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We had been trying unsuccessfully all morning to make strong still and video imagery of an eagle while shooting in 2007 for an upcoming book, Ludington State Park: Queen of the North. Some days are a bust; this started out being one of those. The eagles were not cooperating, and we had gotten wet and cold bouncing around choppy Hamlin Lake. In the Coast Guard, I learned that if Plan A does not work, always have a Plan B already in mind. So, despite being disappointed, cold and hungry, we turned our attention to photographing salmon making their annual return to the Sable River from Lake Michigan. It was the last week of October, and the fall color reflecting off the wind-rippled surface of the water made this salmon appear to be under stained glass. It was not the image I had set out to make, but it turned out to be one of my favorite images from a year of intensely photographing Ludington State Park. In years past I had made lesser photographs of salmon in the same spot, just under water on a spawning bed with fall color reflected on the surface. But on this day, Mother Nature blessed me with an extraordinary added ingredient. A brisk west wind made all the difference, agitating the surface of the water just enough to create a shower glass effect on the river. This faceted surface reflected various colors in various directions, turning my photograph into abstract art. I don’t like setting up an image. I love “found” pictures that are real-time moments in the Michigan outdoors. I am especially proud of this image because, while many people surmise it is not “real” and is somehow an electronic after-the-fact manipulation, it is as real, as purely Michigan at its genuine best as I have ever made. I love a lot of abstract art, but I don’t find myself drawn to setting out to make a lot of abstract images. But I do know a good abstract photo moment when I see one.

Now that we are spending a lot more time at home because of COVID-19, I need to keep the kids busy. Luckily, Ethan is a homebody, and he loves playing his electric guitar. I sure love listening to and watching my handsome boy rock out. The golden light poured into our living room tonight as I was making this personality portrait of Ethan Arthur Reed.

Spawning Salmon

I have used this piece of driftwood for a resting spot to spot for the quality of light to improve after hiking to Big Point Sable. On this spring night, magic light made the log stand out as a photo subject.

I am a very realistic person. In my photography though, I like to do things outside the box. This photo is one example of that.

The sight and sound of waves breaking against the rocks on the Lake Michigan shoreline today rocks my soul. I love invigorating mornings like this one I am experiencing at Epworth Heights today.

White Fish Shoreline Tahquamenon Falls and White Fish Point

The sky wasn’t as exciting as I would have liked today when I got out to shoot. I decided to turn my focus on the reflections in the Sauble River. I love the greens and blues.

In my down time, which we have had a lot of the last week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my Grandpa and Grandma Reed. I was really missing them today, so we took a walk to Lakeview Cemetery to pay our respects. My grandpa was a B-24 bomber pilot in WWII, so we had his plane etched onto their joint headstone.

One of the reasons I chose to buy this old farmhouse is because I knew it would fill with natural light most mornings and evenings. The sunset light poured through our sunroom onto Julia as she practiced playing her piano tonight. I used my 85mm lens and shot it with an aperture of F1.4 to get Julia’s near eye and part of her near hand razor sharp, while every other part of the photo had a softer look and feel.

A first glance, this photo appears like it might have been shot at the Grand Island Ice Caves or some other large ice formation. However, it is actually only a few feet off the ice shoreline at Point Betsie Lighthouse. I lay down on my side and put my camera directly on the ice and by getting super close to the formation with a wide-angle lens, I could make it appear much larger than it was.

Pier Sculptures

We are all so blessed in the United States to have millions of acres of federal and state land that is preserved and protected. At very little or no cost, we all have the freedom to explore this great country. To make this photograph at Au Train Falls near Munising, Michigan, I got in a cave behind the waterfall and shot at a shutter speed of 1/4000 of a second to freeze the falling water. F2.8 at 1/4000, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Some say that when I am editing photos and weeding out the keepers, I have a heart of stone. When I found this rock on the beach along the shores of Lake Superior near the Hurricane River Outlet, it made me chuckle and it reminded me to be a little more sensitive to people's feelings when editing their work. I am ruthless to myself, which is fine, but I shouldn't have a heart of stone when editing other people's images. F9 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

I love the silhouette of my daughter. Tonight, we had a little fun out in the dark with a lantern.

Ansel Adams believed in having at least one small area in each of his prints that was pure white or without tone and at least one small area of pure black. I love the range of tones in this image of the sandstone shoreline near Munising, Michigan. F9 at 1/125, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

One of my most famous photographs from our 365 Project in 2010, was the closeup image I made of Betsy’s eyeball. We turned that photo into a giant mosaic with the other 729 images we shot for that project the following year for ArtPrize. I wanted to recreate that image with our daughter Julia’s eye. Like her mother, Julia has extraordinarily beautiful eyes.

The shoreline near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior is diverse and varied in height, textures, and color. As I was walking along the shoreline the little rock that was trapped in this s-shaped cavern caught my eye. With the bright mid-day sunlight and the range of tones from very dark to bright, I knew this photo would look best in black and white. F9 at 1/40, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 38mm

My kids like to give ideas for my photo of the day. Today, they suggested I take a macro shot of some air freshener beads. They reminded me of fish eggs.

I spent years on Coast Guard boats watching Lake Michigan waves curl and break. Their power and beauty demanded my attention then and commanded me to photograph them.