Pictured Rocks national Lakeshore is a marvelous 40-odd mile stretch of Lake Superior shoreline that includes pristine beaches, sweeping dunes, and towering cliffs of wildly-colored sandstone. Several rock formations have been given colorful and descriptive names, and usually these are best viewed from the water. Pictured Rocks Cruises are offered out of Munising, Michigan, or you can rent kayaks or pontoon boats to view them at your leisure.

I took the official tour this July when the water on Lake Superior was about as calm as it gets, and the skies were pretty clear, with a few clouds here and there. One of the more interesting named formations is Chapel Rock, shown below:

The mot interesting aspect of this formation is the lone tree standing on top. There is very little soil there from which the tree can absorb nutrients! There was a rock bridge that spanned between Chapel Rock and the cliffs on the left. One of the roots creeped acrosss that bridge to connect to the soil on the other side. That bridge collapsed many years ago, yet the root hung on, and that is how the tree gets most of its nutrients. It's a small testament to the tenacity of life!

I've visited Seney National Wildlife Refuge a number of times. It is located in the middle of the eastern half of Michigan's Upper penninsula. There's an auto drive through a portion of the refuge that I almost always take, often in the last couple of hours before sunset. The refuge contains a plethora of manmade pools that are kept at optimal levels for waterfowl. This leaves a number of little "islands" dotted here and there. I love this place around sunset when there is light cloud cover. There are a multitude of opportunities for capturing gorgeous colors and interesting reflections.

I pulled up some of my older images, which were taken on slide film and scanned using a Nikon slide scanner. Here you go!

I've been putting up so many lighthouse images lately, it seemed time for a change. This time, I went way back into the archives to for some landscape shots made on film. I'll be posting more in the next couple of weeks or so. The first image is from Badlands National Park, in South Dakota, which I visited a few years ago. I had been photographing rock formations, and I was about to pack up move on when I looked back and saw this scene , which was just after the sun had set behind the rock formations:

I only took a few shots, and this is my favorite. Fortuitous events such as this help emphasizes the fact that you shouldn't be quick to pack up and leave, for one thing, and you should always check to see what's happening behind you on a regular basis. You never know what you might be missing!

This was shot on Fuji Velvia film, which I really loved (well, still love, but I hardly ever shoot film these days). It was my first trip using a digital SLR, a Nikon D70. I was still getting used to the D70, and wasn't ready to trust it on the more important shots. Ironically, when I got home, I almost totalled my film camera (a Nikon N90S). I had stored it in  day pack in the trunk, but forget to zip up the pack. I pulled the pack out and watched in horror as the camera and lens tumbled out onto the pavement. Amazingly, the ens only received some minor suffing, but the camera body cracked near the hot shoe. Even so, the camera was still operable, but I did end up buying a Nikon F6 later that year as a replacement. In a way, the image represents my film days, which seem to have been "sunsetted".