It has been a good old-fashioned winter in Michigan this year. For those of us who like winter, it’s been great, with snowfall running significantly ahead of our average. The downside is that we have seen relatively little sunshine. And, oh, has it been cold.
Over the weekend, we had a rare few days of clear skies and sunshine. I braved the cold and visited Honey Creek and Lake Michigan to make some photos.
Late afternoon on Honey Creek, the shadows were long and deep. The creek is open in just a few spots as snow blankets the many trees that have fallen across the creek in the last couple of years.
On Sunday, I headed to Lake Michigan before dawn. The thermometer on my car read -4 degrees as I set out and rose to a balmy zero degrees by the time I arrived at the pier at Grand Haven State Park. There was no wind, but, in the bitter cold, my fingers hurt so much that it was difficult to operate the camera. Working quickly, I did my best and then headed off to a coffee shop to warm up.
A birch tree at Grand Haven State Park.
If you know of someone who is missing a slipper, they can find this one on the beach at Grand Haven.
After warming up, I drove north of Muskegon to get a view of Lake Michigan. The lakeshore is a frozen desert reaching far out into the lake.
Teichner Preserve is a nature preserve owned by The Leelanau Conservancy. As I explained in a post in 2019, the property was donated to Conservancy by CBS News reporter Martha Teichner, whose family lived in northern Michigan before Teichner and her mother moved to East Grand Rapids (following the death of her father). It was in Grand Rapids where she got her first on air job in television news (WZZM). The Detroit Free Press has a wonderful story about Martha Teichner, which you can read here.
I have been drawn to the Teichner Preserve for quite some time. It is a small area with a short trail that leads to Lime Lake. What draws me there are the cedar trees on the shore of the lake and the mass of exposed roots that hold them up (barely). The trees lean every which way while the roots keep them from falling into the lake. In 2021, a photo I took in the Preserve, which I called “Gathering Place,” was published by Lenswork Magazine in its book “Our Magnificent Planet.”
I have never visited Teichner Preserve in the winter, that is until yesterday. Other than a deer or two that left tracks in the snow, it did not appear that anyone had taken the trail in the past several days.
The snow was deep, but the pathway was beautiful as snow flocked the trees and bushes.
I was eager to see the what the scene on the shore looked in the snow. It did not disappoint. Here are three photos of one of my favorite places in northern Michigan.
At the end of each year, I look back at what I have accomplished in the past twelve months and look forward to the next twelve. I spent most of my “photography time” this year with my nose in the books, preparing and delivering lectures on the history of photography. But, along the way, I of course found the time to get out with my camera. Here’s a brief review of my activities and some favorite photos from 2025.
Hitting the Lecture Circuit
As in 2024, a major focus of my photographic activity involved researching the history of photography and the impact on it of artificial technology. I presented two lectures on the history of photography at the Hope Academy of Senior Professionals, the lifelong learning program at Hope College. These lectures, titled “Editing Reality: The History of Manipulated Photography,” were similar to the ones I gave last year at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. The lecture on artificial technology has to be continually updated as the technology continues to develop.
In addition, I presented a new lecture for OLLI titled “On the Road: Photographing America in 1955.” That lecture related the story of two photographers, Robert Frank and Todd Webb, who were each awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1955 to travel across America, Frank by car, Webb on foot and by skiff and bicycle. Frank’s photos were published in the classic book “The Americans,” which would influence a new aesthetic in photography, while Webb’s photos went virtually unseen until they were rediscovered in 2016. The lecture looked at both projects to see what they have to tell us about photography and America in the mid-fifties.
Doing the research for this new lecture was time-consuming but rewarding. I had the opportunity to visit an exhibit of photographs from Frank and Webb’s Guggenheim projects at the Brandywine Art Museum in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. And, I was fortunate that the Todd Webb Archive shared with me the entries in Webb’s unpublished daily journal from 1954 through 1956. Webb’s journal provided me with several insights into a remarkable photographer – and Michigan native – who was prominent in the 1950s but has been overlooked for decades.
