Still Looking Goofy After All These Years

The photo on the left was taken by my big brother, Dick, in the spring of 1955 (late April, early May).  I am holding a Northern Pike that he speared in the creek behind Grandpa and Grandma's house.
The photo on the right was taken a few days ago by my friend Wes.  I am holding a Chinook Salmon I caught while fishing from his boat in White Lake.
I have the same goofy smile, but the hat covers my serious loss of hair over the past 57 years.  About three years after I posed for the photo on the left, I began wearing glasses.  Note also, the similar appreciation in haberdashery between then and now.
I don't recall fishing again until I was in my early twenties when I took up fly-fishing and it became a consuming hobby.

Salmon Fishing

Salmon fishing season has begun on the Great Lakes.  Large numbers of people come from all over the country to participate in this exciting event when the enormous fish begin their annual spawning run from the deep lakes into the rivers and streams.

An interesting contrast is the wide open spaces for boats on Lake Michigan compared to the elbow-to-elbow "combat" fishing on piers all around the lakes.

This shot of the two piers at the White Lake Channel was taken about 8:30 in the morning, two hours after sunrise - well after experienced fishermen have gone for the day.  Most of the fish are caught in the hour or so before daylight and an hour or so after.  Although, during my visit this morning I saw two people catch very nice fish, a salmon in the neighborhood of 15 pounds, and a Lake Trout that weighed in at about ten pounds.

Early Morning on the Muskegon River Delta

 

 

Morning Shadows

Dog Days of Summer

Already the dog days of summer are upon us.  In the mid-west Queen Anne's Lace is abundant in every untilled field, fence row and highway shoulder.  There is a tinge of yellow in the Poplars and the air smells of autumn.

As usual, I am not ready.  It seems summer has only just begun.  I didn't go trout fishing nearly often enough, as usual.  I didn't get as many photos as I had planned.  My plan for this blog was to update it with at least one new picture every day.  Too many things left undone.

Next summer...

Sunrise Over the White River

Cursing circumstances, whatever they were, I was wide awake a little before 6:00 this morning.  A glance out the window to check the weather revealed a low flying fog over the river and surrounding marsh.  There was a potential for spectacular sunrise photos so I grabbed the camera and tripod and headed to the fishing bridge.  Arriving just in time to capture this golden glow about ten minutes before the sun crested the horizon, I quickly set up the camera and took the shot.  It required some Photoshop work to reveal the minimal detail in the brush and reeds at the left as well as a contrast adjustment to intensify the golden reflections against the blue sky.  Maybe it was worth a couple hours of lost sleep.  Even so, I am beginning a campaign to move sunrise to about 11:00 A.M.  Anybody with me?

Antique Street

Downtown Montague is all about antiquing.  I am drawn to photograph this line of shops every time I walk by; each time I see something different.

This time it was the dominant vertical nature of visual elements.

Fishing in the Marsh

Lady fishing in the marsh next to the White River near Whitehall, MI.

Petie the Pigeon

A Rock Pigeon had been frequenting the Trailway Campground most of the summer; residents had nicknamed him "Petie."  In mid-July he mysteriously disappeared and then the first of August, he reappeared.

During his absence there were many guesses as to what had happened to him.

These illustrations show what my friend, Rocky, had been suggesting all along.

Whitetail Deer Lunches in White Lake

A Whitetail Deer browsing on Water Lilies in White Lake.  This was taken just at the instant he saw me; a split second later he was bounding off to the right into a tall stand of cattails.  I have never before seen a deer wading up to his belly in a lake for food.

The breeze was blowing in my direction so he didn't smell me or hear me until the fourth click of my shutter.  This was the best shot with him looking directly into the camera.