Happy Zombies at the World Record Grand Rapids Zombie Walk

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by chad℠.

Chad captured this cool view of the likely world record Grand Rapids Zombie Walk. GR based Spout writes:

Thursday, October 30, Grand Rapids, Michigan. A seemingly average midwestern city. Until the zombies invade. A throng of at least 3,370 zombies flowed through the downtown streets (it’s very likely it was over 4,000) to try and break the world record for the largest zombie walk. The event, organized by college sophomore Rob Bliss, shattered the previous record of 1,375, set just a few days earlier in the Pittsburgh suburb of Monroeville. If Monroeville sounds familiar to zombie fans, it should. The Monroeville Mall was the setting of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.

View a Grand Rapids Zombie Walk slideshow and share your GR Zombie Walk photos right here on Flickr. Much more Halloween fun at Absolute Michigan!

Update: Chad has a Zombie Walk set up now (slideshow).

Pre-Jack-O-Lanterns-Sun-Kist

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Jock o Lantern Sunset

Pre-Jack-O-Lanterns-Sun-Kist, photo by mdprovost

Wikipedia’s pumpkin entry says:

The word pumpkin originates from the word pepon, which is Greek for “large melon.” The French adapted this word to pompon, which the British changed to pompion and later American colonists changed that to the word we use today, “pumpkin.” The origin of pumpkins is not known, although pumpkins are thought to have originated in North America.

…Pumpkins are commonly carved into decorative lanterns called jack-o’-lanterns for the Halloween season in North America. Throughout Britain and Ireland, there is a long tradition of carving lanterns from vegetables, particularly the turnip, mangelwurzel, or swede. Not until 1837, however, does jack-o’-lantern appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern, and the carved lantern does not become associated specifically with Halloween until 1866.

You can read more about Michigan pumpkins from Absolute Michigan and also view a pumpkin slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool!

Click for more fall wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!

A Haunting at Historic Fort Wayne

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

A Haunting at Historic Fort Wayne

A Haunting at Historic Fort Wayne, photo by milminedesign.

On the last Wednesday of every month, Absolute Michigan has a “Weird Wednesday” – a day dedicated to sharing creepy tales and strange photos from all across Michigan. Today is no exception and you can click over to read the legend of Dog Lady Island, a special excerpt from the great book Weird Michigan by Linda S. Godfrey.

Linda doesn’t have a corner on the unexplained though – here’s a photo from the Absolute Michigan pool by Karen who writes:

I took this photo on a sunny spring day in early April. Late afternoon at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit. No one was in front of me when the photo was taken, nor did I see this apparition until reviewing my photos. I am an investigator with Metro Paranormal Investigations here in Michigan and we were preparing for an investigation. Notice that the figure does not have a head. Pictures taken immediately before and after this one show normal lighting and look nothing like this one. This photo has been analyzed many times by several individuals and the current conclusion is that it is unexplained.

At the Metro Paranormal Investigations you can check out paranormal reports and more photos in their gallery.

The Wikipedia entry for Fort Wayne in Detroit doesn’t mention any hauntings, but you should probably go there to check! One thing I do know about Fort Wayne is that the whole facility is in peril due to a lack of funding for historic preservation. You can learn more about that from the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition and at Save Fort Wayne.

100 years of Lake Michigan at South Haven Pier Lighthouse

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Late October on Lake Michigan

Late October on Lake Michigan, photo by micstolz.

Michael notes that even 100 years of Lake Michigan waves can’t put out the South Haven Light. He has several more in his South Haven Oct 26 2008 set (slideshow) – all uploaded “background big”. You might also want to check out the South Haven Light slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.

Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light relates the history (with photos) of the South Haven Pier Lighthouse. He writes that a Fifth Order Fresnel lens from Parisian glass makers Barbier and Fenestre was installed in the lantern in 1902:

While the light was new, the old wooden beacon had withstood thirty years of Lake Michigan’s worst, and as a result of increasing deterioration, Eleventh District engineer James G. Warren laid-out plans to replace the venerable structure with a new cylindrical metal tower.

Contracts for the metalwork and required materials were awarded and delivered to the lighthouse depot in St. Joseph. On October 6, 1903, the tender Hyacinth delivered the prefabricated steel tower and a work crew on the pier, and erection of the new structure continued through the remainder of the month. The thirty-five foot structure was given a gleaming coat of white paint, and the district lampist carefully removed the Fifth-order lens from the old beacon and installed it in the new octagonal lantern. Captain Donahue proudly climbed the spiral stairs within the new tower to exhibit the South Haven light from atop the new tower for the first time on the evening of November 13.

Light and tower remain an active aid to navigation maintained by the Coast Guard and while you’re in South Haven, be sure to visit the Michigan Maritime Museum.

Fall light at Holloway Reservoir

Posted on by farlane

Sunlight Dark Clouds, photo by Sentrawoods.

