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Bay Sailors
Kayakers enjoy the Michigan outdoors on West Bay in Traverse City while sailboats stay at their moorings until their crews have the time to get them back underway. Even an occasional voyage on Michigan waters tends to restore my soul. I am sure others feel reborn too when they set sail.
Winter Warmth
After traveling nearly 300 miles today photo hunting on a mostly gray day, experience tells me the sun may peak out as it approaches the horizon. I head to Ludington State Park and take up position on one of the tallest dunes on the shoreline. Sure enough, 20 minutes before sunset, the sun starts finding its way through cloud openings.
Brad Reed's Day 25 of 366
A large farm near the border of Mason and Oceana Counties looks like the skyline view of Chicago over Lake Michigan. I can’t stop my truck quick enough to make this image.
Low Meteotsunami
The Ludington North Breakwater was underwater for a short time on April 13, 2018, at the height of one of the largest meteotsunamis ever observed on Lake Michigan in the Ludington area. I photographed the flooded pier (image top left) from the Ludington beach at Stearns Park moments after a fast-moving hail and rain storm swept ashore. Only nine minutes later, I captured the much lower than normal water level (image bottom left) as the flood waters washed back into Lake Michigan. Notice the shallowness of the water and the amount of boulders visible along the edge of the pier. According to NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), two separate meteotsunamis occurred within a short time. GLERL said the meteotsunamis were caused by “short, extreme bursts of wind and pressure.” The Weather Channel reported that thunderstorms trigger most meteotsunamis. Small meteotsunamis are not unusual but destructive ones like this one tend to happen only once every 10 years on average, according to Eric Anderson of the research laboratory
Winter at Cherry Hill Farm
My son Brad and I teach that 90 percent of a good outdoor photograph is about the light and or atmosphere. Three videographers were with me on a late January early evening that could best be described as gray on the emotional scale. They probably wondered why I was stopping along this country road with it getting so dark. However, I instantly saw, looking at Cherry Hill Farm, that the soft snowfall was creating a painterly, Christmas-card atmosphere that I could previsualize much brighter. A longer exposure would do just that but I needed the snowflakes to remain relatively distinct. Adding to my challenge, I wanted as much of the scene sharp as possible. The solution was to raise my ISO (digital sensor sensitivity speed) to a fast 3200, which allowed me to shoot at a relatively fast shutter speed (1/100th second) and still maintain a medium depth of field (f9). All I had to do now was slap down the tripod, mount the camera and trip the shutter. I have studied and photographed our Conrad Road neighbors’ farm for years. This image is one of my wintertime favorites
Goodbye Badger
Carferry Badger leaving home Sailing off across Lake Moichigan
On Ice
Like a coating of white feathers, frost decorates sumac branches on a dune overlooking the Sable River Outlet at Ludington State Park. This February scene is the polar opposite of those hot summer days when the Lake Michigan tributary and its banks abound with swimmers and sunbathers. Sable River Outlet is one of the most picturesque spots on Lake Michigan in any season.
Raising the Roof
We found an old garage on the south side of Muskegon with a roof that created the American flag out of shingles. It was the coolest roof that I have ever seen. Someday I would love to do this on my garage.
Elixir
Having the flu is never fun, especially when you have to work. Today was the fourth Tuesday of "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed" so I had no choice but to get off the couch and try making some strong images. I found this image on a large man-made pond near Muskegon, Michigan. Going through the process of making this photograph actually made me feel better. Photography is often my favorite elixir!
Rachel Gaudette’s Day 25 of 366 - January 26, 2020
My friend, Aubry, texted me that she had just seen two bald eagles perched on a branch near Crossroads Church on US-10 between Custer and Scottville, Michigan. I loaded up my kids and headed that way. We ventured out in the snowy field to each make our own images of these two beauties.