Lake Michigan
Serenity Beach
Golden Awakening

My favorite aspect of this image is the soft texture of golden-yellow clouds in the upper part of the photo.
It looks even better when it’s bigger. To see a larger version, just click on the photo.
Cloudy Disposition

The distinctive, two-part pier of the Algoma, WI lighthouse stretches into Lake Michigan and a moody morning sky.
Those who have followed my photography will realize this is taken from a different location than I usually shoot the pier and lighthouse. Usually I’m somewhere on the southern side. From a southern angle, the pier looks like one solid protrusion. From this angle, you can see there’s a gap in the pier.
To get a better look at this image, click on it and it will open a new window with a larger view.
Bright Future

This is a shot of the sun rising over Lake Michigan, beyond the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse. The waters were rough and the pier was wet which gave a little bit of color to the normally drab, concrete pier.
To see a larger version of this photo, just click on it.
Sunrise of Hope
Gold Standard

Here’s a little history and other details found on Wikepedia…
The lighthouse was first established in 1893 as a set of range lights. It was rebuilt in 1908 at which time it was a conical tower built of 5/16 inch steel plate, 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter at the base and 7 feet (2.1 m) in diameter at the parapet. It stood 26 feet (7.9 m) high. In 1932 it was modified again and the entire structure was raised to a height of 42 feet (13 m) by placing the older tower on a new steel base 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter. The original lens has been replaced by a plastic lens.
To see a larger version of this photo, just click on it.
Red Sky at Morning

I don’t recall the weather turning bad on the day this photo was taken, but then I wasn’t sailing either. We did have overcast skies with a little drizzle.
I did a little research on the common saying and found this interesting comment on Wikipedia…
The rhyme is a rule of thumb for weather forecasting, dating back over 2,000 years, based on the reddish glow of the morning or evening sky, caused by haze or clouds related to storms in the region. Due to the rotation of the Earth, from west to east, storm systems tend to travel eastward across a local region of the globe. A reddish sunrise, caused by particles suspended in the air, often foreshadows an approaching storm, which will be arriving from the west, within the day. Conversely, a reddish sunset often indicates that a storm system is on the east side (opposite the sunset), travelling away from the viewer. A similar movement is noted all around the world, in both the northern and southern hemisphere. There are occasions where a storm system might rain itself out before reaching the observer (who had seen the morning red sky). However, for ships at sea, the wind and rough seas, from an approaching storm system, could still be a problem, even without rainfall.
To get a better view, click on the photo and a larger version will pop up.
Wide Awakening

Sometime I create the wide, panorama images by joining together several individual shots. This one, however, was created in the camera. My Sony SLT-A55V has a “sweep shooting” mode. When in sweep shooting mode, you hold the shutter button and slowly pan across the scene you want to capture. The camera takes multiple images and then joins them together in the camera.
As you can see, sometimes the results are pretty good. Sometimes, it’s better to put together individual images on the computer.
For a better, wider view of this scene, click on the photo.
Dreamscape

I’m always on the hunt for another alluring sunrise. It means getting up very early, packing up the gear and heading out in time to be at the scene well before the sun will rise. Often times, the best shots happen before the actual sunrise.
A view like this makes it all worth while. This is the lighthouse at Algoma, Wisconsin…just before sunrise.
To get a better view, click the photo to see a larger version.
Wide Eyed Sunrise

There are several normal sized images I’ll post from this shoot, but there’s something special about being able to see the panoramic, wide-view – the big picture. This is a combination of three separate images “stitched” together.
To see a wider version (wider is definitely better) click on the photo.