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The tugboat John Henry circles the Badger to help the 410-foot carferry battle its way out of Ludington harbor against wind-driven ice packed tight from surface to lake bottom. This dramatic scene unfolded in front of my camera during the winter of 1989 as the big ship was battling the ice to ferry another load of railroad cars from Ludington to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. I climbed a high stone pile near the edge of icy Ludington harbor to get a better view. It was freezing cold, but I didn’t notice. As a photojournalist and artist, I lived for the opportunity to make images that I considered good news shots and good art. I was more than willing to pay a price and wait for a peak moment to capture. I still consider this one of the best maritime images I have ever made.

Like the thousands of other people packing downtown Ludington on New Year's Eve, I am overwhelmed with excitement and a sense of community spirit as the giant ball touches down to mark the start of 2010. The ball drop is one of the coolest events in the history of Ludington, both literally and figuratively speaking. F4.0 at 1/10, ISO 1600, 12-24 mm lens at 12 mm

The Duck Lake Watershed along US31 near Interlochen has long been in my mental diary of views that could make a good picture on the right day. Today, with a fresh blanket of snow and light snow falling, it finally looks picture perfect.

Point aux Barques Guardian

PM 41 Barge

While Brad and I were photographing Michigan every Wednesday of 2014 for our book, Todd and Brad Reed’s Michigan: Wednesdays in the Mitten, I traveled to Mackinaw City on Tuesday, February 11, to scout out and be ready to shoot book images early the next morning. I wished this image I made that Tuesday evening in the Straits of Mackinac as the moon was rising would have appeared in front of my camera Wednesday so it could have been included in the Wednesdays book. It took seven years, but my Straits creation finally made its way into a book.

I could think of no better way to start 2020 than by celebrating New Year’s in downtown Ludington. By hanging out the upstairs window of our gallery as far as I could with my camera on a tripod, I was able to make this image of the New Year’s ball drop.

Stopped temporarily in its track by ice pushed by westerly winds across Lake Michigan into Ludington Harbor, the carferry Badger was framed by an ice-coated railing along the Ludington harbor channel. This scene and the “Red Tug” scene unfolded during the 1980s when the sturdy ship still carried railroad cars and operated year-around. This image still stands as my favorite carferry photograph from among the thousands I have taken.

Traveling by horse and buggy is a way of life for the Amish families who have settled iin Riverton and the surrounding areas. On the verge of spring. I was photographing a Riverton farm near sunset when a horse and buggy came down Hawley Road at a fast pace. Even though the Amish choose a simpler way of life, they always seem to be on the move, undaunted by hard work, or lack of life's luxuries. I appreciate that they always seem to have time to give a cheerful wave as they pass by.

I pulled into the beach parking lot in downtown Frankfort less than two minutes before making this image. I saw the clouds to the west over Lake Michigan from the top of the hill in Benzie at the intersection of US31 and M115 and I predicted the sun would pop out just before it disappeared for the night below the horizon. I knew if we were lucky and the sun actually did appear, the resulting light show would be incredible. Following your gut instincts is important in outdoor photography.

Like hundreds of shark's teeth, icicles cling in near perfect symmetry to a railing along the walkway leading to the Charlevoix Lighthouse. I decide to make the icicles the focus of this image. I know the bright red lighthouse and its reflection will still attract enough attention to stand out as a small part of my picture.

While making this photograph near Walkerville, Michigan, I felt that this old abandoned house had a human characteristic to it. When trying to come up with a name for the photograph, my sister-in-law, Stephanie Reed, suggested Old Man Winter because she could see an old man with a long beard in the house and grasses. As soon as she mentioned that, I knew exactly what she was talking about.

Snowy Owl

Upon discovering that, even in snowshoes, I was unable to walk over the five-foot snow drifts on the utility road to Big Sable Point Lighthouse, I had to figure out another way to get to the lighthouse. After using some good risk assessment, I decided my best course of action was to walk on the ice a few hundred yards off shore. After almost a mile and a half of treacherous walking and crawling, I made it to the lighthouse. Exhausted and hot, I made this image in seven degree weather, made chillier by 20 mile-per-hour winds. It was so worth the journey. D7000, F22 at 1/60, ISO 100, 10-20mm lens at 10mm

Being a farm girl, this farm near Gaylord, Michigan, caught my eye. Wading through knee-deep snow, I worked my way to achieve the composition I wanted. The subtle sunset was the perfect accent piece.

An hour or two before sunset, my dad can usually foretell whether the sky will produce great color. I have endeavored to learn this skill from him. On this evening, my dad and I both noticed that the sky looked very similar to four nights earlier when I photographed the particle ray behind the Ludington North Pier. We immediately drove to Pentwater and our predictions were realized.

I have long wanted to make a picture at this spot along the Betsie River near Crystal Mountain Resort. This is a perfect morning; nothing to it but to stop life's express train and do it. F11.0 at 1.0, ISO 400, 12-24 mm lens at 22 mm

The Great Lakes freighter Calumet sits in Manistee harbor, protected from high waves left over from a Lake Michigan storm. Meanwhile seagulls flock to the open water around the ship to forage for fish.

The Charlevoix Lighthouse stands out any time of year with its bright red aid-to-navigation paint job, but surrounded by a fresh coat of ice it bursts forth like a rocket. The compositional elements lend themselves to this vertical composition as well as the horizontal image I have already made in the same spot.

While growing up, my grandpa, Bill Marble, had a reddish horse named Rose. I thought she was beautiful and have always liked horses that color. Today, not far from Fremont, Michigan my dad and I stumbled upon this gorgeous red rider.