Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu~
Well, it sure feels like forever and a day since I’ve posted. Sorry about that guys! Its been a busy past several months! Plenty of it was spent traveling.
I thought I’d share just a few images from this past spring till now. I won’t go into great detail in this post, but each photo has a little info about where and when it was made. Enjoy!
As we head rapidly into the autumn season I hope you’ll have some time to get outdoors and enjoy the cooler days and changing of the leaves!
This year has gone by really quickly. So much so that I didn’t think I would actually have time to get together my usual end of the year post. These ten images are my personal favorites for the year, or my “Best of 2017”.
This is the 6th year that I have done a “Best of” at the end of the year, and I would like to thank Jim Goldstein for graciously hosting the Best Photos Project each year. You can check out mine and many many other photographers end of the year posts on his blog!
If you would like to see my “Best of” for 2016, you can find that here.
Also if you’d like to go back to 2015, you can check that out here.
One of my favorite sunsets of this year!
After a very stormy spring day in SE. Michigan I was happily surprised by an amazing array of clouds as they moved quickly by during a sunset on a local farm!
Beautiful reflections on an early autumn day!
You’ll see this lake featured twice here in this post. This image was on a cloudy and extremely still, fall day. The trees, especially the birches gave beautiful reflections in the water!
Fallen leaves in shades of gold.
After all of the leaves had fallen and nothing was left except the crunch of brown and gold underfoot I decided to make just a few images of these beauties!
Lovely sparkling dewdrops on the grass in the early morning!
I had a lot of fun during a couple of fresh and dewy mornings this year photographing the sunlight as it danced off of the dewdrops in the grass. As a lot of you know, I love nature abstracts!
Lovely tulips at the 2017 Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan.
I was extremely happy to have had the opportunity to go to The Tulip Festival in Holland, MI. this past spring!
Beautiful and very colorful stones from Lake Superior!
Every time I’m in Marquette, Michigan I always enjoy the beautiful assortment of rocks and stones in the area. These colorful stones on Presque Isle are some of my favorites!
A wonderful sunset from Presque Isle Park in Marquette, Michigan.
While at Presque Isle Park I almost always make time to stay for the sunset. It almost never dissapoints!
A golden start to autumn at Munising Falls in Munising, Michigan!
Munising Falls is beautiful no matter what time of year, but fall is always my favorite!
This was an especially beautiful day along Lake Plumbago in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!
Lake Plumbago is one of those places I pass by quite often while in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I would have to say that for me it has almost always been foggy and or raining when I pass by. That of course has its own beauty, and I have plenty of photos from that type of weather, but this time there was a striking difference, and actually quite welcomed!
One of my favorite places to stay on Mackinac Island!
I have always loved the look of yellow houses with white picket fences, so naturally the first time I set eyes upon the Windermere Hotel on Mackinac Island, it became a must for me to stay there! It is filled with Victorian charm and has such a lovely presence on the Island.
It just happened that this year while on the Island I was graced with bright blue skies which made a wonderful contrast to the beautiful yellow color of the Windermere!
I hope you’ve enjoyed a tiny glimpse into the year of 2017 with me. I wish all of you a very Happy and prosperous New Year, both in your lives and in your photographic adventures! 🙂
I’d like to end this post with one of my favorite quotes.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. ~ Edward Abbey ~ 🙂
On a misty morning as the sun begins to rise. I watch gulls fly wildly and happily through the air. The color of darkness has left and the hues of a bright day begin. This is a brand new start, I begin it with a heart that is free!
Here are just a few of my favorite quotes about life and freedom:
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
~ Nelson Mandela ~
“What light is to the eyes – what air is to the lungs – what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.”
~ Robert Green Ingersoll ~
“Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy it.”
~ Sai Baba ~
“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
~ E. M. Forster ~
“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”
~ Havelock Ellis ~
The year 2012 was the 125th anniversary of the famous Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan. A beautiful and timeless place to stay while on a visit to Mackinac Island.
This image is taken off shore on Lake Huron. I processed this in both color and black and white. I decided to present it in B&W here on the blog.
For anyone who has visited Mackinac Island, or the Grand Hotel, this is a classic shot! Enjoy! 🙂
This year has be an interesting one for me. I had the chance to do more travelling than usual, which gave me many more photographic opportunities. Sometimes though it’s the images you take that are close to home that you end up liking the best. Here are ten images mostly from the late summer through autumn that I like the best. I have many more that I could say the same for, but for the sake of brevity I will limit it to Ten. The images are in no particular order. Enjoy!
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Girls down below are writing messages with rocks.
After going through so many images, it was really difficult to decide, and had to leave out many that I would have liked to include. You can find links on this blog to my sites and where to view more images.
Best wishes to everyone, both now and in the coming year!!!