Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute

This might be my favorite photograph so far of the entire Tuesdays Project. Flies in general kind of freak me out and they are gross, but when this one landed on the giant glass window of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids today, I was glad that my wide-angle lens is also a macro lens. The macro lens allowed me to show all the detail of the fly and its shadow. F11 at 1/125, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 46mm

The newer portion of the beautiful Amway Grand Plaza Hotel was casting a cool shadow on the Grand River today and Sarah Genson and I spotted it at the same exact time. We fought over who actually discovered it first. Honestly, she probably saw the photo opportunity a second before me, but I pulled the trigger first. I never had a sister until she came to work for us and now we have our own unique version of sibling rivalry. F14 at 1/500, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 23mm

Always looking for a unique angle or perspective for my art, I hung over the edge of the waterfall at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum fountain. I used my external flash to illuminate the underside of the waterfall and the cement wall. The bright blue sky added a lot of pop to this image by making colorful streaks in the waterfall as I aimed my camera upwards at a 45-degree angle to create this image. F22 at 1/250, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

The delicate, curved, repetitive patterns of newly formed spring leaves contrast and complement the bold, linear patterns of a downtown Grand Rapids modern skyscraper a couple blocks away. I choose to shoot with a telephoto lens to draw the two subjects together and crop out unwanted distractions. F5.6 at 1/200, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 100mm

I love how the light and shadow is playing today on the La Grand Vitesse sculpture and the Calder Plaza. I am especially impressed with how beautifully Alexander Calder's famous red sculpture stands out amongst and yet complements the neighboring buildings in downtown Grand Rapids. F9 at 1/125, ISO 100, 14-24mm lens at 22mm

La Grande Vitesse, created by Alexander Calder for the City of Grand Rapids in the 1960s, has become the iconic symbol of this West Michigan city. Today is my first time photographing the 42-ton stabile. I love making art out of other people's art. F11 at 1/320, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 46mm

On our way to make photographs of the "Calder" in downtown Grand Rapids today, I noticed the awesome reflections in the windows of this building. Each pane of glass was making its own unique version of window art. F13 at 1/80, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

Tonight is the first time I have ever seen the Muskegon Lighthouse. I have played hundreds of soccer games in the Muskegon area since I was probably eight years old and my dad operated Coast Guard boats at most ports between Holland and Charlevoix. It is shocking to me that I have never seen the beautiful lighthouse at the entrance to Muskegon's harbor. F22 at 1/50, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

The western skies over Lake Michigan started glowing different shades of pink and yellow as the setting sun said goodbye to us tonight in Muskegon. The Muskegon waterfront was aglow and so were my spirits. F22 at 1/13, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

Before I went to bed last night I saw on Facebook that the Northern Lights might appear during the night or the early morning and I texted my dad to let him know. I fell asleep early. A few hours into the night I dreamed a friend yelled to me in my sleep that the Northern Lights were out. In my dream, I shot out of bed and literally flew through my house and outside to my truck. The sky was raging with color. When I woke up in real life at 1:20 a.m., I went into my son's bedroom and looked out his window to the north. No Northern Lights were visible. I was disappointed and got back into bed. Unable to fall back asleep, I got on Facebook. About 20 minutes later I stumbled upon someone's post that they could see the Northern Lights. At that moment I shot back out of bed, threw on my clothes, and was off to the Ludington State Park. I texted my dad on the way and when I arrived at the First Curve the lights were barely visible. I knew I had to call my dad to wake him up, but my cell phone wouldn't work at the park. It always works there, but maybe the Northern Lights were interfering with the cell signal. I debated what to do. Since this was a Tuesday, I decided that I would gamble and not shoot any photos at that point and drive back into town until I had a cell signal to call my dad. I drove, and drove, and drove and still had no signal. I ended up at our gallery in downtown Ludington and used the landline to call him. I told him the good news and I headed back out to the First Curve at the Ludington State Park. Just after I arrived the Northern Lights started exploding. I put on my warm clothes and darted across M116 and into the nearest open field across from the First Curve parking lot. I made my image "Northern Lights Dream" at 2:17 a.m. Week 17 of "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute" was starting off with a bang. F2.8 at 30 seconds, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