Some of My Favorite Photos from 2025
Of course, I was out taking photos during the year, although not as much as I wanted. Life happens and sometimes hobbies have to be set aside. I have looked back over the images I took this year and have selected a dozen that I am particularly fond of.
On a cold day in January, the frost on one of our windows and screens caught my eye.
In March, I set out to photograph of the Milky Way, which I thought would begin making its appearance above the horizon. My calculations were off, but I did get a photograph of the night sky that was the reward for standing on the shore of Sleeping Bear Bay on a dark, cold night.
In June, I spent a week in Glen Arbor, Michigan, with my family and was able to get out early in the morning and on a couple of evenings. I took this image as the sun was setting. A 10 second exposure softened the clouds and smoothed the water, making for a tranquil photograph.
On the same trip, I visited my favorite tangle of roots on the shore of Lime Lake. On some future visit to this site, I am sure the roots will have lost their grip and the cedar trees will have succumbed to the water. But for now they are holding firm. I have photographed in this location several times. The challenge is always to come up with a different perspective. This time I chose to take the photo looking out towards the lake, framed by two, old cedar trees that themselves are firmly rooted in terra firma.
On a visit to North Bar Lake on a foggy morning, I came across these sandhill cranes marching in unison along the shore.
Back home on the Fourth of July, I captured the joy of chasing bubbles at the annual Hollyhock Lane Parade.
On a trip to Massachusetts in a community garden I came across these Garden Phlox that seemed to be exploding towards my lens.
In August, we took a cruise down the Rhine River from Basel, Switzerland, to Amsterdam. Of all the photos I took, this one may be my favorite. We were in the Kunstmuseum in Basel and I saw this scene nicely framed by the window. The window shade softened the scene. It could have been a picture, so I took one. There’s no accounting for taste.
The Middle Rhine passes through an area of steep hills with vineyards and castles. The area has been designated as a World Heritage Site. It is beautiful. As you can imagine, I took lots of photos. But as you get north of Cologne, Germany, the river becomes more industrial. I found it just as interesting as the Middle Rhine.
Back home in late August, I visited the mouth of the Platte River in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore before sunrise, but not before the fisherman were out to take advantage of the beginning of the annual salmon run.
Later that same day, I sat on the deck of The Mill in Glen Arbor and enjoyed a cup of coffee and the reflections in the Crystal River.
I was able to get out one last time in November, before the woods filled with deer hunters. This tree has been lying on the ground for years. Each time I see it with its u-shaped base, I wonder what it must have looked like before it fell.
Looking Ahead to 2026
I am excited that one of my photos has been accepted into a juried exhibit at the Glen Arbor Arts Center. The exhibit is titled “INteriors” and explores inner spaces, both real and imagined. I submitted this image, a composite I created by blending two self-portraits in Photoshop to convey a sense of introspection.
My artist’s statement reads: “As a photographer, I am always looking outward, assessing how I would compose an image of the scene that is before me. At the same time, I am looking inward, searching for something that resonates inside me and tells me it is time to press the shutter.”
INteriors opens on Friday, January 9, 2026, and runs until March 12.
In the spring, I will be giving two more lectures. On April 25, at 1:00 pm, I will be giving a talk on digital photography and the impact artificial intelligence at the Glen Arbor Arts Center. Then, on May 5, at 1:30 pm, I will presenting “On the Road: Photographing America in 1955” for the Lifelong Learning program at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Michigan.
The weather forecast for this weekend called for the first snow of the season. Indeed, it happened today, though there was no accumulation (yet) to speak of. But, looking at the forecast on Saturday morning, I decided that I needed to get out and photograph some of the last vestiges of fall. I drove to Seidman Park and walked along Honey Creek. Most of the leaves had fallen, so I decided to photograph in black and white.
I have been visiting Seidman Park long enough to remember when this tree was still standing.
Though it lives no longer, the tree continues to capture my attention as it goes through the stages of decomposition.
