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My high school math teacher, Mr. Bud, told his students many funny stories of his days working as a park ranger at the Ludington State Park. Mr. Bud also taught us to KISS: Keep It Simple, Silly! I often try to apply KISS to my photographic compositions. Simple compositions can become great art.

My wife Betsy and I were on our way to Crystal Mountain to go skiing when the sun popped out and created a layer of fog. I knew where a good photo could be made; I just needed to drive there before the light disappeared. This tree is near the corner of Fountain and Stiles Road. F10.0 at 1/1000, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

 

Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan is always a fun and beautiful celebration to be a part of. Team Reed loves to explore all the public tulip gardens with our cameras. We recommend photographing the tulips with the largest telephoto lens that you can so that you can have a super shallow depth of field. I shot these with a 600mm lens with a 1.4 extender at 850mm.

I can get lost every spring in the beauty of gardens full of tulips in Holland, Michigan. I love studying all that color and finding the picture within the picture - a tulip or two that stands out in the crowd.

Star Trillium

Waking up to a frosty wonderland, I was on the lookout for a subject to showcase its beauty. These frozen pine needles on Budzynski Road were just the thing.

After spending a wonderful night on Old Mission Peninsula with one of my dad's best life-long friends, Andy Gaines, and his wife Wendy, we spotted this scene alongside the road the next morning. As we often do, we pulled over and I hopped out to build a picture I have always dreamed about making.

I was running out of daylight yesterday and worried that I would have to shoot my photo of the day for the 365 Project in the dark, when the sun broke through the thick cloud layer and cast magic light along the Lake Michigan shoreline. I quickly found some beautiful grass to frame my photograph. F2.8 at 1/6400, ISO 640, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

Have you ever been walking in a beautiful woods and felt like the trees were talking to you? While I walked to Inspiration Point inside Ludington State Park, I felt like if I just stopped walking and listened with my eyes, I would be able to hear the trees' stories. I tried to record their stories with my camera.

After a brisk 30-minute hike to the north end of the Island Trail at the Ludington State Park, I was very relieved to take a rest inside this old warming shelter. My camera bag weighs over 30 pounds and it traps a lot of heat as I walk. The 10-minute rest I took lying on my back almost turned into an hour-long nap. Once the magic light of the golden sunrise appeared though, I was instantly rejuvenated and quickly made this photograph. F8 at 1/30, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Kinney Road Tree in Fog

Ludington State Park Workshop

Floating Into Fall

Kinney Road Tree in Fog

The tops of these trees inside of Stearns Park have been intriguing me for weeks. I finally made an image of them today that I am happy with. The lines and patterns make me happy.

 

A water drop is about to fall from a small branch and my macro lens made an ordinary scene look extraordinary.

 

I have photographed this tree on Kinney Road just east of Old US31 several times. Today, the clouds, fog, and radiant sunlight are all working together to make this scene look extraordinary. Photography is wonderful therapy and is good for my soul.