365 A Year in the Photographic Lives of Todd and Brad Reed

The fast start to spring has made the dune grass unseasonably beautiful. Now I have the light of yet another great spring sunset over Lake Michigan to make the picture golden. F13.0 at 1/400, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

My wife Betsy and my in-laws, Don and Shari Verduin, sang in the Good Friday community service today. This year the community service was held at Cornerstone Baptist Church. When I found this beautiful cross on the wall I thought it would make a fitting photo for Good Friday. F2.8 at 1/80, ISO 800, 18-50 mm lens at 34 mm

Finally, a little rain to go with all that sunshine and warmth that has been good for the soul and for growing. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Tonight we had an Easter dinner at my dad and stepmom Debbie's house. Ethan was excited that he got to sit at the big boy table for dinner with some of his "friends." Right after I took this photo, Ethan flipped the table over, fell out of his chair and crawled off to his next adventure. F2.8 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Brad and I say, "Clouds are your friends." After waiting two hours on Easter at the base of the Father Marquette monument in Buttersville, a bright spot in the fast-moving clouds lines up perfectly with the cross to bring together the symbolic Easter picture I had envisioned when I first saw dramatic cloud formations heading across Lake Michigan. F4.0 at 1/250, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

The jetties at Ludington State Park are always fun to photograph, especially when the waters of Lake Michigan are rough. Today the sun broke through the clouds for a few fleeting minutes and I had just enough time to get into position to make this photograph. F9.0 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Some of my favorite pictures are the ones I did not plan to take. After making some images along with my West Shore Community College students of Roger and Marcia Hansen's beautifully restored barn at Cherry Hill Farm, several of us are drawn to an open-sided pole barn where hay is stored. I like how the bales look like Nabisco Shredded Wheat. F5.0 at 1/40, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 17 mm

When I was growing up, my mom's mother, Linda Scott, had a home on Thunder Lake in eastern Mason County. There was a bog across the road from her house that my brother and I called "Sponge Lake." Tonight while driving to Blue Lake to visit Betsy's uncle, Dave Verduin, I found some cattails in bloom with Sponge Lake in the background. F2.8 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

The view between swipes of the windshield wipers becomes beautifully distorted as I stop momentarily to appreciate the springtime view of a Buttersville hillside near the Pere Marquette Cross. F4.0 at 1/200, ISO 800, 12-24 mm lens at 22 mm

While sitting in my truck in the rain, I envisioned this photograph. I quickly drove a few miles to the parking lot next to the carferry Spartan and drove back and forth with my head out my truck window looking at the puddles. I was certain if I found the correct spot, I could get both the Spartan and its reflection in the same photograph. F16.0 at 1/5, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

One of the grandest beech trees I have ever seen graces an Amber Road farm just north of US 10. This afternoon, with the atmosphere provided by a light rain shower, the tree stands out even more than usual. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 135 mm

I love bright, bold colors. These hand made chairs in front of The Red Door Gallery leapt out at me as I was driving down Ludington Avenue on my way home from work tonight. The dreary rain and overcast skies actually made this photo possible. On a bright sunny day, the colors would not pop like they do in this photograph. F16.0 at 0.6, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

You can count on it snowing in April in Michigan, no matter how nice the weather has been in previous weeks. I picked the dark siding of the old commercial fishing building at the Lake Michigan Carferry docks as a backdrop for the snow. Our business manager, Sarah Genson, says the fish reminds her of Dory in the movie Finding Nemo. F5.6 at 1/250, ISO 400, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Spring came very early this year in West Michigan and it was unseasonably warm and beautiful for most of the month of March. I loved the humor in this photograph that I made of the carved bears on one of Mary Schierholt's rental homes along Loomis Street in Ludington. If you look closely, you can see the snowflakes starting to fly. F8.0 at 1/100, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

The dog days of spring are here! This grand-looking creature checks me out at a stoplight from the back of its master's pickup truck. I roll down my passenger window and try to capture its beauty. F6.3 at 1/1600, ISO 800, 80-200 mm lens at 155 mm

A few years ago the Birtwistle family donated this sculpture of kids playing at Waterfront Park in downtown Ludington. Just recently, several of these sculptures were vandalized. I hope the vandals are caught soon! F8.0 at 1/160, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 27 mm

It looks to me like there is a moose on the loose in the area woodlands. I laugh as I make this portrait of "Bullwinkle" in the Buttersville campground. F8.0 at 0.3, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

The love of driving is an inherited Reed trait that has spanned several generations. It appears that both Julia and Ethan have received those genes as well. F2.8 at 1/3200, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

A lone fisherman appears to have the sunset all to himself as he fishes from the end of the Ludington South Breakwater. F8.0 at 1/500, ISO 200, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Dogwood blossoms blowing in a spring breeze are one of the more beautiful gifts of spring. This early-bird blossom stands out this evening. F4.0 at 1/100, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm