Todd and Brad Reed’s Michigan: Wednesdays in the Mitten

Our friend, Larry VonDrasek, took my dad and me in his new drift boat down the fly-only zone of the Pere Marquette River today so we could photograph the fall color. Larry also let me try my hand at fly-fishing for the first time. I proved to be a professional log catcher.

Tonight my eight-year-old daughter, Julia, went on a photography adventure with me. She got to experience climbing on top of the roof of my truck to make an image and she also witnessed first hand what magic light is. As it was lightly raining and the setting sun broke through the clouds, Julia spotted this rainbow. I gave her the camera first. Once she was done making her art, I made this image of Julia's gold.

Two minutes before I made this image of Sutton's Bay, the shoreline was dark and in the shadows. The magic light of October instantly transformed this scene into a powerful and graphic photograph. I set my ISO to 3200 so that I could "borrow" that light and put it into both the depth of field with the aperture and into the shutter speed so I could freeze the ripples in the water. By freezing the motion in the water, the reflections of the building, boats, and trees became more distinct.

This is the first photograph I have ever made of this part of Lake Leelanau. I didn't realize until today how large or how beautiful the lake is. Today is proving to be one of the best Wednesdays for photography so far in 2014. D800, F22 at 1/13, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 70mm

My dad and I drive four-wheel-drive pick up trucks for several reasons. We often end up on dirt roads, in deep mud, snow, or sand. We also have an unbelievable amount of photography gear, clothing, rope, and other adventure items with us at all times. My truck was pushed to the limits a few hundred yards past where I made this image today. I am glad my truck has skid plates on the bottom because I went over some pretty impressive boulders to get down Indian Hill Road between Honor and Empire.

Since August 2012, when I photographed this old McCormick-Deering tractor on Indian Hill Road for the Tuesdays project, I have been eager to come back and photograph it in the fall. Today the scene is even better than I could ever have imagined. My favorite part of this image is all the leaves stuck in the grass surrounding the tractor.

It occurred to me during one of the most spiritual photographic experiences of my life that I was inside a real-life crystal cathedral. I think the beauty of this God-made ice cave “church” on Grand Island on Lake Superior by Munising far surpasses the beauty of the Crystal Cathedral made by man. Brad and I had photographed many phenomenal views in the Michigan outdoors, but nothing had prepared us for what we witnessed inside the Grand Island ice caves. We felt like we were stepping into God’s art studio as we entered a glowing world of intricately sculpted green and white ice. Few places could be as incredibly glorious as this place. We were, and remain, most grateful for the experience and privilege to make images testifying to the beauty we beheld.

When I was working up this aerial photograph of Hamlin Lake on the computer, I noticed how three-dimensional this image was. The shadow on the north edge of the lake makes the trees and homes off of Nurnberg Road appear to be coming off the page. D800, F8 at 1/100, ISO 400, 14-24mm lens at 14mm

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.

A few minutes before making this image, my dad and I were forced back into the truck by pouring rain while photographing the Croton Dam. We decided to head toward Grand Rapids, but out of nowhere, the rain changed to a slight drizzle and the sun started shining. The earth around us lit up with electric light. We quickly spotted this tree and pulled off the road to make this image. Many of the leaves had large dark spots on them, but they still looked perfect to me.

For some reason this photograph reminds me of The Wizard of Oz. This farm on the way to Grand Rapids looks like it has survived a few big storms over the years. Shortly after I made this image, a large thunderstorm struck.

It is no secret to my friends and family I loathe and despise spiders. This morning as I was photographing this grass in front of P.M. Steamers restaurant in Ludington, I noticed the grass looked like spider legs. Did I mention that I despise spiders?

I have so much respect for the men and women who have served or are serving in the United States military. We will never forget!

I did not have time to get my underwater camera housing water tight, so I made a quick decision to leave it in the truck and grab my normal Nikon D800. I ran down the beach to the water's edge and started shooting. I knew to get the image I really wanted I needed to get into Lake Michigan with my camera. I took a calculated risk and put my camera and tripod head just above the surface of Lake Michigan and waited for a breaking wave to crash just below my camera. With a 0.6 second exposure and my detached flash set to rear sync, I was able to make the image I had envisioned.

The Hartwick Pines State Park is one of Michigan's best-kept secrets. Located near Grayling, the park is full of pine trees that are several hundred years old. The park also has a log cabin style chapel that is open year round. With no electricity or heat, the chapel is often fairly dark inside and also cold in the winter. With my camera on a tripod, I overexposed this image to blow out the highlights so the cross would appear to be glowing. I also used my external flash to light up the Nature's Prayer below the cross.

Did you know Michigan has a jungle within its borders? This frozen jungle is located on a window of the logging museum in the Hartwick Pines State Park. My daughter Julia came up with the name for this image of the frosty window.

Up until I graduated from college, my Grandpa and Grandma Reed lived on the Pere Marquette River near Walhalla at the very end of Budzynski Road. I learned to drive on this country road. I have always thought the road was more beautiful than most, but today it looks prettier than I have ever seen.

Jim and Donna Shoup own and operate Weldon Creek Farms east of Custer, Michigan. They have raised 11 kids at the farm and now have 31 grandkids and two great grandkids who can often be found working hard and having fun there. Our assistant manager, Rachel Gaudette, is their youngest child. Their barn is an American classic and has stood the test of time.

I wish you could see the photograph I took of this scene five seconds earlier, before the sun broke through the clouds; that image is very flat, boring, and ordinary. However, when the magic light appeared, the view of this dune at Ludington State Park with Hamlin Lake in the background became extraordinary.

On this cold December morning, I was glad to see the sun shining through a thick layer of clouds. I stopped the aperture of my lens down to the smallest hole at F22 in order to make the sun rays more distinct.