larger image)
Ice Curtains (click for larger image)
Icicle Dips – Lake Huron Shoreline
Wetmore Pond in Fall
Canyon Falls
Presque Isle River in Fall (click for large image)
Pictured Rocks Wave Circle (click for larger image)
Copper-stained Cave (click for larger image)
Snow Fall Color Reflection
Lake Huron Winter Wind
Lily Pad Pond Snow Reflection
Evergreen Pond First Snow (click for larger image)
Miner’s Playground
Porcupine Mountains Carp River (click for larger image)
Fall Beaver Pond at Dusk
Storm Sunset
Scotty’s Creek First Snow
Storm Clouds Over Smartweed
First Day of Spring in Michigan’s U.P.
Organic Farm
Cattle Drive
Boom