You can barely make it out, but there are still icicles hanging from the platform on the right side of the tower. Taking pictures on the lakeshore in winter is fun. Not only do you get to freeze your rear off, but no one else is nutty enough to be out there to ruin your shot!

The second image is from 2011. Yeah, I am not the most diligent about processing and posting images in a timely manner! This one is from Charlevoix, Michigan:

I actually tried several compositions, here. One showed the sun shining through the top of the towere, and another showed the sun shing through the support struts under the tower. This image, with the sun just peeking around the edge of the tower just looked better, so here it is. The couple in silhouette at the end of the pier adds an extra touch of romance.

Our third entry is the crisp Point Lighthouse on lake Superior:

This lighthouse is accessible by car by following dirt roads for several miles. It is slow and rough on the average vehicle, and took about an hour each way. Needless to say, after sunset, it gets pretty dark in that part of Michigan! This image was taken this past July, as I'm not always slow in getting images processed. Just sayin'.

Last on our list is the Au Sable Point Lighthouse, also on Lake Superior. This image was also taken this past July:

Au Sable Point Lighthouse is included in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. The National Park Service has been restoring the lighthouse and surrounding buildings, and now offers tours on a seasonal basis. It's a half-hour hike to the lighthouse, on a trail that follows the Lake Superior shore. be sure to take a flashlight, and don't let the bunnies scare you when they suddenly scamble across the trail ahead of you!

So, there you go. Four lighthouses and four sunsets. As always, these images and more can be ordered as prints from the main website!

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

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".

The "new" images were actually taken a few years ago. They were taken on a mild October afternoon. Enjoy!

Despite my disappointment, I stuck around, anyway, and figured I'd just try out different compositions that I could use some day in the future when the conditions might be a little more favorable. When I loaded the images into Lightroom and started reviewing them, I thought they might stand out better as black and white images, so I ran them through Nik Silver Effex to see what I could get. Here are two of the better images that I captured that night:

The second image was taken from the beach, and shows just how rough Lake Michigan can get at times:

When creating images like this, I like to get lots of shots, trying to time them for the most dramtic splashes, or the most interesting wave patterns. It's a little bit of an art, and a lot of luck, patience, and persistence. Waves just have this indelible habit of being unpredicatble, so taking lots of images allows me to choose one or two that have a bit more "umph".

The second image gives you a detail shot:

Marquette is in Michigan's Upper Penninsula. The lighthouse overlooks Lake Superior, and the light is still operational.

Even though I live in the center of Michigan, on windy days I sometimes take my gear to my day job and then head out to Lake Michigan after work to capture images of the waves hitting the lighthouse piers. It makes for a long day, but sometimes the results can be very rewarding! Here's one such image that was taken in the spring about a year ago:

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I would normally use a telephoto lens to get closeups of the waves hitting the end of the pier, but for this image, I used a wide angle to try to give the viewer a better sense just how choppy Lake Michigan can get when the winds are strong.

Not seen in this image is the nut job who had his surf board out in the water not far from the end of the pier. He never did get on it, which probably is a good thing. Eventually, he cam ashore, so I was able to get a clean shot without his head poking out between waves.

The next image was taken this past February in Michigan City, Indiana. The Michigan City East Pier Lighthouse is the subject. It's one I've only visited twice, but will keep going back.

The last image was taken just a few weeks ago, in Ludington, Michigan. The Ludington North Pierhead Light was the subject this time. I was able to get nice sunset shots, but still have to fully process those. This image was taken after sundown, when the colors really lit up. Here's the result:

That's it for this post. I'll try to get more images uploaded next week.