They Call Me Eagle Eyes

Muskrat Love by Rachel Gaudette It was a dreary day today as I drove around looking for photo opportunities. I stopped near Bass Lake, hoping to find birds or ice formations. What I found instead was a busy muskrat! It moved quickly, diving into the open water and popping up at a different piece of open water nearby. I watched it for quite a while, enjoying the experience.

A Hidden Treasure by Brad Reed I love photographing subjects that are hidden within their environment. It is my challenge as an artist to capture the scene in a way that the viewer does not recognize the hidden subject right away. I enjoy watching people look at this photograph and seeing their surprised expressions when they find the hidden treasure.

I could hear this little chipmunk inside of a huge downed tree in my side yard, but I couldn’t see it. I positioned my camera and tripod near one end of the hollowed-out log and had my focus and exposure already set. Then I used my iPhone and Googled chipmunk sounds. It didn’t take long for the chipmunk to come and take a look to see where that enticing sound was coming from.

Delicate Situation by Todd Reed There is no mistaking this traffic signal, or is there? I was already in retreat before realizing this was not a skunk but rather a black squirrel with a white-tipped tail. Once I was sure it was a squirrel I found its tail a beautiful sight amidst the delicate looking flowers in a garden beside the MSU library. F3.5 at 1/500, ISO 800, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

We have been spending a lot of time at the farm during this COVID-19 shut down. Today, my nephew spotted a muskrat in our pond. Thankfully he was feeling photogenic and stayed above water!

A half an hour before sunset, Brad and I realized that there was a high chance of a fantastic sunset out of the snowy, gray sky. We each drove towards the lakeshore, shooting in different spots. As the sun dipped below the cloud barrier, the most remarkable particle ray appeared, and the sky lit up with the most brilliant sunset I have ever seen. What a great reminder that beauty will come after gray days.

Hello My Friend by Rachel Gaudette Baby raccoons are so adorable to look at. This little one was exploring my backyard. My kids all got the chance to watch him play and run and climb.

Some images will always have a special place in my heart, and this is one of them. While having a blast golfing tonight with my brother Tad and Sean at Golden Sands Golf Course near Silver Lake, Tad spotted this large toad in the grass. I quickly grabbed my cell phone and lay on my stomach and got face to face with this prince. Lots of laughs and jokes went along with this moment that will always make me happy.

This is one of my top three favorite photographs I have ever made. It seems to create a powerful emotional response when people view it for the first time. I think people relate the human struggle to the lone horse trudging through the deep snow in a blizzard. The legal name of the horse was Ultra Vanity Fair. A few years after making this image, she passed away. I am glad the she will live on forever in this piece of art.

Quillis by Brad Reed My good friends, Joe and Tracy Cooper, had put a photo on Facebook yesterday of a porcupine that was hanging out in their front yard. I contacted Tracy and asked if I could come over and photograph it with my big camera. After I got her permission, my daughter Julia and I drove to their home south of Ludington and found "Quillis" chilling and eating some apples. It was raining and very windy outside, but this little guy didn't seem to be bothered by anything. Julia and I had a blast photographing him. Nikon D800. F4 at 1/250, ISO 400. 600mm lens at 600mm. On a tripod with an external flash set to rear sync. October 15, 2017 at 3:47 PM.

Warm and Happy by Todd Reed Turtles love to find a place in the sun to warm up. A good place to look is on logs jutting out of the water away from shore. The turtles know they are safer there and will often stay in place while people on shore enjoy looking at them and perhaps photographing them so others can see what they saw.

A great blue heron remained motionless while waiting for his fish dinner to swim past his position along a bank of the Pere Marquette River. I have long admired the stealth and patience of these beautiful birds. As an outdoor photographer, I have learned to be more stealthy and more patient to increase my chances of capturing wildlife magic moments.

I thought I was going to have a heart attack and die halfway through a five-block sprint from my Ludington waterfront home on a circle tour to my truck to get my camera and then around Harbor View Marina to get to the spot where I visualized I needed to be to photograph one of the most vivid rainbows I had ever seen. While bent over, hyperventilating, trying to catch my breath, it occurred to me that, yes, I might have a heart attack and die if I didn’t quit running, but I definitely was going to die if I didn’t get this shot. In my mind and heart, this was an image worth dying for. I hadn’t run this hard since retiring from the Coast Guard 11 years earlier, but I needed to save myself from disappointment, so onward I ran. I was so busy running, it wasn’t until I reached my pre-selected spot on the west side of the Ludington Waterfront Sculpture Park that I looked toward the rainbow and witnessed a sight far more incredible than I could ever have imagined a few minutes earlier from the third-story deck of our condominium. The double rainbow was even more vivid now and perfectly positioned from this vantage point. The marina and boats provided the attractive foreground I had envisioned from home without being there. For a few moments, I was so focused on the double rainbow, I didn’t even see the reflection of the main rainbow in the water. When I did, I ran closer to the water’s edge so I could include the entire rainbow reflection in my image. This was the first and only time in my life I had ever seen a rainbow and its reflection make a complete circle. I quickly made an image, thinking the rainbow would fade away any second. Then I took a deep breath and concentrated on really seeing and evaluating every aspect of the image I had built. I moved my camera position less than a foot in micro-composing the image to better align the foreground, middle-ground and background layers. A couple thumb clicks of my cable release later, and I was done. I could breathe easy now and savor for a few more minutes this exceptionally brilliant rainbow I and countless others were blessed to see on July 10, 2016

Spiritual Being by Brad Reed After photographing this owl up close, it flew about 40 yards away and landed in a tree. The close-up shot was unique, but I love this environmental portrait a lot more. Nikon D800. F2.8 at 1/1600, ISO 1600. 70-200mm lens at 200mm. Handheld without a flash. November 10, 2014 at 11:47am.

With one of her youngsters safely tucked behind her, an adult otter clutched her other baby after a swimming and food hunting expedition on the Leland River at Fish Town. A mooring line ran between them. The scene reminded me of swimmers hugging between lanes after finishing a race. I am certain this was an emotional moment for the otters.

After spending several hours at Big Sable Point Lighthouse with my dad, my daughter Julia, and my girlfriend, Rachel, shooting photos of the Comet NEOWISE, we had all decided we were tired, and it was time to start walking back to the truck. After two minutes of walking on the utility road south of the lighthouse, I turned around to give Big Sable one more look goodbye. When I turned around, this is what I saw.

Silver Lake Reflections by Brad Reed Today is Christmas Eve. Everything is still and calm. It is nice to enjoy this quiet view of the Silver Lake Sand Dunes all by myself this morning because I know the next week will be crazy busy with Christmas celebrations and a lot of eating. I take time to reflect on what an eventful year 2014 has been and all the good times I have had with my family and friends. Life is good! D800, F22 at 1 second, ISO 100, 24-70mm lens at 70mm

The kids, and several cousins were enjoying time together around Bespop’s pond today. Their laughter filled the air as they caught frogs, fished, and took the boat out. Suddenly, there was a difference in their voices. There was a huge blue racer climbing from tree to tree. This one terrified me way more than the, now small, snake I shot earlier in the week! The kids got a kick out of my squeals of terror each time it moved.

Lambo by Brad Reed When I was born someone gave me a little white stuffed lamb that I later named Lambo. It was always my favorite. The bright white lamb at Shoup's farm that I photographed today for Week 15 of the Tuesdays Project brings an extra big smile to my face. F2.8 at 1/800, ISO 400, 70-200mm lens at 200mm