The deep purple hue of the sky and the vivid image of a lightning bolt seemingly splitting the sky and striking the North Breakwater Lighthouse in Ludington stopped us in our tracks at a silent auction for charity.
The image, called "God's Light", won third place in a Nikon International Photography Contest after Ludington photographer Todd Reed took it in 1998.
We had to have it and a few years later, it still hangs on our living room wall today.
The image definitely spoke to us then, and it was a special pleasure when we spoke to Todd Reed, who made that image, recently at his photo gallery in Ludington, Michigan.
Someone put a camera in Todd's hand as then sent him out on assignment as a beat writer at the Ludington Daily News 35 years ago.
Thirty-five years later, Todd and his son Brad continue to create images that speak to their souls as they share the beauty of northwestern Michigan through their photographs, books, videos and photographic workshops.
Todd's entry into the field of photography through his assignments may have been somewhat serendipitous, but taking time to create striking images like "God's Light" and grow a career that he shares with his son is certainly no accident.
Brad started helping his father by helping to carry his photographic gear on shoots throughout the Ludington and western Michigan region as a young boy. He graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and began work on a graduate degree in Social Work, but found himself drawn more and more to photography as he and his dad continued to work together.
Todd released his first book "Ludington Point to Point" in 2000, but subsequently released a number of other photo books, calendars, DVDs and other video products in concert with his son Brad.
Reed-published photographic compilations also include "Ludington State Park: Queen of the North" (book and DVD), "365: A Year in the Photographic Lives of Todd and Brad Reed" (book, which we received when we purchased that lighthouse image at the charity auction to benefit Forgotten Harvest, and DVD), "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute" (book and DVD) and their most recent image collection "Michigan: Wednesdays in the Mitten" (book and DVD).
The books are big coffee table tomes and extremely popular. The "365" book sold out the day it was released in 2010 and the pair subsequently released as a softcover book (the one we have) in 2013.
The image collections in each book also require a lot of time and dedication to produce. "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed" involved 52 days of creating images in the field and 30,000 miles of travel all over Michigan to create the 1014 selected images compiled in the 400-page book. The book became one of twenty books recognized in 2014 as a Notable Book by the Library of Michigan.
The two men often work together, but they each developed their own unique vision, often seeing and creating very unique images of the same scenes.
Brad and Todd are both winners in Nikon International Photo Contests, and we've seen their work when they've exhibited at one of our favorite art competitions/exhibitions ArtPrize in Grand Rapids during recent years.
Want to learn some of the pair's photographic secrets? You can sign up at their Web site for their "Picture Perfect" workshops offered throughout the year. The sessions aimed at novices help aspiring photographers learn some of the technical and mechanical points so that they can better use their equipment and make better choices that hopefully result in creating better images.
Limiting the workshop sessions to 10 to 15 participants and staying in one of Ludington's bed and breakfast inns gives participants the chance for plenty of personal attention and inspiration before heading out to express their own personal inspiration in images taken in the Ludington area.
Workshops currently cost $370 per participant and include food and refreshment. Lodging is on your own, with many workshop participants staying at the Cartier Mansion (right across the street from the Ludington House where we stayed one recent weekend).
Photographers taking the beginning Picture Perfect sessions may consider taking the advanced version of the workshop, which the Reeds also offer at least once each year at the same price and location.
Meanwhile, we had a great time visiting the Reed's photography gallery in downtown Ludington, talking with the photographers and seeing so many of their inspirational images.
Todd even gave me a signed print of a pair of bald eagles he called "Lovebirds" when he discovered that our visit coincided with my birthday!
Find books, DVDs, calendars, greeting cards and a gallery full of prints and framed photos at Todd and Brad Reed Photography on W. Ludington Ave. in downtown Ludington or browse through the gallery's Web site (type in the words "gods light" in the search box on the front page if you want to see a small photo of the image we have on our living room wall-ours is a poster-size print on wood).
The Reeds self-publish their newer books, but you can search for older out-of-print books like Lake Michigan: Point to Point or Ludington State Park: Queen of the North on Amazon.
© Dominique King 2016 All rights reserved
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