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Brad and I teach our photography students "clouds are your friends." These are some mighty friendly clouds today. They make an ideal backdrop for Round Island Light, which has helped guide vessels through the Straits of Mackinac since 1895. F4.5 at 1/640, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 112mm

Our workshop students tonight are getting a lesson in shooting twice as close. I am demonstrating how shooting part of the Ludington lighthouse can result in fresher, more abstract views. They try it and like it. I try it and also like it. F22.0 at 1/15, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

I never get tired of photographing the Badger as she makes her way in or out of port. The carferry may be converting from a coal-fired steam system to a diesel-powered system soon. I hope for my sake as a photographer and for the sake of all the Ludington area that the Badger continues to set sail on Lake Michigan for another 50 years! F9.0 at 1/60, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

It wasn’t until the day after shooting this photograph of the Badger and Ludington North Breakwater Light from the Loomis Street Boat Ramp, did I learn that Rachel had been shooting the same scene from the other side of the channel. She was on the south side at Crosswinds. As usual, I like her image more than mine.

Our photography workshop students are getting a lesson this evening in getting close to your subject. My wide-angle lens is close enough to this wave and reflection to be getting wet on some of my shots. This wave is close, not too big and not too small

It is a beautiful evening to take three of our grandchildren

This has to be one the best summers ever for photography on the Lake Michigan waterfront. Besides being unusually warm, this summer has presented many amazing cloud formations and dramatic sunsets. Tonight I am shooting westward onto Lake Michigan by the Ludington South Pierhead Light near my home at Crosswinds. F8.0 at 0.5, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 12 mm

The calendar still says it is spring but this mid-June view through my large telephoto lens at South Haven beach sure looks and feels like summer to me. It is a splendid day to be on the Lake Michigan shoreline photographing Week 24 of "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute." F6.3 at 1/1000, ISO 200, 300mm lens at 300mm

My goddaughter, Kayla, celebrated her confirmation tonight in Holland, Michigan. I was glad that I was able to be part of it as her confirmation sponsor. On my drive back home, I stopped in Grand Haven. I don’t visit this lighthouse often, so it was fun to watch the sunset here.

The combined patterns of snow, sand, dune grass, clouds, and snow fence make an interesting composition. I like this winter view of the Frankfort shoreline but I know it would be more colorful and more magical if enough light could get out from under those clouds and bounce off them. Nope; not happening tonight. At least I tried.

What I like most about this photograph is its timeless nature. It is hard to tell if this photograph was taken in the 1950s with black and white film, or if it was taken today. One thing is for sure; it is definitely a Pure Michigan moment on the pier in South Haven, Michigan. F14 at 1/640, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 130mm

It is past midnight and still I am not seeing any Northern Lights tonight. This is the third night in a row I have stayed up late hoping to see and photograph the Northern Lights. I decide to make a several-minute time exposure of the stars, including the Big Dipper, and "paint" the Ludington South Breakwater Light with flashlight light. F4.0 at 220 seconds, ISO 800, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

Living in Ludington my whole life, I have seen some pretty cool sand sculptures over the years, but this simple acoustic guitar is one of the best I have seen. Corinne Gahan and Beth Carpenter, both from Three Rivers, Michigan, built this wonderful piece of art on the shores of South Haven, Michigan earlier today. My favorite detail of their sand guitar is the seaweed they used for the strings. F13 at 1/400, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

While Brad is photographing some of the reddest light we have ever seen hit the carferry Badger, I am shooting the same colorful light reflecting off the black iron base of another Ludington icon

I decided that today was a good day to take my dad’s 13-foot Boston Whaler out onto Lake Michigan and try to make some unique images with our underwater camera housing. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to capture an image I had envisioned for over eight years. I wanted to make an image that made it appear like the Ludington North Breakwater Light was floating on top of the water.

The Lake Michigan Carferry, SS Badger passes by the Ludington North Breakwater Light upon reaching its homeport. The historic carferry can transport more than 500 passengers and dozens of vehicles on each of its crossings between Michigan and Wisconsin. F4 at 1/2000, ISO 800, 500mm lens at 750mm

The Lake Michigan Carferry, SS Badger passes by the Ludington North Breakwater Light upon reaching its homeport. The historic carferry can transport more than 500 passengers and dozens of vehicles on each of its crossings between Michigan and Wisconsin. F4 at 1/2000, ISO 800, 500mm lens at 750mm

I never get bored or tired of photographing the SS Badger coming in or out of the Ludington harbor. Lake Michigan was as calm as I have ever witnessed today and that makes for smooth sailing on the carferry as it crosses to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. F8 at 1/400, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

I never get bored or tired of photographing the SS Badger coming in or out of the Ludington harbor. Lake Michigan was as calm as I have ever witnessed today and that makes for smooth sailing on the carferry as it crosses to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. F8 at 1/400, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

It is always fun to find new vantage points from which to photograph the Ludington North Breakwater Light. This morning it was the reflection of the lighthouse that caught my eye. I used the dunes as my foreground and searched for a spot where the reflection would tie into the dunes. F9 at 1/400, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm