Natural Phenomena

Low Seiche

After visiting, and eating a wonderful dinner with Betsy, Sean, Aiden, Julia, and Ethan at the Sierra Sands Family Lodge in Silver Lake, Rachel and I headed to Little Sable Point Lighthouse to try and photograph the Comet NEOWISE. This comet, which won’t be visible again for almost 7,000 years, was visible to the naked eye in the northwest sky. With our large lenses, we were able to photograph the comet.

I had previsualized my shot for tonight days before I clicked the shutter. I knew I wanted to include both the Little Sable Point Lighthouse and Comet NEOWISE in my shot. The colorful afterglow was an added bonus!

Waiting until after midnight so Rachel and I could shoot our next photos of the day for our 366 Project was a great decision. We were blessed to not only be able to shoot photos that had the Comet NEOWISE and the Milky Way in them with Little Sable Point Lighthouse, but also the Northern Lights! It was an extraordinary night along the Lake Michigan shoreline near the Silver Lake Sand Dunes.

My kids have been at their dad’s since Comet NEOWISE has been visible. When I picked them up this evening, I asked if they had been out to see it. Since they hadn’t, we stayed up extra late in the backyard to witness this spectacular event!

My son Brad and I teamed up to make this last-time-in-our-lifetimes image of the planet Venus crossing in front of the sun. It would be another 108 years before another Venus solar transit. Brad and I shot this photograph at Big Sable Point Lighthouse at 9:18 p.m. on June 5, 2012 as the sun dropped toward Lake Michigan six minutes prior to sunset. What a phenomenal way to cap off Week 23 of Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute.