The boys at the Dewey Cannon in Three Oaks, Michigan. This cannon was captured by Admiral Dewey during the Spanish American war. Three Oaks raised $1,400 for the memorial to the men of the battleship Maine, and the cannon was presented to the town by President William McKinley in 1899.
Chris, Mike and Dan pose by their first snowman of the season. About 5 inches of snow fell during the first measurable snowfall of the season.
The boys love running along the dunes whenever we visit the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. They get quite a workout doing it, and they often come across interesting insects, land features and even treasures.
The views of Lake Michigan and of the woods behind are excellent from such a high vantage point.
Just received word today that this photograph "Early Morning Storm" was chosen by the viewers and publishers of Capture My Chicago, a book of photographs of the Chicago area.
Last year's book also included a photograph of mine: Limestone Waterfall.
It's great to have a photo included in a publication with so many other great photographers.
The first snowfall of the winter at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Lake Michigan and cold north winds, often create lake-effect snow in this region during the winter, and this early storm dumped around 4 inches of snow at the dunes near Chesterton, IN, but only a dusting a mere 3 miles away.
Gale force winds pound the South Haven, Michigan lighthouse and pier during a two day storm. Gusts of over 50 miles per hour created 16 to 20 foot waves in open water.
It was difficult to keep the camera still - even with a great tripod.
Dwarfed by the tall trees along the trail, Mike runs through the freshly fallen leaves at Matthiessen State Park near Utica, Illinois.
While standing in line for the Tram or Terror at Brookfield Zoo, I noticed an interesting illusion created by two spot lights a few feet behind a tree branch. This was totally unintentional, and you had to be in the exact spot to see it, but it was certainly fitting for the Halloween events.
If you moved a couple of feet to the left or right, the tree branch no longer took the shape of a skull, and was simply a branch near two flood lights.
A wooden footbridge allows access to the small island where Daniel Burnham and his family are buried.
Graceland Cemetery in Chicago is the resting place for many famous and important Chicago people: Potter Palmer, Marshall Field, Cyrus McCormick, Mies Van der Rohe, George Pullman and Louis Sullivan to name a few.
The memorials are spectacular, and set in a beautiful landscape.
The colors of the trees have been spectacular so far this fall. The trees on our annual tour of historic cemeteries around Chicago were no exception. So many local historic figures are buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicagao, and the monuments are architecturally beautiful as well.
Daniel Burnham, architect and urban planner (producer of the 1909 "Plan of Chicago" is buried here on a small island near the north end of this pond. It's a peaceful place, overlooking the water, and countless other legendary Chicagoans.
The setting sun highlights the rich colors of the changing leaves. Fall seems to reach the dunes faster than the surrounding areas. It's probably due to the sandy soil - it may introduce a bit more stress to the trees, making them drop their leaves a bit early.
I know it certainly makes the trees easy to uproot - hundreds of trees lay on the forest floor, their root system fully visible from the bottom.
A rare 80 degree October day was perfect for exploring Mud Lake in our canoe. John, Dan and I paddled a couple of miles to reach this area, then back again. Probably the last paddle of the year (at least in comfortable weather).