Along the banks of the creek, I found some plants with vibrant red leaves that stood out from the brown leaf litter below.
I haven’t been able to identify the fungi in this next photo. In the drab setting, their white coloring is an attention getter.
The weather forecast called for our first frost of the season last night. That meant we would likely see fog rising from inland lakes. So I made the easy trip the Yankee Springs Recreation Area and Hall Lake. I have visited Hall Lake many times in the fall. This year the colors were not as vibrant as on past visits, but the fog made for some fun photography.
I arrived about an hour before sunrise and watched the scene reveal itself as the sky lightened and the sun, still below the horizon, painted the clouds.
I focused my attention on the smaller of two islands in the lake taking several photos as the sun began to illuminate it.
Recently, we took a cruise on the Rhine, which stopped in Kinderdijk, Netherlands. Kinderdijk is home to 19 windmills that were built in 1738 and 1740. The windmills were built to keep water out of a low lying tract of land used for farming. The windmills are maintained in working order, but two electric pumping stations perform their function today. The windmills and the area around them are protected under Dutch law and were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
I am giving a two-part lecture on the history of manipulated photography at Hope College in October. The lectures will be part of Hope’s senior learning program, H.A.S.P. (the Hope Academy of Senior Professionals). The first lecture, “Manipulated Photography: Before the Digital Age” will be on Thursday, October 16 from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. The second lecture will take place at the same time on Thursday, October 23 and will address “Manipulated Photography in the Digital Age and Beyond.” Details about these lectures can be found on the H.A.S.P. website at https://hope.edu/offices/hope-academy-senior-professionals/courses-registration.html
I will also be giving a lecture as part of Aquinas College’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in November. The lecture is titled “On the Road: Photographing America in 1955.” In 1955, photographers Robert Frank and Todd Webb were each awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to travel and document America—Frank by car, and Webb on foot, by bicycle, and by skiff. Frank’s journey produced The Americans, a landmark book that helped shape a new photographic aesthetic, while Webb’s images remained largely unseen until their rediscovery in 2016. My lecture will visit both projects to see what they reveal about photography and American life in the mid-1950s. The lecture will take place on Monday November 3, 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Details can be found at this link: https://www.aquinas.edu/offices/olli-aquinas/course-catalog.html.
September 1, 2025, was the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, when Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri. Germany had surrendered earlier that year. To honor a generation of millions of men and women who endured immense sacrifice to free the world of tyranny, the Gerald F. Ford Presidential Foundation organized and sponsored the “Greatest Generation Celebration 2025” here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event included lectures, a flyover of WW II era planes, and a parade. I attended the parade and took these photographs.
Before parade began, I snooped around the staging area admiring the vintage vehicles and meeting Uncle Sam and the Willow Run Rosies Drill Team.
The parade got under way a few minutes late. After the honor guard passed by, the parade’s Grand Marshalls followed in a late 1930s Buick Eight. There were two Grand Marshalls, 101-year-old Maxine Boeve and 99-year-old Eugene Khorey. Boeve worked in a U.S. Navy shipyard in Washington state during World War II. Khorey was an infantryman in the U.S. Army, who served in Germany and in the Pacific theater.
Riding in two trollies were surviving members of the Greatest Generation. Unfortunately, the windows were tinted so we could not see them. But the crowd showed their appreciation with loud applause.
Behind there trollies were hundreds of family members carrying signs to honor their forebearers who served in World War II. For me, it was the most touching part of the parade.
Following the family members were members of the American Rosie the Riveter Association, an organization formed in 1998 to “recognize and preserve the history and legacy of working women, including volunteer women, during World War II; to promote cooperation and fellowship among such members and their descendants; and to further the advancement of patriotic ideals, excellence in the workplace, and loyalty to the United States of America.”
Rose Will Monroe was working at the Ford Motor Company’s bomber plant in Willow Run, Michigan, building B-29 and B24 “Liberator” military planes, when a Hollywood producer working on a film to encourage Americans to buy war bonds spotted her and cast her in the film. Rosie the Riveter, an iconic image of the strength and contribution of women, was born.
