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The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has never disappointed me. This October 2011 evening at Miners Beach was no exception. Fortunately, Lake Superior was flat and calm and the evening sun was shining on Elliot Falls. The view warmed my heart and delighted my photo eye.

 

I had been an avid fan of Outdoor Photographer for several decades when my favorite magazine selected one of my images of Munising Falls to grace the cover of their October 2016 issue. Several other photographs made by my son Brad and me illustrated our six-page story about discovering and photographing fall color in Michigan. We were proud to see Michigan’s autumn splendor showcased nationally.

 

It takes a team effort to make some of our strongest images. Our assistant manager, Rachel Gaudette, was the first one on our team to spot this vantage point to photograph Laughing Whitefish Falls. The issue was two large logs stuck at the edge of the steep falls. My dad went into the woods and found a long stick that had a fork on the end of it. I then walked to the slippery edge of the falls and hooked both of the logs with that stick and slid them to the side and out of the photograph. My kneecaps were shaking in my tall rubber boots, but it was totally worth it for this image.

 

In the last few years, my dad and I have been very fortunate to spend a lot of time exploring Michigan's Upper Peninsula with our cameras. Besides shooting the Lake Superior shoreline, we love exploring waterfalls we have never been to. This morning we have made the short hike to Laughing Whitefish Falls for the first time. This might be my new favorite waterfall in Michigan.

Bond Falls Offshoot

 

Converging Falls

 

Team Reed photographers Brad Reed, Rachel Gaudette, Dustin Kunkel and I were teaching a five-day workshop at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park at the west end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in October 2018 when I made this image at often-overlooked, Overlooked Falls. The fifth day in a row of rain didn’t stop us or our workshop students from finding and making good photographs. This “bad weather” workshop reconfirmed for me what I already knew; rain can be an outdoor photographer’s friend. My Nikon D850 and I survived and thrived in the rain.

 

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a photographer's paradise. I could spend a lifetime exploring and photographing the park without getting bored. Every few steps I can find something that catches my eye. Miners Beach Falls is a popular destination for the thousands of visitors to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Porcupines Dream

 

Relaxing Morning

Rock Solid View

Rushing Toward Superior