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Before I went to bed last night I saw on Facebook that the Northern Lights might appear during the night or the early morning and I texted my dad to let him know. I fell asleep early. A few hours into the night I dreamed a friend yelled to me in my sleep that the Northern Lights were out. In my dream, I shot out of bed and literally flew through my house and outside to my truck. The sky was raging with color. When I woke up in real life at 1:20 a.m., I went into my son's bedroom and looked out his window to the north. No Northern Lights were visible. I was disappointed and got back into bed. Unable to fall back asleep, I got on Facebook. About 20 minutes later I stumbled upon someone's post that they could see the Northern Lights. At that moment I shot back out of bed, threw on my clothes, and was off to the Ludington State Park. I texted my dad on the way and when I arrived at the First Curve the lights were barely visible. I knew I had to call my dad to wake him up, but my cell phone wouldn't work at the park. It always works there, but maybe the Northern Lights were interfering with the cell signal. I debated what to do. Since this was a Tuesday, I decided that I would gamble and not shoot any photos at that point and drive back into town until I had a cell signal to call my dad. I drove, and drove, and drove and still had no signal. I ended up at our gallery in downtown Ludington and used the landline to call him. I told him the good news and I headed back out to the First Curve at the Ludington State Park. Just after I arrived the Northern Lights started exploding. I put on my warm clothes and darted across M116 and into the nearest open field across from the First Curve parking lot. I made my image "Northern Lights Dream" at 2:17 a.m. Week 17 of "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute" was starting off with a bang. F2.8 at 30 seconds, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

It is a strange feeling hiking a half-mile out on a pier half-asleep in the middle of the night in almost complete darkness, especially when the sky appears to be otherworldly as you go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So into the night I hike out onto the Ludington South Breakwater until reaching the spot I had previsualized. As I had hoped, the waves are not too big for me to safely get near the South Breakwater Light. It is cold and windy but I am not cold anymore. All I can think about is getting this shot before Aurora's magic show diminishes. I quickly set the tripod up for an insurance shot, not certain yet of focus and exposure. Thirty seconds later, at 2:41 a.m. Tuesday, April 24, 2012, I analyze the results of my insurance/test shot. It looks sharp and the horizon line is straight, which can be tough to determine in the dark. I make two more identically composed shots over the next 10 minutes. My exposure is better on both of them but the Northern Lights are not dancing near as intensely. Thank God I quickly made that insurance shot; the other shots, although better technically, do not look nearly as out of this world. Thanks also to our Silver Lake photography friend Louise Olson for alerting us by Facebook that she was seeing the lights. What a spectacular start to our shooting day on this 17th Tuesday of "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute." F4.5 at 30 seconds, ISO 800, 14-24mm lens at 18mm

“Aurora Moon” by Brad Reed Last night at the Ludington State Park, along the shores of Lake Michigan, my daughter Julia and I stood in wonder while watching the Northern Lights dance in the distance. The moon and Venus were perfectly reflected in Lake Michigan as well. You could clearly see the lights with the naked eye, but of course, the camera could capture them much better. Nikon D850. F4, 32 seconds, ISO 800. 14-24mm lens at 24mm. On a tripod at 10:03pm on March 23, 2023.

For my second composition of the morning, I ran down to the edge of Lake Michigan and set my tripod up in the cold water. I made sure to have the tallest parts of the old jetties high enough in my viewfinder to break the horizon line of the photograph. I knew this would help tie my foreground elements to my background, which in turn would make my photograph look and feel more three-dimensional. I used my remote shutter release and my iPhone for a stopwatch. Based on the exposure I used to make "Northern Lights Dream" earlier, I calculated that I needed about 18 minutes for my shutter speed. With that long of a shutter speed, I knew the stars would spin in a circle around the North Star. I could see with my eye this fat white beam of light that appeared to be coming from the ground and aiming directly at the North Star. You can see it pretty clearly in the photograph. I have no idea what was causing that beam of light, but it sure makes my composition a whole lot cooler. My dad could even see it five miles south of me as he was photographing from near the end of the Ludington South Breakwater. I made this image at 2:45 a.m. F5.6 at 18 minutes 5 seconds, ISO 200, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

I stayed up late tonight trying to photograph the Northern Lights out at the Ludington State Park. Unfortunately, the Northern Lights did not appear, but the lights of Wisconsin were visible, along with thousands of stars.

I have to admit that every time I witness the Northern Lights I get a little bit nervous that I am going to have a close encounter with aliens. The lights are beautiful and mesmerizing, but a little spooky sometimes. F2.8 at 166 seconds, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

This is the second major Northern Lights show on a Tuesday this year. Thanks to a 9:00 p.m. text message from Don Klemm informing me of the light show, I drove to the Ludington State Park and made this image over the Beach House. F2.8 at 151 seconds, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 20mm

One of the most surreal Northern Lights shows I have ever seen dances across the sky on the Ludington waterfront. Thanks, Brad, for waking me up. I had turned in early after a long day of shooting. Now I am back outdoors with my camera living the dream. F2.8 at 30 seconds, ISO 800, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

One of the beauties of living in Ludington is that we are close enough to the North Pole to occasionally be bathed in the colorful northern exposure of the Northern Lights. Ludington is aglow tonight with city lights and Northern Lights. F3.5 at 25 seconds, ISO 800, 24-70mm lens at 24mm