It is a strange feeling hiking a half-mile out on a pier half-asleep in the middle of the night in almost complete darkness, especially when the sky appears to be otherworldly as you go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So into the night I hike out onto the Ludington South Breakwater until reaching the spot I had previsualized. As I had hoped, the waves are not too big for me to safely get near the South Breakwater Light. It is cold and windy but I am not cold anymore. All I can think about is getting this shot before Aurora's magic show diminishes. I quickly set the tripod up for an insurance shot, not certain yet of focus and exposure. Thirty seconds later, at 2:41 a.m. Tuesday, April 24, 2012, I analyze the results of my insurance/test shot. It looks sharp and the horizon line is straight, which can be tough to determine in the dark. I make two more identically composed shots over the next 10 minutes. My exposure is better on both of them but the Northern Lights are not dancing near as intensely. Thank God I quickly made that insurance shot; the other shots, although better technically, do not look nearly as out of this world. Thanks also to our Silver Lake photography friend Louise Olson for alerting us by Facebook that she was seeing the lights. What a spectacular start to our shooting day on this 17th Tuesday of "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute." F4.5 at 30 seconds, ISO 800, 14-24mm lens at 18mm

For my second composition of the morning, I ran down to the edge of Lake Michigan and set my tripod up in the cold water. I made sure to have the tallest parts of the old jetties high enough in my viewfinder to break the horizon line of the photograph. I knew this would help tie my foreground elements to my background, which in turn would make my photograph look and feel more three-dimensional. I used my remote shutter release and my iPhone for a stopwatch. Based on the exposure I used to make "Northern Lights Dream" earlier, I calculated that I needed about 18 minutes for my shutter speed. With that long of a shutter speed, I knew the stars would spin in a circle around the North Star. I could see with my eye this fat white beam of light that appeared to be coming from the ground and aiming directly at the North Star. You can see it pretty clearly in the photograph. I have no idea what was causing that beam of light, but it sure makes my composition a whole lot cooler. My dad could even see it five miles south of me as he was photographing from near the end of the Ludington South Breakwater. I made this image at 2:45 a.m. F5.6 at 18 minutes 5 seconds, ISO 200, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

After being up most of the night with my son, Brad, photographing Northern Lights and editing the images, I grabbed a peaceful catnap at our family cabin along the Pere Marquette River. Now I am ready for a little exploring. Light dances on the Pere Marquette River as leaves shimmer in the light of a beautiful spring afternoon. The water is high and running fast today. I take up position to make this image and then linger to drink in the scene for a while longer before moving on to see what else I can find along the river. F3.5 at 1/800, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 120mm

I cannot hike the river bottom on our land without visiting the "Cedar Island" a half-mile upstream from our cabin. The magic I discover there today is spring grasses growing in a shimmering creek. The scene looks like an oriental painting to me. I choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the faceted patterns on the water's surface. F4 at 1/320, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

Often making one picture leads to another. As I finish photographing some grasses in a creek along the Pere Marquette River, a fly that looks to me like a mayfly lands in the water just a few feet away. What catches my eye is the large concentric rings the fly and another that landed moments earlier are making on the water. How can such a small creature make such a big impression? F4 at 1/250, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 200mm

These are by far the biggest living maple leaves I have discovered in Michigan so far this April. Perhaps the abundance of water being supplied to the shoot they are growing from in this creek is causing the leaves to flourish. I marvel at the symmetry of their arrangement on the surface of the water. I photograph them exactly as I discovered them. F22 at 1/13, ISO 100, 80-200mm lens at 185mm

Within minutes of starting to hike along the Pere Marquette River, I spot a beautiful sight

One of the beautiful signs of spring is the emergence of the marsh marigolds along the Pere Marquette River. Did these beauties appear overnight or did I fail to see them yesterday? How often do we overlook the natural beauty that is right there to behold? Too often, I think. I am trying to slow down more these days to allow more time to see what there is to see. In Michigan, beauty is all around us; I never tire of looking for it. F9 at 1/160, ISO 100, 105mm lens at 105mm

While meandering back to our cabin along the Pere Marquette River, I spot at least a half dozen butterflies fluttering in the sunshine on the edge of a stand of large red pine trees. Patience and perseverance finally gets me as close as I want to get to one of the Red Admirals. The colorful butterflies seem to be springing up everywhere this April. F6.3 at 1/640, ISO 100, 105mm lens at 105mm

This tree located at the north entrance to Stearns Park beach has given my dad and I so many great photographic opportunities the last 40 years. We have made dozens of beautiful images of this quiet giant and tonight it looks even more magnificent than usual. This cottonwood tree just keeps on giving joy, beauty, and shade to thousands of passersby every year. F10 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 18mm