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I never tire of watching the carferry Badger sail into Ludington harbor. Of the thousands of times I have seen this grand ship steam into port, this October evening was one of the most spectacular. My wife and I were enjoying dinner at a relative's Crosswinds Estates home, near the harbor mouth, when the Badger and sunset-lit storm clouds approached Ludington simultaneously. Fortunately, I excused myself from the dinner table long enough to shoot as the ship entered the harbor.

Don't be afraid to rotate your camera to the vertical position. We often find many new workshop students are hesitant to see the world around them vertically. Practice making photographs both horizontally and vertically.

I have not experienced a winter with this much snow and ice since I was a little kid. I am in heaven this evening at the beach in Grand Haven. My dad and I love to photograph Michigan all year long, but we are especially fond of cold winter days when the sun is shining. D7000, F22 at 1/15, ISO 100, 10-20mm lens at

Tuesdays With Todd and Brad Reed Cropped

I never tire of watching the carferry Badger sail into Ludington harbor. Of the thousands of times I have seen this grand ship steam into port, this October evening was one of the most spectacular. My wife and I were enjoying dinner at a relative's Crosswinds Estates home, near the harbor mouth, when the Badger and sunset-lit storm clouds approached Ludington simultaneously. Fortunately, I excused myself from the dinner table long enough to shoot as the ship entered the harbor.

Each year many people get engaged in front of Michigan lighthouses. Our good friend, Eric Uitvlugt, recently proposed to his girlfriend at the Grand Haven lighthouse so I named this photo in their honor.

Ludington North Lighthouse

Winter Workshop

Sarah CC

Climbing to the top of the dune behind Big Sable Point Lighthouse, I am out of breath but have no time to lose. The clouds and color look nice and a northbound freighter is passing by. I work quickly to fine tune my camera position, set up the tripod, get the horizon line straight and shoot. F3.5 at 1/60, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 16mm

Cruising Lake Michigan

I didn't start out to shoot another ice shot today, but I find this one simply stunning. I shoot some shots with seagulls in the foreground, others with seagulls flying. Then I make this picture with no seagulls because I decide the birds are distracting the viewer from appreciating the beauty of the ice-coated rocks that caught my eye in the first place. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 165 mm

Big Sable Family Walking Cropped Vertical

Ludingtons Lady

Pointe aux Barques Light is a long, slow drive across the state of Michigan from Ludington, but it is so worth the journey. The lighthouse is located at the very top of Michigan's thumb. If you haven't been there, go soon and bring your camera!

Vantage Point

Into the Wind

“Invigorating Light” by Brad Reed Only a few times in the last 21 years of photographing Michigan have I had an adrenaline rush while shooting photos as powerful as I did tonight at Big Sable Point Lighthouse. For eighteen minutes before sunset, the sun was casting magic light onto the dunes and historic lighthouse inside the Ludington State Park. After the sun had set, the sky started to turn different colors over Lake Michigan. Eleven minutes later, I was witnessing one of the most colorful sunsets I have ever seen in my entire life. Everything, including the grass, lighthouse, sand, water, and of course the sky, were glowing different colors. I waited about thirty seconds before shooting another shot so that the moving clouds would align correctly behind the tower of Big Sable. By waiting and by shooting less and seeing more, all of the lines in the photograph ended up directing the viewer’s eyes right at the lighthouse. This was a night I will never forgot. Nikon D850. F6.3 at 0.6 seconds, ISO 31. On a tripod without a flash. 5:17pm on November 30, 2021.