This weekend I spent some time photographing near Arcadia, Michigan. It’s on the “West Coast” of Michigan, a couple of hours north of Grand Rapids and just south of Frankfort. There are several small lakes in the area, such as Crystal Lake. Nearby to the east is a ski area, Crystal Mountain. There were a lot of people on the road, driving sporty cars or riding motorcycles, enjoying the fall colors.
I joined a bunch of them at “Inspiration Point,” a mile or two north of Arcadia. It’s a high point that gives you a nice view of the coast to the south. I decided to include people in the photo rather than wait forever for the place to clear out. Most of them, as you can see, were not social distancing and wearing masks. I was a good doobie and kept my mask on.
The poor guy you see on the left finished the climb huffing and puffing a bit, but he finished. And he seemed to enjoy the view.
Next I stopped at a marsh preserve in Arcadia. Most of it is accessible by wooden walkway over the water. There was was one gravel path. The walkway is closed in spring when birds are having their young. The curve of the walkway, set against the colors of the marsh and the trees in the distance first caught my eye.
Some people were there to look at birds. One guy had a monster telephoto lens that he was using to spy on birds in the distance. I dutifully took a shot of some swans closer by. I also took some shots of the very green plants set against the very blue sky and water. Nature was being very pretty.
Later in the day, I swung by the big lake — Michigan — at the harbor in Frankfort. The lighthouse and break walls caught my eye. I think that this simple image of the lighthouse is my favorite of the day. It’s the symmetry and bright light. I shot all day with my camera set to black and white, so I could focus on tones and lines, and not be distracted by the colors. The only image I kept in black and white is this one, with couple looking out on the water.
Finally, there is the last shot of the day, with the sun below the horizon. Very pretty. I used small aperture and low ISO setting so that I could do a long exposure. (About 30 seconds). That was enough to smooth out the water and give the image a calm feeling. It was windy all day, however. And, as you can see, the clouds were moving fast.
On Monday, of course, it’s back to the real world of work, health crises, ecological disasters, and crazy politics.
In the meantime, my day with my camera seemed sane. Enjoy!
No Ordinary Light 