A personal water exhibition · Ryan Nagy

Water,
held in light.

From the air, a river’s curve becomes a gesture. A shoreline becomes a meeting. Water reveals the shape of its relationship with the land.

Sixty-eight photographs from my water collection, centered on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the Great Lakes. A field of attention to accompany the Codex.

68 photographs
An oblique aerial view follows clear turquoise water toward a pale, forest-backed beach.

Shoreline in turquoise

Two Hearted coast · Lake Superior

A vivid blue-green spring pool sits within dense forest, with a viewing raft and clear water extending below.

The spring’s blue heart

Schoolcraft County · Michigan

An overhead view follows pale rock into transparent turquoise water, revealing stones beneath the surface.

The submerged shoreline

Marquette County · Michigan

A broad cascade descends over many dark rock steps, enclosed by dense green forest.

A staircase of falling water

Ontonagon County · Michigan

A wooded island reaches into clear blue water, its pale shoreline tracing the edge of the forest.

An island in blue

Marquette Township · Lake Superior

An inland lake follows the contours of forested ridges in low evening light.

The forest holds a mirror

Lake of the Clouds · Porcupine Mountains

A red lighthouse stands at the end of a stone breakwater, surrounded by open lake water.

A red beacon at the harbor

Near Schoolcraft County · Michigan

A small clear pool reflects the sky beneath dense forest, with a boardwalk reaching its edge.

A spring beneath the canopy

Ontonagon County · Michigan

Turquoise shallows follow a wooded shoreline before giving way to the deeper blue of open water.

The changing blues of a bay

Antrim County · Michigan

A bright waterfall descends through a narrow forested valley, its white current framed by green canopy.

The falling water corridor

Alger County · Michigan

A small red-roofed boat leaves a pale wake across luminous green water near a rocky shoreline.

A wake through emerald water

Alger County · Michigan

Calm turquoise water stretches toward pale cliffs and a densely wooded shoreline.

The quiet beneath the cliffs

Alger County · Michigan

An overhead view follows foaming water through a narrow rocky channel surrounded by dense green canopy.

Whitewater in the forest

Dickinson County · Michigan

A low veil of rain and mist softens a forested horizon beneath a broad gray sky.

Weather moving over the forest

Florence County · Wisconsin

A narrow river reaches the lake through a break in the forest, coloring the water near its mouth.

Where the river meets the lake

Western Upper Peninsula · Lake Superior

Whitewater folds over broad, dark stone ledges between forested riverbanks.

Water over the ledges

Gogebic County · Michigan

A figure sits on layered rock beside a shallow forest stream, with green branches arching overhead.

At the edge of the stream

Gogebic County · Michigan

A broad amber-brown river flows over shallow rock shelves between continuous green banks.

A river the color of tea

Gogebic County · Michigan

A narrow river corridor runs through an expansive forest toward distant low hills.

The watershed from above

Gogebic County · Michigan

An overhead view reveals reddish rock ledges, dark pools and whitewater within a wooded river corridor.

The river’s stone geometry

Gogebic County · Michigan

A wooded shoreline stretches into the distance beside clear, gently textured water.

Along the inland sea

Western Upper Peninsula · Lake Superior

A wooded shoreline meets reddish nearshore water and the open blue of the lake.

The forest meets red shallows

Gogebic County · Michigan

A wide panorama follows a densely wooded hillside, with a small opening along the water’s edge.

Union Spring · a forest panorama

Union Spring · location unverified

A figure stands at the edge of a sandy bluff above a field of sunlit water.

At the water’s edge

Location not recorded

The setting sun rests above a wooded horizon and quiet inland water.

The last light inland

McMillan Township · Luce County

A dark river bends beneath a pale sand bluff, with open blue water beyond the forest.

A river behind the dunes

Two Hearted River area · Luce County

An overhead view reveals a wooded river bend, exposed sand and a whitewater reach.

The river’s long curve

Two Hearted River area · Luce County

A river curls around wooded land and a pale sandy bank beneath a clear sky.

Between forest and sand

Two Hearted River area · Luce County

Parallel waves trace a pale beach beside bands of blue-green water.

The shore, drawn in light

Two Hearted coast · Lake Superior

A long pale beach separates the open lake from a continuous band of green forest.

A coastline without hurry

Two Hearted coast · Lake Superior

The lake opens beyond the treetops, with small waves meeting a bright shoreline.

Blue beyond the trees

Two Hearted coast · Lake Superior

Sunlight and fine ripples reveal layers of turquoise water and darker underwater forms.

The color of clear water

Two Hearted coast · Lake Superior

A river divides around a wooded island and pale sandbars, then gathers again below a rocky reach.

The river draws an island

Marquette County · Michigan

Several river channels weave between forested islands, with a broad streak of whitewater below.

Channels through the green

Marquette County · Michigan

Rock ledges and submerged shapes appear through translucent green and blue water.

