I'm very impressed with this capture. there are some shots that should be left alone (ie no digifiddling) this is one of then

Very cool capture, and a perfect place for an evening walk.

Usually, when I take a picture directly into the sun, I try to position myself so that a thick tree or other structure blocks the sun. But you don't care about such precautions - you boldly let the sunlight blast through that thin-trunked tree & spill out it's brilliant light wherever it wants to go - I like that bold quality in you & in this photo...

Harsh and uneven? You're shooting into the sun! What do you want? If you're after even light, go out at noon on a cloudy day in the middle of winter. Now THAT's some nothin' light! If you don't want light that goes from bright to less bright across the picture, don't freakin' shoot like this! Sheesh! I know you don't see your own stuff, but trust me. This is good.

Let's start with the "harsh." Look at the sun, and how the light fades in color from that brilliant white in the center to a softer yellow when it first hits something solid, and to a deeper, richer orange/gold as it slides down the side of the breakwater. If I had painted that, you'd be all over it about how I had so skillfully blended my colors, blah blah blah. And the light on top of the walkway, how it's brilliance reflects in the wet bits and the dry shadows are ... shit ... does that color even have a name? Is it even possible? It's like yellow and purple at the same time.

Speaking of purple, how about that "uneven" water? Palest lavender to deepest indigo, and everything in between, all at once, everywhere. Light and shadow sparkles and heaves across the surface of the water, and believe me, sparkling and heaving at the same time ain't easy.

And did you catch the tree trunk and its shadow? The sun has completely obliterated the tree at the top, and the trunk slowly emerges, white yellow gold orange and then ... suddenly! ... purple. Then the shadow crosses the walkway, disappears into the lake for a minute, and picks up again, faintly, in the left foreground.

Harsh and uneven.

Pftttt

We need to talk.

Sheesh, what can I say after Claude and Tara?

This is smashing! It is a brass band! A huge orchestra! A heavy metal concert! It is, "Washington Post", "Semper Fidelis" and the "Stars and Stripes Forever". It is Tchaikovsky's cannonade from his 1812 Overture! It is a very loud version of Queen's "We Will Rock You"! And you want smooth and even? You jest Sir.

But we love it. More...more:)

All these fabulous shots of this place and you say you are defied by it! Hah! You are brilliant at photos of your lake, and this is no exception.

Incredible photography...KILLER

whoa! this is so cool, cool, cool! the bright sun looks surreal or almost alien, even. the choppy water looks cold.

amazing

Can we say, a photo of the Lake Michigan shoreline, at the very moment of a nuclear blast, some miles away? The water just boiled away mere minutes after the explosion, as a result. So, you were then left standing in the middle of a scorched terrain, Mark, with a deep tan, just moments after you clicked the shutter. That said, this image just radiates high contrast and reddish radiation. Nice shot, as many of your commenters would say.

Tara's rant aside, she got it exactly right. You say this place defies you? I say you kicked its ass!

superb seascape with the explosion of sun light

Actually, I like this a lot! I think Tara and Bill pretty much covered all the bases here (now I'm getting out my CD of the 1812 Overture..LOL) so I'll just say I hope you do go back and bring us more inspiration like this!

Sensible shot? Who wants that??? You've got the very soul and essence of this place splashed right out here on the screen for everyone to see, naked and alive! You can't get better than that. I can see why you keep going back, and I hope you keep getting "nonsensible" shots for us!

this is a cool shot mark!!

AWESOME !!!