The Rosies in the parade carried placards with the photographs and brief details about women in their families who served or worked to support the war effort during World War II.
Marching behind the Rosies were members of the West Catholic High School Marching Band.
Following close behind was the Willow Run Rosies Drill Team.
The Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is honoring members of the Greatest Generation at a Victory Celebration on September 6, They brought several vehicles and, what I believe was, a Vought F4U Corsair airplane, a plane used by Americans in World War II and the Korean Conflict.
They also brought my friend and fellow photography enthusiast, John, who is a regular volunteer at the Air Zoo. John was snapping away, but gave me a hearty wave as he passed by.
The Northern Lights Marching Band, from Grand Haven, Michigan, had an amazing sound. Members of the band are all home schooled, but come together to make music. And they did a great job of it.
Near the end of the parade was General Dwight David Eisenhower’s field car. Whether it was the authentic one or a replica, it was neat to see.
It was wonderful to see so many people on the street to honor members of the Greatest Generation. Their sacrifice to preserve our freedom from tyranny and authoritarianism is a blessing and a lesson for all subsequent generations if we will only heed it.
I traveled north to Sleeping Bear once again, this time with reflections on my mind.
The sky reflected in the Platte River as it flows towards Lake Michigan.Two anglers at the mouth of the Platte River where it flows into Lake Michigan.Mist on Bass Lake.Cedars and mist on Bass Lake.Reflections on the Crystal River.
Suzanne Fritz-Hanson, who co-hosts the Everyday Photography Every Daypodcast with photographer Michael Rubin, coined the phrase “get the cliché out of the way” to suggest how photographers should deal with the urge to take the obvious photo that everybody snaps. Who can resist taking a photo of Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley or a sunset over Lake Michigan? And why shouldn’t you take your own photo of the iconic scene, even if it is a cliché? Once the cliché is in the bag, you can move on to shooting popular subjects from unusual points of view and creating original images.
I recently returned from spending a week with my family at my frequent haunt, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The focus of the week was spending time with my son and his family, but I did get out in the early morning and on a couple of evenings to take some photographs. In the limited time I had, I fell back on the clichés, photographing things I have seen countless times before. My excuse is that I was working with a new camera, learning how to use all the new features. And besides, it was fun. So here’s a mishmash of photos from the trip.
What could be more cliché at Sleeping Bear than a photo of the iconic barns on the D.H. Day farm? I was there on two foggy mornings and couldn’t resist.
This tree that stands in Narada Lake may not be an iconic image, but it is one I frequently photograph, hoping to find the right light and right angle to make a compelling image. I rarely succeed. But this sunrise with bands of clouds made the scene worth taking.
On another foggy morning, I headed to North Bar Lake. The fog had mostly lifted but the reflection of the trees and the dune in the water and the curvature of the cloudbank drew my attention.
The fog lingered on the south end of North Bar Lake. There, I noticed a pair of Sandhill Cranes walking along the beach and approached them cautiously to get this photograph.
If you search for “Teichner” on this website, you’ll see that I have photographed the cedar trees at the Teichner Preserve several times in the last six years. Perhaps the site is becoming cliché for me, but I am drawn to the location and keep looking for new perspectives on the scene. (If you are looking at this on a computer rather than a phone, click a photo to seen an enlarged image.)
Another site I return to often is the Basch farmstead in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. The simplicity of the house and the granary continue to draw my eye. The light on this evening reminded me of the light in some of Edward Hopper’s paintings.
One evening when the conditions seemed right, I headed to the beach at Port Oneida to photograph that mother of all clichés, a sunset over Lake Michigan. When I pulled into the parking area, I was captivated by the dappled light on the trees.
On the shore, I waited and waited for the ball of the sun to appear. It never did. Others who were on the beach with me impatiently left, but I waited around to see how the setting sun would light up the clouds. Taking a long exposure, I captured a beautiful, soft glow as the sun slipped below the horizon – a photo I would consider more than a cliché .
