I have found that every photographer has a favorite type of subject matter for their work, one that brings true inspiration and satisfaction. For me, that subject is lighthouses. I enjoy photography of different subjects in a variety of locations, conditions, and situations, but no matter what I am photographing, nothing brings me more fulfillment than trying to capture the spirit and atmosphere of our lighthouses.

I have been a “serious” photographer for a few years now, but I’ve never had any formal photography training, my instruction has come from my own trial and error in trying to make the best pictures I can. Though I have not been classroom trained, I have been taught volumes by talking and shooting with gifted photographers like my mentor and friend, Gary Martin. The assistance that I have received from Gary can never be measured, and my thanks to him can never be fully expressed. This site and these photographs would not be here were it not for Gary.

A note on the images themselves; the rich, saturated colors you see in many of the sunset photos are the result of the type of slide film I use, and often very long exposures, sometimes reaching 8 minutes. The color you see in my photos is the color that came through my lens. I don't believe in taking a mediocre photo and "photoshopping" it to add color that wasn't originally there. My object is to learn how to squeeze every ounce of color out of a sky and put it on film. Anyone can create a beautiful photo on the computer, I'm interested in creating them in the field, merely using the computer to display what's on the film. That being said, occasionally I will try a creative twist using the computer for effect, but in those few instances I will clearly state that the photo has been manipulated.

I am a die-hard Nikon user, and all of the photos on this site were taken using the Nikon F5 and N90 35mm cameras, and the D70 digital camera. I use Nikon and Tamron lenses, Singh-Ray, Hoya, and Tiffen filters, and a Manfrotto / Bogen tripod system. For 35mm I exclusively use Fuji professional slide films, Velvia 50 and Provia 100 primarily. It doesn't take a high dollar camera system to take great photos, but they do offer many features that simplify and improve the photography and the photographer.

To date I have viewed or visited twenty five lighthouses in Maine, two in New Brunswick Canada, one in Ontario Canada, three in Ohio, two in North Carolina, six in Virginia, six in Minnesota, fourteen in Wisconsin, and 102 in Michigan. While I have been as far north as Passage Island on Lake Superior and as far east as East Quoddy Head on the Atlantic Ocean, I spend most of my time at the lights closest to my home, St. Joseph and South Haven. While I enjoy shooting these lights during the daytime, with blue skies and calm waters, when the sun goes down is when I’m most likely to be found at the lake. Sunset, sunrise (on special occasions), and low light photography for me captures the true feeling of the lights, and the beauty that can only be found in nature. Summer or winter, day or night, calm or storm, for me there’s no bad time to photograph a lighthouse.

Thank you for visiting my site, I hope that you enjoy my work.

Mike Hershberger
Elkhart, IN