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

After a fun night of hanging with the guys at the golf outing, we teed off at Hawk Hollow golf course near Lansing. I found this hand-carved hawk statue in the clubhouse and knew I had found my photo of the day.

The good thing about sporting events, besides enjoying watching your kids, is traveling to and from when you live in a picturesque state like Michigan. The meet today was in Pine River. I was early, so when I passed Howe Lake, I had to turn around and find the right place to stop and shoot. To get the view I wanted, I had to climb on my van roof.

Eagle Eye Golf Club near Lansing, Michigan is best known for its island green on hole 17. This par three took a few of my golf balls this morning because I was too stubborn to take a drop. It reminded me of a scene from a famous Kevin Costner movie.

This was one of those days, where the 366 Project got pushed to the bottom of my priority list. David Benjamin started having a rash on his arm, which spread quickly to his face and chest. We think it was poison ivy and he was a miserable little boy. I got creative tonight with a scent warmer and a nightlight.

Using my 60-600mm lens tonight at 600mm, I was able to isolate the colorful, pretty parts of the sky in the camera. Most of the sky was boring and flat looking, but right around the sun it was an intense orange color. We teach our workshop students that you need to learn to see like your camera sees.

Our kitty has the most stunning eyes. Kasey held her while I photographed them with the macro lens.

While driving around downtown Ludington today doing errands, I noticed this heart shape inside of a stained-glass window. This window is in one of the large historic homes near Ludington Avenue. I am always on the lookout for hearts.

Nikon D810. F9.0 at 1/80, ISO 6400. 105.0mm lens at 105.0mm. October 6, 2020 at 6:48pm.

I have a bright yard light on the top of my garage that comes on automatically every night. Tonight, I used that light to my advantage. It was turning one of my flowering trees in my backyard a bright neon green color. I could have fixed this color in Photoshop, but I liked the surreal look that my eyes were seeing.

I love the feeling of the last few days of summer. Those days before it officially feels like fall. The late summer glow, with flowers still in bloom, and warm sunshine on your face

Today, Rachel and I and our five kids piled into Rachel’s minivan and headed towards the Upper Peninsula for a long weekend getaway. On the way north, we stopped at Otsego Lake State Park to let the kids run around and so Rachel and I could try to find our photos of the day. The sunlight and breeze were ideal for water ripples and the fall color on the trees was perfectly reflected into the water.

What a start to our trip! Brad and I and all five kids are on our way to the Upper Peninsula for a long weekend. We stopped to stretch our legs at Otsego Lake. The kids could run and climb trees, while Brad and I each made an image in a location we’ve never visited before.

All five of our kids spent time photographing and wading into Au Train Falls this afternoon. After they had all gotten their shots, I took our underwater housing and my tall rubber boots and I got into the waterfall as well. With my camera almost half underwater, I finally captured an image I had built in my head almost a year earlier.

Laughing Whitefish Falls is one of my favorite places. The walk to the fall itself is a stunning forest. The cascade of the falls isn’t straight down, which I like. And the pool at the bottom has great moss-covered rocks. It was a wonderful experience to share with all five kids.

Rachel and I were so excited to finally be able to take all of our kids to 12 Mile Beach to see the white birch maple forest. We all had fun exploring the colorful forest with our cameras. After that shoot, the kids were tired, so Julia and Kasey stayed back and watched the boys while Rachel and I went over the dune onto the Lake Superior shoreline. This is the same spot where I captured “Exhilarating” in 2014.

Before we headed back toward Mackinaw City, we had to take the kids to Miners Castle Rock. Unfortunately, it was very cold here today. I had to increase my ISO even though it was sunny out, to raise my shutter speed enough that the tree was mostly still in the center of the image. Then it was just waiting for white caps to be in the right places.

On the long drive home today from Mackinaw City, we stopped at the Buckley Manistee River High Rollway to photograph the fall color. This is the best vista for fall color that we have ever found in the lower peninsula of Michigan. The color was phenomenal today and all of our kids really enjoyed this Pure Michigan experience.

We were going to head to Mackinac Island, but the cold weather made us change our minds. Instead, we headed towards home with a stop at the Buckley Manistee High Rollway. The last time I was here, it was blowing snow. Today it is much different. The weather is warm, and the kids loved the view!

It was rough and windy today on Lake Michigan and I was glad I was on shore and not a crewmember aboard the Manitowoc. The dramatic light was nice to document one of my favorite lower lakers on all of the Great Lakes.

Part way through the day, Brad suggested I take a drive to look for a photo. I didn’t have a destination in mind, other than south of town. I ended up passing a cemetery, with a brilliant tree near the road. As much as I love the turning of leaves, the greens, and yellows, like this, are my favorite. .