Summer

Motorists driving along M-116 in Ludington State Park can feast on a view like this. When I was growing up, my parents took me on hundreds of drives along this roadway. I learned that the view can be amazingly different from day to day. That is the real beauty of it. I have also discovered there is never a bad day to view Lake Michigan, only some days more spectacular than others.

365 Week 36

As is taking place in dozens of other small Michigan tourist towns and villages this August evening, an outdoor band concert is being held in Saugatuck. As the band plays and people gathered on the village green listen, the historic Saugatuck Chain Ferry crosses the Kalamazoo River. The chain ferry began operating in 1838 and is believed to be the last hand-cranked chain ferry in service in the United States.

So many birch trees in Michigan have fallen victim to disease that I appreciate finding any of them still standing in the woodlands. These birch trees were standing tall along Hamlin Lake.

Watching more and more of the birch trees in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula die from disease and disappear makes me sad. So much beauty lost. This stand of birch still looked attractive when I discovered them along a country road in 2004. When I returned several years later, they were all dead and disappearing. I am grateful for the opportunity to have seen them when they were still alive

Ludington North Pier Light

So many of Michigan's beach trees are dying because of disease. This giant one just off Nurnberg Road in the Manistee National Forest may not have many years left, but today it looks like the king of the forest.

My son Brad is in position to photograph dawn's early light on Isle Royale. We are on the 45-mile-long main island of the Isle Royale archipelago. Another action-packed day of exploring and photographing Michigan's only National Park lies ahead of us. The large waves we encountered a day ago on our ship voyage from Houghton to Isle Royale have now disappeared. Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, has turned into a mirror overnight.

I watched in awe for two hours as wave after enormous wave slammed into the Ludington North Breakwater Lighthouse on February 24, 2019. I have rarely witnessed or photographed bigger or more frequent waves exploding against the seemingly invincible structure. Many of my several hundred exposures show water flying up to 100 feet in the air and the lighthouse nowhere to be seen. Persistence paid off when I finally caught one huge descending wave still higher than the lighthouse as the next one shot skyward above the lighthouse during its ascension. I had never seen two waves tower above the Ludington lighthouse at once. I was fortunate to artistically document the rare moment.

Beach Bums

I could not resist exploring this cave Brad and I found while hiking on Isle Royale. The rugged yet beautiful view looking out of the cave made working my way inside well worth the effort.

Todd Reed

Aerial Photos

If you like rugged places, come to Isle Royale. My son Brad has managed to work his way to the top of a rocky cliff to check out the view. I am appreciating the ruggedness of the view looking upward.

Lake Michigan Sunset in Ludington

Bass Lake Chairs

Wednesday

Ludington lovers - residents and visitors alike - join together to break the Guiness World Record for the number of people making sand angels at once. Spectrum Health Foundation teamed up with West Shore Bank to enable 1,387 people to simultaneously make the sand angels on the Ludington beach on June 10, 2017.

I have set sail in my 13-foot Boston Whaler skiff tonight to try to make some sunset images from on the water. I don't have to walk on water to position the boat right where I want to be able to make this image. I love my little boat!

Dune Grass Delight