Not far from Munising, Michigan is AuTrain Falls. I love to go to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to photograph or just to be.

This scene is further down the river, closer to Lake Superior. Autumn comes early here and winter is harsh and long, with feet rather than inches of snow. But the scenery is beautiful, and one can find silence easily in these woods. The autumn colors are as vibrant as any place in the country and in spring the wildflowers make you glad you can see.

I used a 100mm macro lens with 6 second exposure at f/20. Polarizer and neutral density filter was also used. A long exposure like this required a tripod as well. I like the flowing green vegetation on the left side of the frame as well as the leaves in the right center.

I never saw an eagle flying through the sky until well into my adulthood. They were rare in the continental US, and then the pesticide DDT was banned and eagles began to increase in number. They are now plentiful in many areas. In Illinois during the cold winter months, one can see dozens by the lock and dams of the Mississippi River. I saw this eagle near Starved Rock State Park on the Illinois River. I used my trusty old Sigma lens (did I mention that I'm buying the new Tamron 150-600 zoom?).  One of the few photo competitions that I entered, I won with an eagle photo (not this one). That's another story.

This photo started with the eagle shot at f/7.1, 1/1250, 400 iso, 400mm lens, cropped slightly and combined with sky image.

Maybe I like it better without the combined image. Also, you can't always believe what you see. I did take both photos at about the same angle in the sky, and I have other eagle photos with the moon in it from the same day. So not as dramatic a creation as one might imagine it could be.

I can pretend that it's still summer. But there are signs this month that changes will happen soon.

I would like to ignore the signs. It's been such a delightful summer. I have been outside every day. It has been hot, but not oppressive recording-breaking sweltering hot. Yes, there have been too many mosquitoes, and I have had the welts of bites displayed some place or other on my body. The flower garden has provided too many blooms to count. But there are subtle announcements that summer is drawing to a close. This leaf on a lichen covered rock hints at the change ahead. If it wasn't so eye-catching, I would want to ignore the message. I'm not ready. I'll let you know when the time is right.

One of the locations my small photo group visited recently was the Natural Bridge at Sewanee. After walking the steps down from the parking lot, we see the stone arch. It is obvious to me that the best vantage point will be from down below and the easiest way to get there is to walk across the bridge. So I begin the journey over the narrow path. I admit that later I wondered if one or two people crossing it might stress it too much and cause it to collapse. Nah, that wouldn't happen. It's been there a long time, but isn't that the point, it could be closer to the moment of failure. How many hundreds, thousands of people had crossed over this bridge? How many years of erosion had created the bridge and how many more years could it exist? The end wasn't that day, and probably not next year or ten years from now. But I admit that I wondered.

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The lectionary lessons for tomorrow, Sunday, August 31, include Jesus' announcement of his suffering and death in Matthew 16:21-28, and Paul's instructions on covenant living in Romans 12:9-21, and Moses' encounter of the burning bush in Exodus 3:1-15. I have preached sermons on each of these texts at different times and with different congregations. As a photographer, I am drawn by my imagining the sight of a burning bush, and stopping in my routine to ponder what and why.

While the moment of seeing and turning from the ordinary to focus on the extraordinary invites one to an experience of spiritual revelation, Moses also hears a very personal conversation that will change his life and the situation of many others as well. Holy ground provides the setting for a divine conversation where Moses hears God declare, "I have observed the misery...I have hear their cry..." This compassionate God gives Moses a mission to deliver the people from the captivity of the Pharaoh. When Moses protests that he's not the one, God assures him that he will not be alone.

This commission, associated with the wonder of the burning bush and the empowering conversation, becomes a life and faith marker that will provide Moses with courage and purpose through many difficult days ahead. I see three movements in this text. 1) There is the eye-catching event that becomes 2) the ear-catching with divine conversation that leads to 3) the heart-catching moment of being sent out to make a difference for God's people. The divine invitation cannot be ignored. I think it is not a frequent occurrence or we would not notice the sight and sound of God attempting to get our attention. We may see "burning bushes" frequently but we rarely pause long enough for our spirit to listen and to hear God's call to mission.

This photograph that caused me to stop and look was taken late Thursday afternoon.

The noon concert at the Nashville Public Library this past Tuesday featured cellist Sara Sant' Ambrogio.

What a treat! She played a variety of numbers for more than 75 minutes that moved me to tears more than once. Here's a sample as she performed this past April in Nashville as part of the Eroica Trio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZci9cDUBZ4#t=44

I find it challenging to capture visually the sound of music. Sara is an expressive performer who feels her music and communicates it as well with her face and her emotions. Siting just in the second row provided lots of opportunities to try to capture those expressions.

Her father was the principal cellist with the St. Louis Symphony. She performs around the world. Catch her if you can!

Shopping at a farmers' produce market is a treat visually as well as for the palate. This one is located in the Soulard area, just south of downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Here are my favorites: green beans, potatoes and peaches. Some of my earliest memories are snapping the green beans into a pot for cooking later. And let's put some baby red potatoes in them as well. And finish it off with peaches and ice cream or a peach pie. Now that is a summer meal!

This photo was shot with a wide angle zoom 11-18 at f/5.6, 1/60 second exposure. 400 ISO. Post processing included adjusting the exposure on the vegetables about 1 stop. Overall contrast was increased; shadows were also opened. Clarity and vibrance were also increased.

It's still too early for fall color, my pool was 87 degrees yesterday! There's a lot of summer left, but on some of these hot days it is pleasant to think about cooler weather. And I admit I love fall color and waterfalls. This one is Blackwater Falls in Caanan Valley State Park in West Virginia. This was shot at f/18, .4 second exposure at ISO 200 with a polarizer and a neutral density filter.