Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute

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.

A rowboat rests at its dock on Bass Lake near Pentwater, Michigan. The peacefulness and timelessness of the scene captured my eye on an early morning photo hunt. I am quite sure I photographed the same little boat at its dock a couple years ago but today the direction and angle of the light is far better. F9 at 1/250, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

As a retired Coast Guard boatswain's mate, I am very impressed by the squared-away, ready-for-operations condition of this restored 26-foot motor surfboat at Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven. If only the small but sturdy rescue boat could talk. I cannot imagine the stories it could tell of search and rescue missions on Lake Michigan out of Pentwater during the early 1900s. The wooden vessel's four-cylinder engine propelled it at eight to eight and a half knots. Tin sheathing helped protect it. F22 at 1/5, ISO 200, 14-24mm lens at 20mm

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.

After a quick drive in the dark to Little Sable Point Lighthouse, my dad and I were as excited (and loud) as middle-schoolers riding a school bus. We had both just made some fantastic shots of the Northern Lights over Ludington. Our goal now was to get a photograph of the Northern Lights over Little Sable Point Lighthouse. Neither of us have ever had any luck in making that shot before. We have both tried several times, but the Northern Lights either never showed up, or they disappeared before we could make the 35-minute drive. Our luck was about to change. The Northern Lights were much dimmer now and almost invisible to the naked eye. However, like Galen Rowell taught all nature photographers, you have to learn to see like your camera sees. I tried to line up the North Star right above Little Sable Point Lighthouse. I made a few test exposures and then set my camera to F8 at ISO 200. I used my cable release and my iPhone as a timer and took a 32-minute exposure. The stars in the night sky made a perfect circle around the North Star and my camera could easily pick up the color from the Northern Lights. What a magic morning along the shores of Lake Michigan. I made this image at 4:54 a.m. on our 17th Tuesday of 2012. F8 at 32 minutes, ISO 200, 14mm lens at 14mm

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.

This morning I went flying with Ryan Johnson from Mason County Aviation. We left Ludington and immediately flew north towards the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula. To get the photographs that I had previsualized, Ryan estimated that we needed an altitude of at least 11,500 feet. From that height, I opened the window of the small plane and stuck my head and camera out into the cold, thin air. It was an awesome adrenaline rush. I made this photograph of Big Sable Point and Hamlin Lake upon our return to Ludington. F8 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

The clean, sandy bottom of Lake Michigan near Ludington is what has helped make the Ludington City Beach world famous. Every year it is rated as one of the best beaches in the country and more than once it has been made the list of the top 10 beaches in the world. I used that clean, sandy bottom to my advantage today to make this photograph. F5 at 1/400, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

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.

I photographed the USCGC Hollyhock in 2010 for the 365 Project while she was in Ludington for a few days. Today, my dad and I trailered our 13-foot Boston Whaler Super Sport down to Grand Haven, Michigan to photograph the Coast Guard festival for "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute." Upon arrival in Grand Haven, we were excited to see the 225-foot Hollyhock was in port and open for tours. F8 at 1/1600, ISO 400, 10-17mm lens at 10mm

I visualized how the Charlevoix Lighthouse might look three hours and 150 miles before I got there. The fresh coat of ice on the Charlevoix pier from yesterday's north wind and waves looks even better than I envisioned. I am loving being right here, right now in Northern Michigan.

A Coast Guard self-righting motor lifeboat reached sheltered water inside the Grand Haven pierheads after “heavy weather” training operations on Lake Michigan in the large waves generated by Superstorm Sandy. The 47-foot vessel is designed to operate in seas up to 30 feet and winds up to 50 knots.

Winter mornings on the farm don't get any prettier than this one. I have driven nearly 100 miles to make this image of my favorite barn in the countryside of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I am ecstatic about the payoff!

A Great Lakes freighter appears to be transporting the setting sun as it heads northward on Lake Michigan on this beautiful spring evening. After their winter tie-up, it is good to see these proud ships back plying the Great Lakes. Making this shot caps off an exciting and diverse Week 17 shooting day that began more than 18 hours earlier when Brad woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me the Northern Lights were beckoning. F4 at 1/100, ISO 400, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

I feel like I can look into the heart and soul of this horse as I view it up close and personal through my camera. Brad and I discovered this gorgeous creature along county highway B31 near Fremont during a more than 250-mile Tuesday photo excursion along West Michigan highways and byways.

The Huron River makes its way through Ann Arbor and flows through sections of the University of Michigan's campus. Today the bright sunlight has caused the brilliant fall leaves to be reflected in the gorgeous river that was named in honor of the Huron Band of Native Americans. F2.8 at 1/2500, ISO 800, 70-200mm lens at 145mm

You have probably read or heard my dad and me say a hundred times that "clouds are your friends" when you are out making photographs. Well, today the proof is in the pudding. This scene of the Lost Lake Island at Ludington State Park is a beautiful sight every day of the year, but the spectacular clouds today took the view from good to great. F5 at 1/640, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

My dad and I try to position ourselves at dynamic angles to our photograph's subject. In this photograph, look at the triangles that are created throughout the composition. By placing the jetties at a dynamic diagonal on the left side of the image, it creates a more powerful and three-dimensional look and feel. F7.1 at 1/20, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 20mm

The 1004-foot-long Edwin H. Gott steams past Round Island Light in the Straits of Mackinac. The 105-foot wide Great Lakes freighter is capable of carrying a 74,100-ton cargo of taconite or other materials. F4 at 1/3200, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 14mm