Tree on Lake Michigan

A tree on Lake Michigan. I pass by this tree twice a day. And have stood beside it many times while photographing the past eight years for the Lake Series.  Laying on my back under the tree looking up at the canopy I am transfixed by its regal nature, the complexity of interwoven branches creates a mesmerizing world above me. One day I began photographing the tree. Returning over time to study its form as seasons passed and leaves disappeared with winter winds.

Most people would pass by it without a second glance. It is an unassuming, smallish, Hawthorn. Solid hard wood, thorned branches. A tree that can grow in difficult conditions. And this particular tree has managed to survive along the shore of Lake Michigan. It stands defiantly on the lakefront flourishing in the summer and withstanding fierce winter storms. It is the ability to survive against all odds that makes this tree majestic.

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