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

The Riverside Park in Scottville, Michigan, is a popular spot for many. I love that stretch of the river. On this particular day, I climbed down the bank right next to the bridge. The twists and turns of the shrubbery along with the calm river were a fun pairing

I have driven by this barn on US-10 multiple times a year my entire life and have never seen it look as good as it did today. Julia, Ethan, and I were on our way to visit my cousin and her family in Lake Fenton when I had to pull over and walk in the deep snow to make this image. I used the fence to create leading lines

I was driving back from dropping my kids off for a weekend with their dad, when I noticed the cloud formations to the west. I am not as familiar with the Oceana County area, and I was struggling to find a public spot to shoot. Finally, I came to Claybanks Township Park and ran to compose my shot.

Today my cousins Casey, TJ, and Mason took the kids and me to an indoor trampoline park in Oxford, Michigan. I used my external flash to help freeze Ethan in mid-air as he was doing a flip.

I used to cross Indian Bridge every day on the bus going to and from school. Now, I rarely visit it. I decided to take a drive and recall some favorite memories singing with friends over that bridge on our hour-long ride home. The Pere Marquette River was especially peaceful this evening.

On our way to an indoor water park in Frankenmuth, Michigan, this red barn and its silver metal roof glistened in the sunlight. I pulled off into the ditch and quickly made this image, so we weren’t late to the water park. Frankenmuth is definitely one of Michigan’s coolest towns!

This small section of woods by my late Aunt Mary and Bespop’s (grandpa) drive is always so captivating this time of year. The sun crosses its path in the best way.

Nikon D850. F14 at 1/60, ISO 1600. 24-70mm lens at 45mm. Handheld without a flash. February 17, 2020 at 6:03pm.

Days without my kids can be lonely. This weekend was especially hard. The willow tree in the backyard is one of our favorite trees on our Tiny Acres Farm. The blue light of night matched my emotions.

Charlevoix has always been a favorite vacation place for my dad and my stepmom, Debbie. I have been there several times with them. We love photographing Lake Charlevoix and also their beautiful red lighthouse on Lake Michigan. I drove over three hours in a snowstorm to make this image. I am so glad I did!

Cardinals have always been my mom’s and my favorite. After my brother, Kevin, passed away, they are a welcome sight. I made this image to show my mom that he was visiting us this day.

I walked out into Grand Traverse Bay early this morning to make this image of a large tree stump covered in snow and ice. I enjoy making photographs when the sky is reflected in slow-moving water.

My kids love collecting stones. I am not sure where this one came from, but I loved the textures, colors, and patterns in it.

The Ludington North Breakwater Light looked wonderful this morning! I made a pit stop before heading to work to capture the ice, clouds, and magic light.

My dad found this photograph for me. He called and said he had the perfect shot for our 366 Project, we just needed magic light. I drove straight to his location on M-116 inside of the Ludington State Park. Just as I was grabbing my tripod and camera, the sunlight broke through the clouds. Thanks for the tip, Dad!

My youngest, Joshua, has always loved playing with his Tonka trucks. This doesn’t stop just because the snow comes! He spends hours dozin’ around the farm.

Snow-covered dunes are one of Michigan’s best kept secrets. Once more people discover this, I believe Ludington and all of West Michigan will be busy with tourists all year long.

I have been trying to make an image of the ice formations for a while. I have never been happy with the outcome. Tonight, I worked this scene and finally was rewarded!

While on a hike on the Ridge Trail at the Ludington State Park with Betsy, Sean, and the kids, I noticed this graphic scene before me. We often remind our workshop students to remember to turn their cameras vertical and to not just see the world in horizontal photographs.

I grew up with a chicken coop full of chickens. My kids were excited when we had a place to have some of our own. This rooster was looking rather regal tonight.