366 Days of Beauty in the Year 2020 by Brad Reed and Rachel Gaudette

My kids love climbing this tree in our roundabout drive. As David Benjamin took a break from having fun exploring its branches, I grabbed my gear, lay on my back and worked to compose the sun so that it shined bright on the tree trunk.

I never tire of trying to make fresh, creative images of the American flag. This is the huge flag in front of House of Flavors on Ludington Avenue in downtown Ludington.

Sometimes the least expected subject can be fun to photograph. This helium balloon weight was the perfect abstract subject tonight.

It is becoming harder and harder to find old barns to photograph. So many of them have succumbed to Mother Nature. The kids and I found this barn on Inman Road south of Ludington.

Walking out to check our freezer beef cattle, a group of geese came in for a landing. I am so fortunate that my kids can wander our fields and have first-hand encounters with all the wildlife here.

It is always nice when Rachel and I can get out to shoot photos together. Unfortunately, it happens very little. Tonight, we made the most of it and had fun shooting the subtle Lake Michigan sunset near Ludington.

For the first time in weeks, due to COVID-19, Brad and I went shooting together. We ventured to the Lake Michigan shoreline and he shot from a higher viewpoint while I climbed down on rocks for a different perspective. It was fun to shoot together again.

Sometimes the sky and clouds are so beautiful and colorful that it is best to leave Lake Michigan out of the frame. The water tonight looked dark and boring, so I aimed my camera higher into the sky and made this image.

I don’t have many images from the Manistee area, so I decided to head there tonight. It was very windy and difficult to steady my tripod, but worth the effort. Lake Michigan sunsets never get old!

Clouds are your friends! The clouds today are a photographer’s dream! I love the marsh land around the Pere Marquette River. I drove to the farm, climbed down a steep bank, and found a log to walk out on. This allowed me to get rid of the smaller limbs along the shoreline and showcase the clouds reflecting in the river instead. Now to climb back up!

I had hoped there would be a stunning sunset tonight, but it was disappointing. However, the blue hour after the sun had set was beautiful.

It looked like the clouds were weeping today along the Lake Michigan shoreline in downtown Ludington. We have photographed God beams often and several big rainstorms, but these clouds and rays looked different. I was excited to capture this phenomenon with my camera so I could better explain to people what I witnessed.

I originally had chosen a different image for my photo of the day, but I kept going back to this one and decided to swap them out. After I made my initial photo at Stearns Beach, I headed back to my van. Before putting my gear away, I decided to try an abstract shot. I placed my camera on my tripod and zoomed in on the spot of color above the horizon. Panning my camera side to side while exposing gave it a very painterly feel.

I remember being about 12 years old and making my counselor laugh out loud with my unexpected answer to the question she asked me. She asked if I could be any animal, what would I be. I quickly answered, “a squirrel.” She said she had never had someone give that answer before and was curious why. I said because they are clever, playful, and often up to no good.

Today is my dad’s 78th birthday. We celebrated with him at the farm, and afterwards I took a winding drive through the woods along the Pere Marquette River. To my surprise, I saw a sandhill crane in the water. I grabbed my camera and big lens and climbed halfway down the steep bank. I waited until she walked into the clearing and her reflection showed in the calm river.

Sometimes you must look a little deeper to find inspiration as an artist. Tonight, I was struggling to find something to photograph. Eventually I found this piece of window art that hangs in my living room. I was pleased how the final image turned out.

I grew up listening to the mourning doves on the farm. Today, they were fighting over dropped grain in our freezer beef field. I love the combination of sharpness in the sitting dove, and movement in the fluttering one.

My aunt, Vicky Shimel, called me today to tell me that on Victory Drive, not too far from her home, she spotted a heart on an apple tree in a neighbor’s yard. I drove there a few hours later and made this image. We always appreciate getting photo tips from people.

I am fortunate to live in an area where it doesn’t take much to see wildlife around you. I am not sure what type of bird this is, but it sure is a beauty.

This grand old barn stands proud and strong on the backroads between Silver Lake and Pentwater. I thought it was cool how the pattern in the clouds matched the pattern in the old metal roof. I also really liked the vines growing on the barn