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Falling Down

Kickin

I was on the hunt for beach glass on this chilly morning. I hiked a great distance, armed and ready with my camera and ring flash. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a single piece. Determined to make the trek worth it, I found this heart-shaped rock. I loved the bubbles of water as the waves receded.

Carferry and Ludington Light

Floating lazily down the Sauble River toward Lake Michigan, a maple leaf drifts over rocky shallows. They say good things happen to those who wait; finding a good backdrop and waiting for the subject to come into it is relaxing and often rewarding.

Some trees look almost human as they strike individual poses against the landscape. I was photo hunting in Victory Township, northeast of Ludington, when this tree and the atmosphere surrounding it caught my eye.

O.K. It's really a Baltimore Oriole. But since it was residing in Ludington State Park, and since my three sons and I were Ludington Orioles during high school, I have taken some editorial license. The colorful songbird had probably recently returned from the south when I came upon him in mid-May on the Island Trail.

On Sunday afternoons, Betsy and I often take the kids for a Sunday Drive. I enjoy driving around looking for photographs and spending quality time with my family. Today, just as we were ending our drive for the day, Betsy pointed out an orange cat on the roof of an apartment house in Ludington. I love this photograph. F10.0 at 1/640, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 50 mm

Our workshop students were up to their waists in dewy grasses before sunrise and many of them were on their knees getting their cameras immediate to the wildflowers, grasses and weeds in a field near our Pere Marquette River property. I got down low beside them to immerse myself in the tapestry of spring growth. Six a.m. never looked better to me.

After an incredibly long and hard day of hiking and shooting photographs on Isle Royale, at around 11:30 p.m., my dad and I decided to take a chance and make the short hike to Tobin Harbor to see if the northern lights were out. To our surprise, we could see them as soon as we got onto the seaplane docks. We needed to set up quickly to ensure we got good images before midnight so we could use them in our new Wednesdays book. I knew from past experience I needed a 15-minute exposure. Multiple loons and at least two moose were calling back and forth over the water.

An immature bald eagle soars directly overhead as I hike a trail through the dunes near the Sable River at Ludington State Park. The bird circles over me, seemingly checking me out, or is it just searching for breakfast? Either way, I am grateful for the close-up view.

Rays of Hope

Tuesdays With Todd and Brad Reed

Badger In The Mist

Grand Island Ice Caves

After the Super Bowl last night, I decided to stay the night in Silver Lake at the hotel with Julia, Ethan, and the gang. On my drive back to Ludington this morning, I had to pull off the road and climb the observation tower near the corner of Conrad and Old US-31 in order to photograph the awesome clouds and colorful sunrise.

I have a passion for photographing ice. The abstract shapes and the contrast of tones make for great images. I discovered this scene along the Lake Michigan shoreline in the middle of February. It is one of my favorite photographs.

Brad and I put on another of our annual photography tips programs at Big Sable Lighthouse this evening and within a half-hour of its conclusion nearly everyone is gone. Brad and his daughter Julia head up to the top of the light to check out the view from the top while I stay below and wait for the sweet light. Here it is! F16.0 at 1/6, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

I have appreciated these grasses for several years in the Pere Marquette River Flats near the former city dump site. They look splendid to me tonight rising above the marsh, backlit by the setting sun. I am glad I took this route home after a long day teaching photography at West Shore Community College. F11.0 at 1/200, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 86 mm

Was Superman born here? That is what I kept asking myself as I stood in wonder looking at the glorious ice caves on Grand Island near Munising, Michigan. The colors and formations were like nothing I had ever seen. They did not look real and it is hard to get a sense of scale from this photograph of how large these caves actually are.