Stone beneath the surface

Marquette coast · Lake Superior

An isolated wooded island sits within a broad expanse of blue water.

A small world offshore

Marquette Township · Lake Superior

A harbor and long breakwater sit between forested land and clear blue-green water.

The sheltered shore

Burns Landing / Big Bay area

Curving breakwaters define a sheltered harbor along a forested lakeshore.

The harbor’s embrace

Burns Landing / Big Bay area

Clear green water fills a rocky cove beneath dense forest on a lakeside peninsula.

A cove held by stone

Marquette County · Michigan

Fractured dark rock meets clear blue-green water along a tree-lined shore.

Dark rock, clear water

Marquette County · Michigan

Sunlight brushes green-blue water beside a rocky headland and its submerged ledges.

Light on the rocky margin

Marquette County · Michigan

Forested rock projects into a wide lake, with a sheltered beach and distant shore beyond.

A headland opens to blue

Marquette County · Michigan

An aerial view looks along a wooded, rock-lined shore toward quiet blue water and distant headlands.

Following the rocky coast

Marquette County · Michigan

Whitewater threads through a dark river corridor enclosed by dense summer forest.

A river gathers force

Piers Gorge area · Dickinson County

An overhead view follows whitewater through a tightly wooded river bend.

The whitewater corridor

Piers Gorge area · Dickinson County

Sunlit rapids run between pine-lined banks, with dark pools gathering beneath the trees.

A river through the pines

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

Low rock ledges divide a broad river into shallow channels and bright ribbons of whitewater.

Across the broken current

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

An overhead view reveals whitewater, dark eddies and wooded islands within a broad river channel.

A river written in foam

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

Foaming rapids spread across a broad river beneath a sunlit forest and open summer sky.

A river’s bright surface

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

Whitewater curls around a dark standing wave, with the far bank falling into shadow.

The curling edge of a rapid

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

A wide river accelerates between exposed stone and forest, its surface broken by pale rapids.

The current between stone banks

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

Seen directly from above, a river pours over a rock threshold into a fan of whitewater.

The shape of a river drop

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

Whitewater fills a broad river passage framed by tall pines and a bright summer sky.

The pine-lined passage

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

Low rock shelves interrupt a wide river beneath an open sky, with trees crowding the banks.

The river across its shelves

Michigan–Wisconsin border area

An inland lake rests within forested hills beneath a wide sky of scattered summer clouds.

A valley holding water

Ontonagon County · Michigan

A narrow river winds through green lowland toward a distant lake between forested ridges.

The winding approach to the lake

Ontonagon County · Michigan

A break in the clouds casts a luminous path across a nearly still lake.

Light through the weather

Ontonagon County · Lake Superior

The sun slips beneath a dark cloudbank, drawing a bright reflection toward the viewer.

A column of sunset

Ontonagon County · Lake Superior

Warm cloud colors spread across a calm inland lake beneath a dark wooded ridge.

Evening held in still water

Ontonagon County · Michigan

Water divides around mossy rock and a fallen branch before tumbling through a shaded forest stream.

A small cascade in the woods

Ontonagon County · Michigan

Sheets and streams of whitewater spill across a wide, tiered rock face.

The many edges of a waterfall

Ontonagon County · Michigan

A chain of dark lakes and green shores unfolds beneath a wide summer sky.

Water within the woods

Inwood Township · Schoolcraft County

Forested land, dark inland water and distant low hills fill a broad aerial view.

A country of lakes

Inwood Township · Schoolcraft County

Small boats follow a transparent channel between forested banks, with the pale bottom visible through the water.

The clear passage

Schoolcraft County · Michigan

A domed historic water tower rises beside a broad river, with the town and distant lake beyond.

Water beside the town

Schoolcraft County · Michigan

Sunlight glints across open water as small waves gather along the shore.

The open horizon

Michibay coast · Schoolcraft County

Seen from above, a lighthouse and its protective stones sit between differently colored waters.

Two colors at the breakwater

Near Schoolcraft County · Michigan

A pale beach curves around green shallows, where darker underwater forms remain visible from above.

The shallows keep their shapes

Schoolcraft County · Michigan

Stay with a place.

Select any photograph to open the full view, read its field note, and follow its location. Use the arrow keys to move through the collection and Escape to close.

Photographs are presented as observations of place, season and light—a visual companion to the Codex’s study of water.

Reading the location notes

Sixty-six originals contain camera GPS coordinates. County labels and place filters provide regional context using U.S. Census boundary data; offshore views use the nearest mapped shoreline, and border areas are labeled broadly. Existing place names also draw on OpenStreetMap contributors. A marker identifies the camera position, not the entire scene.

Two files contain no GPS data. “Union Spring” comes from its source filename; its exact location remains unverified. Capture dates appear only where recorded with the geotagged originals.

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