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

My cousin Casey and her family are staying at my house for a few days this week. They brought their beautiful golden retriever, Oakley, with them this trip. I think Oakley should be a famous dog model because he is so handsome and friendly. He even smiles for the camera!

Our kittens are all starting to venture out on their own. They love crawling around and playing on our deck. These two were especially friendly tonight.

While walking into Dr. Jacob Seng’s chiropractic office to get my adjustment, I spotted this heart-shaped rock. I walked back to my truck and grabbed my camera and tripod and made this image near the entrance to his office.

While visiting with my sister, Gretchen, we noticed part of a double rainbow appear. We raced to the field, and I got in position to include a couple of our Shorthorn cattle.

Unique photos are everywhere if you practice looking for them. One of the best parts of doing a photography project like this 366 book is it helps you practice seeing patterns, shapes, and possible photographs every single day of the year. I loved the colors, tones, and patterns on this orange pillow tonight and decided to make it my image of the day.

We drove to St. Louis, Missouri, today. Brad’s cousin, Ben, is getting married tomorrow. I found this sculpture in our hotel lobby to be intriguing.

My cousin Ben married his best friend Sam today and Rachel and I were fortunate to be included in their special day. Ben and Sam are always the life of the party, and we all had a great time celebrating their beautiful love story. Their wedding was at a gorgeous venue near St. Louis, Missouri.

We went exploring in downtown St. Louis today before Ben and Sam’s wedding. I have never seen the St. Louis Arch up close. It is such a magnificent sight! As I walked closer, I spied water off to the side. I headed straight to this spot. I had to work the composition to get every piece in perfect placement.

While driving back home today from Ben and Sam’s wedding in St. Louis, Rachel, my Uncle Rod, my cousins Erika and Travis, and I decided to stop at The Cross at the Crossroads in Effingham, Illinois. I wanted to try and make my image of the day. I am so glad we stopped. The clouds and light were perfect today and the 198-foot-tall cross appeared to be glowing. It is one of the tallest crosses in the world and is truly impressive.

After a whirlwind trip, we arrived back home from St. Louis close to sunset. It was nice to take in this view at Stearns Beach. A great end to a fun trip.

After visiting, and eating a wonderful dinner with Betsy, Sean, Aiden, Julia, and Ethan at the Sierra Sands Family Lodge in Silver Lake, Rachel and I headed to Little Sable Point Lighthouse to try and photograph the Comet NEOWISE. This comet, which won’t be visible again for almost 7,000 years, was visible to the naked eye in the northwest sky. With our large lenses, we were able to photograph the comet.

I had previsualized my shot for tonight days before I clicked the shutter. I knew I wanted to include both the Little Sable Point Lighthouse and Comet NEOWISE in my shot. The colorful afterglow was an added bonus!

Waiting until after midnight so Rachel and I could shoot our next photos of the day for our 366 Project was a great decision. We were blessed to not only be able to shoot photos that had the Comet NEOWISE and the Milky Way in them with Little Sable Point Lighthouse, but also the Northern Lights! It was an extraordinary night along the Lake Michigan shoreline near the Silver Lake Sand Dunes.

It wasn’t until the day after shooting this photograph of the Badger and Ludington North Breakwater Light from the Loomis Street Boat Ramp, did I learn that Rachel had been shooting the same scene from the other side of the channel. She was on the south side at Crosswinds. As usual, I like her image more than mine.

With the super-high water on Lake Michigan this year, it has caused the Pere Marquette River Flats to flood. It has been fascinating watching the wildlife adapt to all the extra water. Tonight, as storm clouds were approaching Ludington, I made this image of a great blue heron hunting for food in the flats.

My plan was to shoot the Comet NEOWISE in Ludington tonight. I drove out through M-116 but that was packed with cars. I wasn’t in the mood to be around people, so I decided to shoot the farm. I got back here and set up just in time to create this time lapse above a couple of our barns.

Yesterday evening, my dad, Rachel, Julia, and I decided to walk out to Big Sable Point Lighthouse just before dark to photograph the Comet NEOWISE. It was one of the clearest night skies I have ever witnessed. We counted dozens of shooting stars, and all made strong images of the famous lighthouse and the rare Comet NEOWISE. I had to try and make an image of my dad doing what he does best.

I have always loved this stretch of the driveway into Todd and Brad’s family cabin on the Pere Marquette River. The scenic, tree-covered, curved road is fun to hike on. Tonight, it looked especially charming.

My aunt, Toni Greene, and her husband Tom, own a home a few blocks to the west of Chuck Wagon Pizza that is near the Lake Michigan shoreline. Tonight, I went to the beach near their home and photographed the warm setting sun while I got my feet wet in the big lake.

There are so many hidden gems around Mason County. This Custer view is pretty unbeatable!