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I have learned hundreds of photography hints from my dad, but one of the most important things he has taught me is that the sky often displays the best color about twenty minutes after sunset. I had just captured the Breezy Night photograph when Betsy and I drove further into Ludington State Park to look for more photographs. As we passed over the Sable River Bridge, Betsy noticed a heron in the water below. I grabbed my gear and I was off. To get the best photograph possible, I knew I would have to get in the river. Not wanting to threaten or disturb the heron, I waded ever so slowly to within fifteen yards of the bird, and quietly captured the photograph I was looking for. Thanks for the helpful hints, Dad.

Big Point Sable Lighthouse guides mariners safely past its treacherous shallows as it has since 1867. The famous landmark stands guard at the north end of a C-shaped 35-mile stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline that meanders from Big Point Sable to Little Point Sable. Big Point's tower rises 112 feet from its base to the top of the lamphouse.

When I first came upon this scene I quickly noticed an orange leaf stuck in the tired-looking snow fence. I frantically tried to make a good close up photograph of the leaf while the magic light was still hitting it. After getting frustrated and stepping back from the scene, I noticed the repetitive patterns and leading lines that the sand and snowfence made together. I recomposed the photograph and made the leaf an added ingredient. Little did I know that a few hours later I would be back out at the park photographing the Northern Lights.

Over 70 years ago my great-grandpa, Peck Reed, started Ludington Beverage Company. Shortly after the business opened he moved the operation near the corner of Lewis and Loomis Street in downtown Ludington where P.M. Steamers is located today. I loved the magic light hitting the restaurant window this morning. F9.0 at 1/13, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 20 mm

During an early morning workshop shoot, my dad and I took 15 students to Little Sable Point Lighthouse. We love being at the lighthouse as the sun rises above the huge wooded sand dunes to the east. The dunes keep the sun from hitting the lighthouse directly for almost thirty minutes after sunrise. Once the sunlight finally arrives, it can be very dramatic. As Galen Rowell would preach, shoot with your camera from the shadows into the light.

In the last few years my dad and I have gotten pretty good at doing a snow dance in order to help entice Mother Earth to give us some snow to photograph. Earlier this morning when it was gray and raining my dad and I both did snow dances. I guess they finally worked!

At the end of a 12-hour photography expedition through West Michigan countryside and cities, we wind up on the shore of Lake Michigan at Muskegon in time to savor the setting sun. I decide to try one of Brad's favorite techniques

The tugboat Wyoming is all business. From its reinforced iron hull to its giant cleats and array of towing lights, it is obvious this little ship is built to work. As a longtime Great Lakes sailor, I love how "squared away" the Great Lakes Towing Company vessel looks. F4 at 1/2000, ISO 800, 300mm lens at 300mm

Lighthouses always attract my attention but today I am more attracted to these birch trees on the Manistee waterfront. Brad and I often like to make lighthouses the secondary subject of our Michigan lighthouse photographs. F8 at 1/200, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 112mm

Wednesday Oceana County

Seagulls

Cool Sunrise

Blue Takeoff

Hiding in Plain Site

Bathed in evening light, a sailboat graces the east end of Pentwater Lake. The view is from Long Bridge, which links the opposite shores of the lake.

Lake Michigan waves colored with sunset afterglow wash ashore near the Second Curve at Ludington State Park, creating ever-changing watercolor artwork. Just as quickly as one of these "wave paintings" appears, it starts to disappear as the wave energy is spent and gravity carries the water back lake-ward. Seeing and capturing these interesting but fleeting patterns of light and shadow is challenging and a good exercise in seeing. Nature does the painting; the photographer's role is to watch, recognize a picture and shoot before the "painting" erases itself.

I made a picture I felt good about earlier today of a small sapling rising out of ice-coated snow. But this winter night's view of the Michigan Power Cogeneration plant on Sixth Street in Ludington finds me backing my car up to take a better look. Yes, this scene definitely stands out as my 365 picture of the day. F4.0 at 1.6, ISO 100, 12-24 mm lens at 24 mm

This is the view in front of the home my family is renting for the week on Portage Lake near Onekama, Michigan. I have been building this photo in my head since the moment we arrived. Now that it is Wednesday, I have my camera and tripod ready to shoot the sunrise. The hardest part of making this photograph was figuring out how to turn off the automatic sprinklers.