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

On a few days during the 365 Project, it has been very difficult to pick which photo to use for the photo of the day. Facebook has been helpful because we can have our fans vote for their favorite. This butterfly I photographed at Big Sable Lighthouse after our photo talk was the winner. Thanks for all the great comments and your votes! F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

These apples in an orchard along Meisenheimer Road south of Ludington may not be ready to pick yet but they sure look good enough to eat as I look through my viewfinder after a brief rain shower. F4.0 at 1/13, ISO 160, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

One of the best gifts my dad has given me in photography is the ability to stand in one spot and survey an entire landscape, envisioning what a photograph would look like from different vantage points and with different lenses, without ever moving from one spot. It is nights like tonight that I really appreciate him teaching me to previsualize photos. F10.0 at 1/50, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 135 mm

On the second foggy morning in a row I am on my way to photograph a barn on Amber Road in this soft, diffused light. I am almost there when a bunch of dew-covered spider webs along the roadside catch my eye. On closer inspection, this spider web and its creator demand my attention. F9.0 at 1/160, ISO 640, 105 mm macro lens at 105 mm

Most grand scenic photographs need a strong foreground, middle ground and background. Sometimes it is difficult to have a strong foreground if there are no objects in your photograph that are close to the camera. One trick is to angle your lens down at a 45 degree angle and distort the foreground to make it look larger than it really is. F4.0 at 1/200, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 90 mm

A brisk wind snaps the POW-MIA Flag and American Flag to the attention of a passer-by this evening at Coast Guard Station Ludington. The POW-MIA flag salutes all present and past American POW-MIAs and reminds us of the price they and their families paid and are paying to help keep America free. F3.5 at 1/500, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 120 mm

While shooting our book on Ludington State Park in 2007, my dad and I learned that when the light is way too bright or too flat to make strong images then that is the time to try photographing reflections on the water. Tonight the light was flat and dull so I photographed the clouds reflecting in the river from the Sable River Bridge. F2.8 at 1/80, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

The Gold Coast Festival, a Ludington art fair Brad and I have shown our artwork at for years, is today at City Park. Nearby I spot some of the most stunning maple leaves I have ever seen in the yard of our former neighbor, Stephanie Thomsen. A silver coating on the crimson leaves looks almost like chrome plating. F7.1 at 1/60, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

One of the concepts we teach in our workshops is to put triangles or pyramids in the base of your compositions. That is what I tried to do in this photograph. When you place a strong pyramid shape in the bottom of your image, the viewer is drawn into the photograph. F6.3 at 1/60, ISO 640, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

It is a spectacular summer afternoon to be at Epworth Heights. Brian and Leah Roche of Columbus, Ohio walk along the North Beach sidewalk en route to meet some friends on the beach. F8.0 at 1/320, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 16 mm

The carferry Badger looks like a toy boat as it heads to Wisconsin tonight. I made this photo from First Curve at Ludington State Park with a large telephoto lens. F5.0 at 1/160, ISO 800, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Dick and Patti Hale have seen thousands of sunsets from their Lake Michigan home at Little Sable point. "This is the best one I've ever seen, spectacular because of the variety of the color, depth of the color, variation of the cloud cover," Dick says. I too am overwhelmed by the intense color and amazing patterns as I shoot near the lighthouse. F4.0 at 1/13, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 12 mm

Just after my dad and I finished giving a photo talk to over 30 people at Little Sable Point Lighthouse tonight, the sun broke out below the thick cloud layer and lit up the sky and waters of Lake Michigan like the 4th of July fireworks. It was an impressive light show that lasted for several minutes. F22.0 at 1.0, ISO 100, 14 mm lens at 14 mm

My stepmom Debbie hates frogs and toads. Tonight while we were having a picnic at her and my dad's house, I found this toad and photographed it with my macro lens. I was tempted to take the toad in the house and scare her, but I knew she would probably get me back some day with a big, nasty spider. F10.0 at 1/250, ISO 320, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

Once in a blue moon a picture like this comes along. I am on my way home from teaching a photo workshop with Brad and am feeling like I have not yet made an image I want to select as my 365 picture of the day. Then I remember the Blu Moon restaurant and how interesting its one-of-a-kind neon sign looks at night. F2.8 at 1/40, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm

Amy Seng, the director of the local Convention and Visitors Bureau, was taking time tonight to be a tourist in her hometown. The Ludington area locals have had a higher than average number of fantastic summer evenings to enjoy along the shores of Lake Michigan this year because of the warm, dry weather. F5.6 at 30.0, ISO 100, 14 mm lens at 14 mm

Red-hot lava appears to be flowing through the parking lot of the Ludington Meijer store during a deluge of rain. Actually, the Meijer sign is being reflected in the water flowing across the asphalt. I set up the tripod under cover of the raised rear hatch of my Suburban but my camera and I are still getting moderately wet while composing this image. F2.8 at 1/10, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 92 mm

J's Country Store on M-116 near Ludington State Park has a few large cement animals on display near their entrance. This pig with a wig is my favorite. I hope it makes you chuckle as much as my daughter Julia and I did. F5.0 at 0.3, ISO 100, 70-200 mm lens at 110 mm

I love passing by the Bentz farm on Conrad Road between Ludington and Scottville and viewing the beautifully manicured garden in front of their well-maintained old barns. Today a sunflower rises above others to stand out in front of one of the barns. F4.0 at 1/640, ISO 400, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

My in-laws, Don and Shari Verduin, moved to Ludington in 2009 and bought a house in town. They are both really into gardening and the house they purchased already had an amazing flower garden, but they have made it even better. Tonight, their zinnias caught my attention. F2.8 at 1/80, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm