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Taking Flight by Todd Reed A not yet fully mature bald eagle begins to take off from a fishing perch on Hamlin Lake at Ludington State Park. This eagle is one of the first of several mature and immature bald eagles Brad and I photographed for several months. Finding the rare birds and photographing them without interfering with their daily routines is a challenge Brad and I passionately and intensely pursue. I remember our first eagle sighting. We were raging with hunters' fever. I don't know how we ever got off a shot, let alone a good one. But soon good teamwork, strategy and self-control led to images like this.

I followed this immature bald eagle in my truck all the way from the Sable River at Ludington State Park to just south of the First Curve on M116. The beautiful young creature finally came to rest near the top of some trees between Epworth and Lincoln Hills. The eagle definitely had a bird's eye view of the world from atop the blowing trees.

After I waited over an hour for this immature bald eagle to fly, it finally took flight and headed the wrong direction. Luckily I was using my 600mm F4 Nikkor lens with a 1.4 teleconverter on my new Nikon D7000 camera body so I could still show a little detail of this young raptor as it looked for food along the shores of Lake Michigan. F6.3 at 1/8000, 6400 ISO, 600mm lens at 840mm

Tuesdays With Todd and Brad Reed

Calm water, geese, fog, and a colorful sunrise are common ingredients in outdoor photography. When you combine all four of them in one photograph, you have a recipe for success.

Fawn

Calm water, geese, fog, and a colorful sunrise are common ingredients in outdoor photography. When you combine all four of them in one photograph, you have a recipe for success.

A diseased tree had split in half about four feet up from the ground and a bird made a beautiful little nest in the remaining top of the stump. I put my 14mm wide-angle lens extremely close to the nest. This photograph was taken close up yet does not look like a typical close-up. With a wide-angle lens, if you do not get very close to the subject, the subject will look tiny and the photograph will often lack emotional impact.

Legends Ranch Island Blind

Butterfly Magic

Seeing a snowy owl appear through the fog and darkness as the sun rose this morning was an emotional experience for me. My grandma, Linda Scott, always loved snowy owls and every time I see one on television or in print it makes me miss her. This photo is dedicated to her.

Hamlin Lake Off Pontoon Boat

The porcupines of Ludington State Park had eluded our cameras for months. On this particular day, after scouting for a spot to set up a portable blind and shoot some wood ducks (with my camera), I made up my mind to spend the rest of the day on the trails looking up in the trees as much as possible. Several hours and one sore neck later, I spotted this porcupine. The porcupine wisely stood perfectly still and blended its body into the tree trunk and branch as well as it could. The telephoto lens revealed to me that the beautiful creature was aware of my presence. Its only body movement during the time it took to make a portrait was the occasional opening or closing of its eyes.

I could not imagine a softer looking, more exquisite setting in which to photograph a snowy owl. The rising sun was just beginning to light and color the fog when this snowy owl landed on a frost-coated, grassy berm right in front of me. This Northern Michigan winter view felt picture-perfect to me as I carefully focused and exposed the image.

365 Week

Over time man has designed and built many beautiful things-the Colosseum in Rome, the Statue of Liberty, and the 1965 Ford Mustang just to name a few. They are each a perfect blending of beautiful lines and powerful angles. However, none of them compare to one of God's most beautiful creations of all time, the bald eagle.

After following this same snowy owl the entire day, I was finally able to sneak close enough to the mystical creature to capture all the intricate details of its feathers and magnificent eyes. The beautiful side lighting made the eyes of this snowy owl look even more dramatic and powerful.

After following this same snowy owl the entire day, I was finally able to sneak close enough to the mystical creature to capture all the intricate details of its feathers and magnificent eyes. The beautiful side lighting made the eyes of this snowy owl look even more dramatic and powerful.

Bat Man

I have photographed many a fox, but never have I seen one more beautifully groomed than this fox kit that was just curious enough to sit down and check me out for a few seconds at the edge of some woods near the Lake Michigan shoreline. I was hidden behind some trees in a nearby woods. The young fox was trotting when I fired off a shot. Even though I was 30 yards away, the sound of the shutter did not go undetected. The curious fox froze, sat down and listened. It couldn’t have posed more perfectly. I fired this shot, and the kit decided this second unfamiliar sound was reason enough to head for hiding at a slow trot.