Abstract

Photographing Michigan commercial fishing operations has long been one of my photographic muses. On this day I was struck with how the light was coming through a gill net wound on a reel at historic Fish Town in Leland.

 

My kids have always liked the Christmas lights that project moving snowflakes on your house. I decided to add one to our Christmas decorations this year. I had fun trying several different manual settings until I achieved what I was going for. Slightly abstract with at least one clear snowflake.

Turning your camera into a paintbrush is as simple as "painting" across a subject with your camera during a long exposure. The results are often both impressionistic and surprising. During one of our photography workshops I demonstrated how to "paint" some overturned kayaks stacked together along Hamlin Lake. I liked the results more than I expected.

My dad and I are fortunate that our gallery customers give us hints that help us capture some of our best photographs at the Ludington State Park. Last fall, a traveling nurse from the Ludington hospital stopped in the gallery and told me about a flaming red and orange tree she had seen the day before on the Ridge Trail at the park. With her detailed directions, I was able to easily spot the tree and was lucky enough to walk away with a smile on my face.

My great-aunt, Carol Wright, died unexpectedly this week. She was a very classy lady and a lot of fun to be around. After her funeral was over, I used my iPhone to take a close up of the window at the funeral home. My aunt Carol loved bright colors and she would have loved this photograph. F2.8 at 1/430, ISO 70, iPhone camera

Wreckage of Scanlon's Barge, which sank in Lake Huron near Alpena in a 1929 storm, looms below me through the glass bottom of the Alpena Shipwreck Tours boat Lady Michigan. Captain Paul Labrecque expertly maneuvers the vessel over the wreck to give several dozen passengers aboard the tour boat a close-up underwater view without getting wet. This protected shipwreck is part of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. F4 at 1/800, ISO 1600, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

Like a lightning bolt, the Lake Michigan shoreline looks electric as the setting sun hits the wave-washed sand.

A Northwester churns up Lake Michigan, turning the lakeshore dunes into a sea of blowing snow. February days like this one make most people long for spring. I never want to miss a good Northwester any time of year.

Large waves on Stearns Beach in downtown Ludington made unique patterns in the sand. I liked the definite dark line in this one.

Tuesdays With Todd and Brad Reed

Thunder Bay, near Alpena, Michigan is the ultimate Great Lakes shipping graveyard with over 50 sunken vessels that have been found and are easily accessible to view. It is estimated that over 200 vessels have sunk in this area of Lake Huron known as "Shipwreck Alley." Today, my dad and I explored Thunder Bay aboard the Lady Michigan, a glass bottom tour boat owned by the Alpena Shipwreck Tours Company. This photo shows the remains of Scanlon's Barge, which sank in 1929 and is only 13 feet below the surface. As I was shooting this photograph, a fish came by to check out the wreckage as well. F6.3 at 1/250, ISO 1600, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Lake Michigan waves colored with sunset afterglow wash ashore near the Second Curve at Ludington State Park, creating ever-changing watercolor artwork. Just as quickly as one of these "wave paintings" appears, it starts to disappear as the wave energy is spent and gravity carries the water back lake-ward. Seeing and capturing these interesting but fleeting patterns of light and shadow is challenging and a good exercise in seeing. Nature does the painting; the photographer's role is to watch, recognize a picture and shoot before the "painting" erases itself.

My wife Betsy has eyes that look like sunflowers. I have always wanted to photograph one of them with my macro lens. This 365 Project has allowed me the artistic freedom and motivation that I haven't felt since I got my first digital SLR back in January of 2004. I feel like I am getting closer to where I want to be as an artist. F4.8 at 1/20, ISO 800, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

My sister-in-law Misty Reed likes to imagine that the little feather in this photograph represents her and the big feather represents her husband, my older brother, Tad. I am not sure how the feathers got stuck upright in the sand, but I love the dreamy mood of this photograph.

Waking up to a frosty wonderland, I was on the lookout for a subject to showcase its beauty. These frozen pine needles on Budzynski Road were just the thing.