Week 9 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

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Brad Reed, Coast Guardsmen, Lake Huron, Lakeview, Lighthouse, MI, michigan, Point aux Barques Lighthouse, Port Hope, Saginaw Bay, St. Louis, Todd Reed, Zehnder’s in Frankenmuth

• Devote every Tuesday in 2012 to making quality photographs
• Take our fans along with us through experiential videos and photographs
• Tell the story of how we capture our photographs through detailed writings
• Photograph any subject, anywhere in the world

Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed - Week 9 video

Brad’s Week 9 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

Week 9 of “Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed” started out early this moning like no day ever should.  I received a text message at 5:45am that our dear friend Carrie Smith Roe had passed away the day before. Carrie fought a hard battle against cancer for more than four years.  When any person dies it is sad, but when someone who is only 40 years old and the mother of three beautiful young children, it seems unfair and especially awful.  To make the situation even harder to understand, Carrie’s dad Tex had died totally unexpectedly a few years earlier.  We had dedicated our “365”  book to Tex.

Carrie’s younger brother Chris is my best friend.  We have been friends since middle school and our families have been close ever since.  Carrie and her husband Mike were part of Betsy’s and my wedding and our kids have grown up playing together.  Carrie was also a big fan and collector of our photography.  I knew I had to make an image for Carrie today and dedicate it to her.

In a farmfiled located just west of Lakeview, Michigan, on M46, my dad and I pulled off the road to photograph the sunrise.  I walked out into the middle of the snowcovered field and made an image of the sun behind a group of giant pine trees.  As I felt the rays of sunshine hitting my face, I felt Carrie’s presence.  I closed my eyes and I could see Carrie standing there with me laughing.  Carrie was always laughing.  She had a great smile and loved to share it with the world. The golden sunrise also reminded me of Carrie because she loved to wear gold jewelry.  She was a classy lady and even through her stuggles the last few years with cancer, Carrie would always look top notch.

"Carrie's Sunrise" - Click to Purchase

Week 8 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

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Brad Reed, Calvin College, Coast Guard, Mackinac Bridge, Manton, Photography, Straits of Mackinac, Todd Reed, Wilderness State Park

• Devote every Tuesday in 2012 to making quality photographs
• Take our fans along with us through experiential videos and photographs
• Tell the story of how we capture our photographs through detailed writings
• Photograph any subject, anywhere in the world

Todd’s Week 8 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned the winter view before Brad and me after driving more than 200 miles to reach the Mackinac Bridge. We left Ludington before daylight to head north in the hope of finding some fresh snow and wintery looking scenes to photograph. We were not going to find them in Ludington, where most snow had melted and rain was forecast for today.

We had no idea what a good decision we made until reaching the Straits of Mackinac west of the Mackinac Bridge and staring in the face of massive piles of broken ice 20 feet high. The blue-shadowed ice mountains look like a scene one might expect to see in the Arctic but not in Michigan, especially during the mildest Michigan winter I can recall.

"Pileup at the Bridge" is Todd's selected image for Week 8 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed. Click to purchase "Pileup at the Bridge"

“Pileup at the Bridge”
It looks like the world’s largest bulldozer has been at work in the Straits of Mackinac, pushing thousands of tons of ice into mountainous piles near Mackinac Bridge. Actually, forces of nature-wind, waves and the expansion of ice-teamed up to break the ice, drive it ashore and stack the broken sheets.
F22 at 1/30, ISO 100, 80-20mm lens at 92mm

Week 7 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

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Beulah, Brad Reed, Cathead Point, Cherry Basket Farm, Coyotes, Fishtown, Grand Traverse Bay, Grand Traverse Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Leelanau County, Leelanau Peninsula, Photography, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, Suttons Bay, Todd Reed

• Devote every Tuesday in 2012 to making quality photographs
• Take our fans along with us through experiential videos and photographs
• Tell the story of how we capture our photographs through detailed writings
• Photograph any subject, anywhere in the world

Brad’s Week 7 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

"Fishtown" is Brad's selected image for Week 7 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed. Click to purchase "Fishtown"

“Fishtown” by Brad Reed
Leland is one of the most historic and well-preserved fishing towns on the Great Lakes.  I love going there with my camera and stepping back in time.  Today was the first time I had photographed Leeland in the snow.  The snow really helped define the rooflines and textures of the old wooden buildings.
F22 at .3, ISO 100, 18-50mm lens at 26mm

My dad and I are having so much fun on our “Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed” photo shoots.  This week was the best yet.  With a better chance of photographing snow in Northern Michigan than in the Ludington area, we hit the road and headed up North towards the Traverse City area.  Sure enough, Leelanau County had way more fresh snow and winter weather and that was what we were looking for.

"Beulah Beauty" - Click to purchase

After first stopping in Beulah and then at a fruit farm in Omena, we drove to the tip of Leelanau Peninsula and photographed the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.  It was beautiful watching the snow falling on the red roof of the pristine Michigan lighthouse and surrounding trees.  I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the icy shoreline and even dared to stand in the shallow icy waters of Lake Michigan to make a few of my best images of the day.

Week 6 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

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Birds, Brad Reed, Crystal Mountain Ski Resort, Eagles, Lake Michigan, Ludington, Ludington State Park, michigan, Nikon, Photography, Sand Dunes, Skiing, Todd Reed

• Devote every Tuesday in 2012 to making quality photographs
• Take our fans along with us through experiential videos and photographs
• Tell the story of how we capture our photographs through detailed writings
• Photograph any subject, anywhere in the world

Click to view the video from Week 6 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

Todd’s Week 6 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed

By dawn’s early light Brad and I are attempting to scale a huge sand dune in the Hobby Crest area of Ludington State Park in hopes a colorful sunrise awaits us. We climb and climb and climb, and finally make our way to the top and take position on two peaks about 500 yards apart. The sunrise never shows up but we definitely get our morning workout and scout out some strong dunescape compositions, most of them in need of better light.

"Dune Forest"- Click to purchase

Next stop: The Sable River, Ludington State Park. After a fleeting look at a mature eagle flying the Lake Michigan shoreline, I am fortunate enough to have an immature bald eagle fly right over my head as I hike the dunes on the inland side of M-116 en route to try to stalk a pair of rare trumpeter swans that has been spotted on the Sable River occasionally since Hamlin Lake froze over. The young eagle, probably less than two years old, is either checking me out or some nearby small wildlife I cannot see. The sun has broken through the clouds, lighting up its impressive wings.

"Golden Glider" is Todd's selected image for Week 6 of Tuesdays with Todd & Brad Reed.- Click to purchase

Golden Glider by Todd Reed
An immature bald eagle soars directly overhead as I hike a trail through the dunes near the Sable River at Ludington State Park. The bird circles over me, seemingly checking me out, or is he just searching for breakfast? Either way, I am grateful for the close-up view.
F5.6 at 1/2000, ISO 360, 500 mm lens at 500 mm