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Coming face to face with this otter startled me even though I had spotted it a few minutes earlier as it moved between two ponds near the north end of the Island Trail. Figuring where the otter might be, I had stealthily snuck nearly to the edge of the pond when the big otter popped up less than 10 yards away. I jumped back but regrouped in time to get off one quick shot before the equally startled otter dove back under water.

Baby Birds

We had been trying unsuccessfully all morning to make strong still and video imagery of an eagle while shooting in 2007 for an upcoming book, Ludington State Park: Queen of the North. Some days are a bust; this started out being one of those. The eagles were not cooperating, and we had gotten wet and cold bouncing around choppy Hamlin Lake. In the Coast Guard, I learned that if Plan A does not work, always have a Plan B already in mind. So, despite being disappointed, cold and hungry, we turned our attention to photographing salmon making their annual return to the Sable River from Lake Michigan. It was the last week of October, and the fall color reflecting off the wind-rippled surface of the water made this salmon appear to be under stained glass. It was not the image I had set out to make, but it turned out to be one of my favorite images from a year of intensely photographing Ludington State Park. In years past I had made lesser photographs of salmon in the same spot, just under water on a spawning bed with fall color reflected on the surface. But on this day, Mother Nature blessed me with an extraordinary added ingredient. A brisk west wind made all the difference, agitating the surface of the water just enough to create a shower glass effect on the river. This faceted surface reflected various colors in various directions, turning my photograph into abstract art. I don’t like setting up an image. I love “found” pictures that are real-time moments in the Michigan outdoors. I am especially proud of this image because, while many people surmise it is not “real” and is somehow an electronic after-the-fact manipulation, it is as real, as purely Michigan at its genuine best as I have ever made. I love a lot of abstract art, but I don’t find myself drawn to setting out to make a lot of abstract images. But I do know a good abstract photo moment when I see one.

The light of a beautiful June evening making its way into the forest beautifully lit this deer. The deer did not flee, causing me to suspect it might have a fawn nearby. I quickly made this portrait and moved on. The doe was still lingering along the trail watching me as I made my way around the next bend.

Legends

Tonight I had a chance of a lifetime. My good friend, Brian Flannery, invited me to photograph some world-class whitetail deer at the Legend Ranch near Bitely, Michigan. People from all over the world travel here to hunt on this beautiful ranch. I wasn't in the blind for more than five minutes when this big boy walked out. It was the largest buck I had ever seen or photographed. Little did I know, he was one of the smaller deer I would see in the next two hours.

Tuesdays With Todd and Brad Reed

Songbirds have a way of making everyone smile. This little guy is so round and cute, and he gives me hope of a nearing spring. F3.5 at 1/250, ISO 640, 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm

I saw so many bumblebees on knapweed when I was a boy that I logically named it bumblebee weed. A field of bumblebee weeds was a sure place to capture bumblebees and listen to them buzz in glass jars with holes in the metal lids. Now I become buzzed taking their photographs.

Panorama Resort

Male whitetail deer in the fall will do the dumbest things when they are looking for love. I was able to crawl on my hands and knees within 30 yards of this small four-point buck. I just acted like another invading buck. I stomped the ground, grunted, and lifted my head up and down as I slowly made my approach. Just before I made this photograph, a female whitetail deer came down from the ridge and got this guy's attention.

What the heck is that?!?! That would be my mom's hairless cat Grub. Isn't he cute? F6.3 at 1/125, ISO 640, 18-50 mm lens at 38 mm

I spot turkeys almost daily along Iris Road south of Ludington but this morning they look more splendid than ever. Hold that pose while I grab that camera off the car seat. Thank you, turkeys! F8.0 at 1/60, ISO 800, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Workshop at Ludington State Park

Radiant orange flowers growing on the side of a large dead stump near the north end of the Hamlin Dunes caught my eye as we were passing by in our small boat. I hopped out and floated with my life jacket on, using my tripod as a paddle while trying to keep my camera dry above my head. When I got close to the flowers I was able to stand up and I found the real hidden treasure I was seeking.

This is the first photograph I have ever made of a Michigan coyote. Photographing a coyote has been near the top of my bucket list for several years. This wily coyote was circling around in long grass to get closer to a herd of deer. I shot this photo with a 600mm telephoto lens from about a 800 yards away near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Leelanau County. Hopefully next time I will be able to get closer, but I still really like this environmental portrait of the large coyote.

Snowy Owl

Deep within the forest in the northern part of Ludington State Park lies a pond that my son Brad and I have discovered to be a delightful place. We watched this male wood duck and several others for more than an hour on a late September morning. We waited patiently for them to come closer and then looked for those magic moments when the splendid ducks fit in perfectly with their marshy home.