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Watching more and more of the birch trees in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula die from disease and disappear makes me sad. So much beauty lost. This stand of birch still looked attractive when I discovered them along a country road in 2004. When I returned several years later, they were all dead and disappearing. I am grateful for the opportunity to have seen them when they were still alive

So many of Michigan's beach trees are dying because of disease. This giant one just off Nurnberg Road in the Manistee National Forest may not have many years left, but today it looks like the king of the forest.

I have loved this barn in Hart since the days I first saw it as a young boy riding along with my dad on his truck as he delivered Budweiser, Drewrys and Pfeiffer's beer to the nearby Walker's tavern. Today the barn looks picture perfect. F16.0 at 1/125, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 145 mm

October 25 2013

Todd Reed

I could not resist exploring this cave Brad and I found while hiking on Isle Royale. The rugged yet beautiful view looking out of the cave made working my way inside well worth the effort.

17-Nov

If you like rugged places, come to Isle Royale. My son Brad has managed to work his way to the top of a rocky cliff to check out the view. I am appreciating the ruggedness of the view looking upward.

Not far from Papa Bill’s house on the corner of Jebavy and Dewey Road, I found this flooded forest. I pulled off the road and got wet feet wading into this newly formed swamp. The image would not have worked if I shot it from five feet farther back. I had to get wet to create the immediacy I needed to put you into the scene.

365 Week 41

October 10 2012

An oak tree clinging to life by the tips of its roots rises toward the sky atop a sand dune along the Hamlin Lake shoreline. I have long marveled at this tree's will to live near the north end of the Ridge Trail at Ludington State Park. This view is my reward for hiking an hour in the dark to be at this spot by sunrise. F10 at 1/50, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

Tuesdays With Todd and Brad Reed

Sweet cherry blossoms form a perfect circle that makes them look picture perfect to me. The fruit farmer is not as happy about this picture as I am. It is March and the sweet cherries south of Ludington are blossoming three weeks ahead of schedule, putting them at great risk of frost damage. F9 at 1/200, ISO 400, 105mm lens at 105mm

Snowy Creek

Fog is a photographer’s friend. This tree is in a residential part of Ludington and has several houses and a factory nearby. But with the dense fog this morning, the tree looks like it could be all alone in a huge field.

Weekend Workshop

My friends, Mike and Kerrie Cooper, live on a small farm south of Ludington that is surrounded by fruit trees. I used their dark red barn as a backdrop in order to make the blossoms on this tree stand out. F4 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 600mm lens at 600mm

As I behold the beauty of just a portion of one branch of a sweet cherry tree on Lister Road south of Ludington, I cannot imagine a more beautiful work of art than what nature and the growers at Hackert Orchards have created. F8 at 1/250, ISO 400, 500mm lens at 500mm

Using my wide-angle macro lens, I was able to get underneath this beautiful sweet cherry blossom and shoot straight up in the air. This allowed me to have a clean simple background with the clouds, blue sky, and just the tips of a few other blossoms in the distance. I set my exposure manually for the sky and then used my fill flash to brighten the blossoms. F5.6 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm