12.Aug.2010 On the shore of Lake Michigan

Sunday morning I had plans to go to Grand Haven to take pictures at the beach for fun. The day was almost called off because of the weather, it was overcast and stormy. We decided to brave it and head to the beach anyway, hoping that the rain would stop, and by the time we got to the lake shore, the rain did stop. I didn’t know how long I had before the rain would start again, so as soon as I got out of the car I started to do a quick survey of the area to plan my shots as quick as possible. The wind was blowing, the waves were angry and the pictures captured the gloomy looking weather and the results were powerful looking images.

In contrast, Tuesday morning I awoke to an extremely foggy day, after the positive experience of my stormy beach photos, I was excited to attempt to get to the lake shore before the fog dissipated. I decided to drive to a beach I had not been too since I was a teen, PJ Hoffmaster State Park in Muskegon. Sadly the fog was almost completely gone when I got to the beach, all was not lost because when the fog cleared it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day.

Grand Haven’s beach is flat and smooth and has a pier with a lighthouse. PJ Hoffmaster State Park is lined with large sand dunes backed by a forest. The two beaches are dramatically different and the weather differences between the two days was also dramatic. Both visits created some nice shots, I feel the shots from the stormy beach visit are much more powerful compared to the sunny day.