Holloway Reservoir Regional Park is a 5500-acre park near Columbiaville in Genesee County. The park includes the 1,975-acre Holloway Reservoir and provides opportunities for fishing, canoeing and other recreation.

This photo is available “background-sized” and is part of Ken’s Holloway Reservoir set (slideshow).

More fall wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures

Michigan is Wine Country

Posted on by farlane

Wine Country, photo by smiles7

Last night I had dinner with a writer from England who is exploring vineyards in Leelanau by bicycle for a story. He was asking me some questions about how Michigan ranks nationally in grape & wine production. I didn’t have all the answers, but fortunately there’s the great Michigan Wines web site from the Michigan Grape & Wine Council.

From their fast facts page, I learned that Michigan has about 1,800 acres of wine vineyards, making Michigan the eighth largest in wine grape producer in the nation (if our juice grapes are factored in, we’re 4th largest). We’ve increased our vineyard area over 60% in the last 10 years. Michigan is 13th in wine production with 56 commercial wineries that produce over 425,000 cases of wine annually. The state’s wineries are also popular tourist destinations, attracting more than 800,000 visitors annually.

Most of Michigan’s quality wine grapes grow within 25 miles of Lake Michigan. Here, the “lake effect” protects the vines with snow in winter, retards bud break in spring helping avoid frost damage, and extends the growing season by up to four weeks.

Michigan has four federally approved viticultural areas (AVAs). In the northwest part of the state, near Traverse City, lie the Leelanau Peninsula and the Old Mission Peninsula. This area has a growing season averaging 145 days and an average heat accumulation of 2,350 growing degree days; 51% of Michigan’s wine grapes grow here. In the southwest part of the state lie the Lake Michigan Shore and Fennville appellations, where 45% of Michigan’s wine grapes are grown. This area has a growing season averaging 160 days and an average heat accumulation of 2,750 growing degree days.

You’ll also want to check out their history page for the very interesting story of Michigan’s winemaking history. Here’s the vineyard slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool and you can get lots more features and links for Michigan wines from Absolute Michigan.

through the viewfinder and up the apple tree

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by Jenny Murray.

Speaking of Through the Viewfinder (aka TTV) (which we were the day before yesterday) here’s one of Jenny’s.

She has many (many) more in her great ttv set (slideshow).

Berry Branch and Bokeh

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Berry Branch

Berry Branch, photo by Voxphoto.

In Bokeh: What it is and isn’t, Ross (Vox) says that although “bokeh” is the Japanese word for blurry, before this useful term degenerates into just another name for “blurry” we should take a stand to preserve its specific technical meaning:

Bokeh refers to the subjective quality of the blur. Is it “jangly” and busy-looking, or creamy and smooth? Do out-of-focus highlights have odd, distracting shapes, or are they unobtrusive circles? Does the blurred area seem to “swirl” around the center of the photo in arcs? These are some of the factors which might be mentioned as aspects of the bokeh for a particular lens. And these may be the reasons why a serious bokeh geek would chose one particular lens over a different brand with otherwise identical specs.

The word “bokeh” officially entered the English language in 1997, in an issue of the magazine Photo Techniques—whose editor Mike Johnston decided to add the final ‘h’ to make the pronunciation less ambiguous. He tells the story here, and includes some interesting photos showing different subjective effects in various blurred backgrounds.

Read the rest for more technical observations on bokeh from Ross’s excellent photography blog silverbased.org and check out this bokeh slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.

Railroad Bridge at Newaygo State Park

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Railroad Bridge

Railroad Bridge, photo by kek19.

The DNR’s page on Newaygo State Park says it is:

…a 99-site rustic campground, which sits atop 20-foot embankments overlooking the Hardy Dam Pond, a six-mile flooding of the Muskegon River (view on the Absolute Michigan map). The park caters primarily to campers, anglers and recreational boaters. There are several picnic sites overlooking the reservoir for day users. The campground is nestled in oak and poplar forests and is noted for its large, private sites and scenic beauty. There is a 20-30 foot forested buffer between sites, and each site is provided with a picnic table and a fire ring.

This TTV (through the viewfinder – more TTV on Michigan in Pictures) photo is part of Karri’s Nature set – definitely view it as a slideshow.

View more of Karri’s photos at RedBubble and see more from Newaygo County in the Newaygo County group on Flickr.

change (your background)

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

change

change, photo by n.elle.

I am continually surprised by how popular Michigan in Pictures (in particular this post) is for searches for “fall backgrounds” or “fall wallpaper“. Every day about 100 people end up here, and I feel it’s sort of a duty to find a nice big photo every few days … sort of like feeding the fish.

Nicole took this photo on an Exposure.Detroit photo safari at Stony Creek Metropark on Saturday. You can purchase some of her photos in her etsy shop.

More fall wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures and also check out the Michigan autumn slideshow from Absolute Michigan!