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Our 5 x 7-inch greeting cards are printed on archival paper. They are blank inside, with the story of the image on the back of the card. Envelope included.

Our 5 x 7-inch greeting cards are printed on archival paper. They are blank inside, with the story of the image on the back of the card. Envelope included.

Workshop at Ludington State Park

Ludington State Park Workshop

4th of July Parade

4th of July Parade 2023. Its because of Heroes like these we get to celebrate this day

4th of July Parade 2023. Our Famous Scottteville Clown Band or Otherwise called "The Big Noise from Scotteville"Have been around since 1903. Every Year Ludington Looks forward to our 4th July Parade and when the Band finally shows up. Though it marks the end of the parade, people always wait for the best finale Show to mark the beginning of our celebration.

4th of July Parade 2023. Our Famous Scottteville Clown Band or Otherwise called "The Big Noise from Scotteville"Have been around since 1903. Every Year Ludington Looks forward to our 4th July Parade and when the Band finally shows up. Though it marks the end of the parade, people always wait for the best finale Show to mark the beginning of our celebration.

4th of July Parade 2023. Our Famous Scottteville Clown Band or Otherwise called "The Big Noise from Scotteville"Have been around since 1903. Every Year Ludington Looks forward to our 4th July Parade and when the Band finally shows up. Though it marks the end of the parade, people always wait for the best finale Show to mark the beginning of our celebration.

Only a few times in more than 50 years of photographing the natural beauty of Michigan have I felt so humbled, so awe-struck, by a scene before me than I did while making this image. Witnessing the Northern Lights above Lake Michigan the evening of December 14, 2006, was truly a religious experience. Green lights danced through the northern sky above me, and waves broke over the Ludington South Breakwater ahead of me as I tried to hike my way to the end of the pier without getting washed off. I was able to safely get no further than the bend in the pier. It was so windy I dared not extend the legs of my tripod. Instead I knelt down, mounted my camera on the low, sturdy tripod and began shooting. I was as pumped as a hunter with a 10-point buck standing in front of him. But the best was yet to come. About 20 minutes later, at 8:35 p.m., neon-red Northern Lights appeared and began rocketing up and down in the western sky. For fewer than two minutes, the sky was glorious and up to four times brighter than before and afterward. My camera recorded the peak of the color and brightness during this 30-second time exposure. The exposure also recorded a meteor (upper right) streaking through the sky. Technically, this image is not all it could be. I had made the switch from film to digital cameras only a couple years before this rare photo opportunity presented itself. Like many other longtime professional photographers, it would take time to master exposure with this new digital technology. Even though the image looked excellent on the electronic playback on back of the camera, it was underexposed by more than a stop. Since then, I have learned to better understand and rely on the camera’s histogram, which is a true output measure of exposure. In addition, the sensors on digital cameras have vastly improved, and newer models tend to render high quality images at higher ISOs than in the past. Even with the most modern digital photography marvels, one thing I know from experience: nothing is more important in photography than the proper exposure. Still, I am grateful to have made this less than perfect image of the most intense, colorful Northern Lights I have ever witnessed.

Salmon Fishing in July Ludington

Ludington State Park Island Trail at Sunrise (4905)

"This Is Ludington" by Brad Reed My girlfriend Rachel texted me tonight that the northern lights were out. I rushed to my truck and drove down to Stearns Beach in Ludington. I walked as fast as I could out the pier hoping the dancing northern lights would last long enough for me to get the picture I had pre-visualized. Luckily for me, the light show lasted over an hour, and at times, was spectacular! Nikon D850. F5.6 at 91 seconds, ISO 800. 14-24mm lens at 14mm. On a tripod without a flash. 11:22pm on September 18, 2023.

Cruising Lake Michigan

I was intent on capturing a close-up image of the Super Blood Wolf Moon setting behind the Ludington lighthouse on January 21, 2019. Mother Nature had something else in store. I just had to have the presence of mind and heart to see it at 9 a.m. on a way-beyond-ice-cold winter day. We teach our workshop students that 90 percent of a good image is about the quality of the light and or atmosphere. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was in the presence of both great light and atmosphere. We also teach, “Bad is Good,” meaning that bad weather provides good conditions for making strong outdoor photographs. It was a good bad day.

Workshop at Ludington State Park

New double-sided Christmas ornament of the Ludington Lighthouse! Final dimensions of ornament is 3" x 2" with a thickness of 1/8" and a cord for hanging.

Workshop at Ludington State Park

I love Ludington’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show as much as anyone. But I have to say I was more excited about the fireworks Mother Nature shot off over Ludington on May 3, 2019. I had a front row seat from the balcony of our home as the fireworks lit up the harbor.