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

Often, the kids spy the color in the sky before I do. They will come running, yelling to grab my camera. I love that at a young age they can see and appreciate a good photo opportunity.

Most of the big trees in my yard are oak trees. I much prefer maple trees. This maple tree is in my side yard right on the property border between my house and my neighbor’s house. It has finally turned colors and looks beautiful this morning.

Bespop’s pond always reminds me of an African sunset or sunrise. Tonight, it was especially calm, and the reflections were wonderful. The piece of wood in the foreground always reminds me of a swan.

My Uncle Budde and Aunt Sheryl recently purchased this new sculpture for their side yard. I enjoyed watching the setting sun reflect and shine through the unique piece of art.

After work I made a drive to the Ludington State Park to enjoy the shoreline for a bit. This huge piece of driftwood was a great accent piece and counterpart to the jetty.

Sadly, Betsy’s parents both died a few years apart from sudden illnesses. Betsy and her brothers picked out a nice headstone for their parents with a cardinal on it. The headstone is in Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington. I decided to honor Don and Shari Verduin today by making this image at their gravesite.

I checked out the new splash pad in Copeyon Park. It isn’t running now, but I think my kids will enjoy it next summer! The geese were active on the lake while I was there. I caught this one in magic light.

In amongst the chaos of life, there are some mornings that can calm your soul. Even if only for a second. This was one of those mornings. After the kids got on the bus, I drove to the far back of the property on the farm. I wanted a different view of the Pere Marquette River and knew the moss here would make for a great foreground.

I wish I knew the story behind this abandoned home on First Street in Scottville, Michigan. Tonight, the light was hitting the tops of the surrounding trees and the upper story of the old homestead. Normally, when I see this house, it looks haunted and a bit scary. On this night it looked beautiful and gave me a sense of hope..

The American Flag at a local bank caught my eye as I drove past it this evening. I shot several test shots in order to capture the movement of the flag, but to keep the stars and flagpole sharp. In this shot, I loved how you could see the entire flag, yet it just showed movement at the right edge of the flag.

Normally by this time in November, Lake Michigan has become too rough for sunset strolls out onto the Ludington North Breakwater. But tonight, it felt more like a warm August night in downtown Ludington.

It is fun to experiment with different styles of photography. I knew I wanted to use the flowers more as shapes and designs than as a typical subject. I exposed to blow out the background, which would allow the stems to appear darker.

The end of Ferry Street has always proven to be a productive photography spot for my dad, Rachel, and me. This morning we had great light and clouds to the southeast. Sitting at the gallery downtown, I was pretty sure if I drove to the end of Ferry Street a few blocks away, I would find a powerful sky over the top of the Badger. My hunch was correct.

Patterns and photographs can be found anywhere. Even if it takes more looking. This design on Kasey’s bag has always intrigued me.

If you are ever driving on Old US-31 south of Ludington, check out the giant tree near the corner of Conrad Road and Old US-31. I have always enjoyed looking at this tree and tonight I am finally making an image of it that I am proud of. With great clouds, it sure is a lot easier to make strong images.

The kids were raking leaves up at my aunt’s house. It was the perfect fall day for jumping in a huge leaf pile! David Benjamin jumped in, and then covered himself up to scare his little brother Joshua. I couldn’t resist making this image.

I had never really noticed this old barn and silo just off the road of US-31 between Scottville and Manistee. The bright red bush in front of the barn is what I first noticed while driving down the highway. I turned around and got out and then I waited about fifteen minutes for the clouds to move into the correct spots to make a stronger image. I wanted the clouds to mimic the shape of the barn.

The low clouds were a seamless backdrop to the dune grass at the Ludington State Park this afternoon.

With the super high-water levels on Lake Michigan, it has transformed the shorelines. My Uncle Budde didn’t realize he had a very old sea wall out in front of his deck. For decades, the sea wall had been covered in sand. The high water has washed enough sand away, that parts of the sea wall are now exposed.

Three years ago, we had an orphan heifer calf. The kids helped bottle-feed her. She was named after my daughter, Kasey. To differentiate between the two, we call her Kasey Calf. This year was her first-year calving. She had a little heifer today. The kids decided to name it Pumpkin.