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

I have watched many storm clouds over the years. I have seen the sky change colors. Never have I ever seen a sky turn purple like tonight. I was so in awe I almost missed the photograph!

For the second night in a row, I shot my photo of the day from my dad and Debbie’s deck at Harbor Terrace Condos. Yesterday was super foggy and tonight was incredibly clear and sunny. It is amazing how quickly Michigan weather can change.

It was another busy day between work and fair. It is difficult to make any photographs during the fair shows, because I am helping the kids and do not have time. I knew these flowers had started to bloom in the yard, and I liked the dark tones of my dining room table. I knew the two would work well together.

Today was Julia’s very first day of golf practice ever. Julia has decided to try out for the Ludington High School girls golf team. She is new to the game of golf, but already loves it. As she was standing there at Lincoln Hills with her golf bag on her back and her awesome muscles showing, I couldn’t resist embarrassing her and making her pose for a cell phone shot to document this fun moment.

My niece, Lucy, and my daughter, Kasey, spent time washing and walking their steers together in the show arena. Tomorrow is the big day! All the kids’ hard work with their beef and sheep comes down to the show.

As I was driving down Bryant Road, I spotted a cloud that was perfectly heart shaped. I pulled into the soccer field parking lot on Lavinia and grabbed my camera from the back of my truck as quickly as I could. By the time I could make the image, the clouds had moved, and it no longer looked like a heart. I almost didn’t shoot, but then I realized the clouds now looked like two eagle eyes and a beak.

Whew! Beef and sheep shows were today at fair. It was a long, hot day. I am so proud of the kids and their hard work! Fair is so quiet this year, with no midway due to COVID-19. With only a handful of campers, it feels like a ghost town. I took a walk with my camera and fell in love with this orange sunset tonight.

I decided that today was a good day to take my dad’s 13-foot Boston Whaler out onto Lake Michigan and try to make some unique images with our underwater camera housing. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to capture an image I had envisioned for over eight years. I wanted to make an image that made it appear like the Ludington North Breakwater Light was floating on top of the water.

Brad and the kids came out to the fairgrounds for dinner tonight. After we finished eating, some of the kids were riding bikes and scooters on the campground roads. Others were drawing pictures in chalk on the pavement. Julia drew this and it called to me to make a photograph of it.

Tonight, Julia, Ethan, Aiden, and I decided to play 9 holes of golf at Lakeside Links south of Ludington. As Aiden was about to tee off, I looked up and spotted these Canada geese flying in a large V-shaped formation. I grabbed my camera out of the back of the golf cart and went to work making this image.

The last day of fair is here. The auction was today, and the animals have sold. One last night to soak in the feel of a familiar tradition. I found this spot on the trail between the fairgrounds and the Walmart parking lot. You would never think it would look like this back in that little woods.

I never get bored trying to photograph sunflowers. I look forward to that challenge every year. I was really drawn to the dynamic light hitting this sunflower tonight on Jebavy Drive.

I came across the Woodland Farm Market driving back from dropping the kids off to their dad one weekend. I was in heaven! They have the biggest, most flavorful blackberries for sale here. I bought many quarts for the blackberry jelly that I was making and have every year since!

Barn Quilts are such a cool addition to the countryside. I am really glad that in the last several years, Mason County has gotten so many new barn quilts. This one is on the side of the Shagway Arts Barn north of Ludington.

I had Rose of Sharon bushes at my old house. I wished that I could have taken them with me. Much to my surprise, when I moved into our current home, a Rose of Sharon bloomed in our front yard!

A purplish leaf fell to the ground today. I hope it’s not a sign that fall will come early.

The Marble family had a big gathering today out at my Uncle Rod’s house near Hamlin Lake. I have always loved his rebuilt 1958 Chevy pickup truck, so today I decided to try and make a nice photograph of it with my big camera. You should see the engine and the maple pickup bed!

This tire swing in our apple orchard was hours of fun for me! My sisters would see how high we could get it swinging. On windy days, we would look out the window and say the ghost was playing with it that day. My kids love taking turns on it now.

Sometimes as photographers, we like to challenge ourselves to find a photograph with only one specific lens. Today I chose my 85mm prime F1.4 lens. I put that on my camera body, grabbed my tripod, and an extra battery, and left all the other equipment in my truck and then I took a hike at our hunting property along the Pere Marquette River. I found these wildflowers and went to work.

I love the feeling of being among tall trees. It is hard to explain the feeling that I get looking up at them towards the sky.