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

Some photographs have amazing secrets behind them. This is one of them.

Dick and Kathy Bourgault left us so many beautiful pieces of art in the house when we bought it from them. This window art is one of them.

One of my favorite solar lights looks like a disco ball. With my camera on my tripod, I gently spun my light creating movement in my piece.

Eden township, in the southeastern part of Mason County, is such an undiscovered gem. I learned from my dad to find great joy in driving the backroads of Michigan. This old, abandoned building had a story to tell today and I felt blessed to be able to help tell that story with my camera.

Nikon D810. F22 at 1/60, ISO 400. 60-600mm lens at 60mm. On a tripod without a flash. February 25, 2020 at 5:08pm.

I am blessed to have a large family and a lot of roots in Mason County. Today I was exploring some land that one of my family members owns on the Lincoln River.

I was driving around back roads in the eastern part of Mason County, when this scene along Centerline Road made me pull over. There was so much texture in one spot!

If you own a copy of our Tuesdays book, go to the back of the book and read the section on aspherical perspective. I used that technique to make this image. I sat in my truck and watched the waves splash and built a photo in my head. Then I went down to that exact spot and quickly made this image.

This project has helped me explore a lot of places I haven’t been in a while. Driving along Tallman Lake tonight is just one example.

Since I was a young boy, I have loved going to Ludington Oriole basketball games in Hawley Gym with my dad. I have fond memories of him standing on the ends of the court with his camera covering the games for the Ludington Daily News. He helped me edit my photos down and he picked this one as my best moment.

I am getting more familiar with shooting spots along Lake Michigan in Oceana County. Tonight, I worked my way quickly to Benona Township Park to take in this frigid sight.

Rachel, Julia, Ethan, and I spent the day in Northern Michigan playing outdoors. I skied for free today at Schuss Mountain because my name is Brad! Every four years on Leap Day, they let Brads ski for free. After I skied, the four of us went tubing down the mountain. Then we drove to Mackinaw City to make these images.

Brad, Julia and Ethan and I enjoyed a day of adventures today! We ended at Mackinaw City to shoot the blue ice along the straits. What a magnificent sight!

Seeing the mysterious blue ice in Michigan never gets old. Rachel spotted this ice as we were driving home on US-31 near Petoskey. We had a lot of fun exploring the mini-ice caves and finding blue ice to photograph.

Do you see Bullwinkle? Or do you see a carferry propeller. From the truck, before I got out to shoot, I saw a propeller. When I got up close with a wide-angle lens, I saw Bullwinkle.

Chris Quick is an avid fisherman of the Pere Marquette River. This afternoon he was the picture-perfect subject for my photo of the day.

Exploring the interdunal ponds at the Ludington State Park is always a fun adventure. The evening light tonight helped put life back into this scene of a dead tree.

Our fox red lab, Rosco, has been part of our family for almost seven years. I was working on my computer tonight, and all he wanted to do was put his head on my lap. It seemed obvious to capture this special moment.

Before my grandma, Dorothy Reed, passed away, she paid for and dedicated this sculpture down at Stearns Park in the Veteran’s Mall in honor of my grandpa, Milan “Bud” Reed and all veterans and other patriotic Americans. I had been waiting for the right light to hit it with the right clouds behind it to make an image for this 366 Project. Today everything was perfect.

My brother and sister-in-law used to live on Johnson Road in Custer. I would travel it regularly. Since they moved many years ago, I realized I don’t drive here very often. I took this route home and to my luck, came upon magic light coating a heron.