This shot of farms around Pittsfield (in southeast Michigan near Ann Arbor) is part of a great set of aerial photos of Michigan (and into the Georgian Bay of Canada) that includes views of Ann Arbor and the Big House and ranges over to the Lake Huron shore and up to my neck of the woods. The photos are all helpfully placed on a map – a great bonus!
I was struck by the contrast of this evolved landscape with its patchwork and rumples to this golf course development.
modern day Detroit, photo by paulhitz.
Paul says that this photo of Comerica Park and the Detroit skyline was shot Sunday from a helicopter tour around Detroit during the Detroit International River Days Festival (held late June every year). I was going to ask Paul how the heck he managed a helicopter ride, but apparently helicopter rides from Walton Helicopter Charter were part of River Days this year.
Paul encourages you to view this picture bigger (yes, it makes a great computer background). You can also view more helicopter-eye photos of Detroit.
The photo by rdmegr was taken from high above the Straits of Mackinac, the name for the narrow passage between the Lower and Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. Lake Michigan is on the left and Lake Huron, the right with Mackinaw City (with a “w”) and the Lower Peninsula in the foreground and St. Ignace and the UP in the distance. It’s part of his Daytrip to Mackinac set of photos. Another photo from his flight to Mackinac of a freighter, the North Manitou Shoal Light and South Manitou Island was also blogged to Michigan in Pictures for general coolness and the fact that I heard his plane fly over my house.
I also have a confession to make: For months, I have been scared of the Mackinac Bridge.
This is distinct from the uneasiness that my mild phobia of falling off the Mackinac Bridge gives me when I drive over it.
I have been scared because 2007 is the 50th Anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge. To me, other than the lake-etched outline of our state, there is no greater symbol of Michigan than the Mighty Mac.
5 miles long, 552 feet tall in nearly 300 feet of water, the Mackinac Bridge has seen over 120 million crossings required 3 years, over 11,000 people and 4 million tons of concrete and steel to build. (more facts)
And that’s only the barest glimmer of the story that needs to be told. From its conception in the 1800s, through the difficult construction, all the way up to the people who cross it for business or pleasure every day with hardly a pause, the Bridge is an essential part of what joins Michigan’s two peninsulas as one state.
If you have some links to share, please add them in the comments. We’ll be telling the story of the Mackinac Bridge piece by piece here and on Absolute Michigan, and we’ll post links to all the photos, stories and videos on The Mackinac Bridge page at Absolute Michigan. (look for the button!)
36,000 feet over Michigan, photo by bksecretphoto.
Landon Michaelson writes: One of my favorite shots out the airline window. I liked the clear day, the curvature of the earth, the black sky and the cloud layers beneath. Pocket digital several years ago (still easier to use than my DSLR in-flight) and of course I always request a window seat.
Landon is an East Wenatchee, WA based photographer whose work can be found by clicking the photo above or visiting Best Kept Secret Photography.
Last night I attended the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council’s annual celebration of work on the behalf of the environment in our region. The even is timed as a lead-in to Earth Day and featured a ton of talking and pictures showcasing Michigan’s incredible natural bounty. Facts like “Michigan is the second most agriculturally diverse state in the country.”, the very funny and very compelling wombat video (highly recommended) and all the pictures showing land the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has preserved for enjoyment and habitat or is helping to remain in farming and forestry forever.
The GTRLC’s Glen Chown delivered the keynote. One of his themes was that not only has the preservation and promotion of our natural and cultural heritage has proven to be good business in northwest lower Michigan, it also likely holds part of the answer to Michigan’s need for a new economic engine. Glen also related the observations of Michigan astronaut Jerry Linenger of Michigan from much higher window seat. Linengar has logged more hours in space than almost anyone and had ample time to marvel at the beauty of Michigan’s spectacular coastline, green forests and rich farms.
I imagine that he also felt how deep and cold the black is that lies just miles away from the only planet we have.
Have a very happy Earth Day, Michigan. I hope you get a chance to hike a Michigan trail, walk a Michigan beach and otherwise enjoy this magical place.
Truck 17 In front of Old Central, photo by Stoney06.
Joel Dinda knows old photos, so it’s not at all surprising that he found this great collection of historical photos from Brian Stone of the fire stations, fire trucks and the men of the Kalamazoo.
An added plus are his informative captions such as the one for the above: Old Central Station Kalamazoo Michigan. Truck is a 1936 Seagrave City Service Ladder. “Pride of the Department”.
Indeed. View the photo large and you can see that’s true.
Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE (via Wikimedia)
I am not even going to tell you how long I agonized over the perfect photo with which to mark World Water Day. Water is one of the things that defines Michigan above all others. Industries may come and go, but (assuming we can take care of it) Michigan’s water is forever.
Here’s hoping…
time traveling, photo by paulhitz.
With a little help from Ye Olde Photoshoppe, Paul takes us:
back in a time when things were simple … a few Detroit Classics in this one:
- The Milner Hotel on the left
- The Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) a little farther back
- Comerica Park in the background ~ dating the photo
Why stop at time traveling? You can also zoom on the area via Google maps.
Uptown Theater, photo by John Todd
I found this photo via the revamped Michigan eLibrary. It’s from the John Todd Photographic Collection at the Portage District Library. The collection contains over thirteen-thousand negatives of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County communities and southwest Michigan taken from 1940 to 1981. It includes all manner of pictures including aerial photos of Kalamazoo and the surrounding area.
The description might give you an idea of the breadth of the collection and the degree to which it’s indexed. Go ahead, click…
Night view of the Uptown Theater located at 247 North Burdick Street in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan with the camera looking towards the southwest. As of 2006 this theater has been demolished and replaced with the Kalamazoo Valley Public Museum. North Burdick Street in this block no longer functions as a roadway but has been converted into a pedestrian mall.
CATEGORY: Entertainment
This photo shows a sailplane being winch-launched from the beach near Frankfort in the 1930s. It is one of many photos that appears in Soaring and Gliding: The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Area by Jeffery P. Sandman and Peter R. Sandman. The 127 page, oversized softcover uses archival photographs from the 1920s to the present day along with brief text passages to tell the story of the rise of the Sleeping Bear Dunes area in northwest Michigan as a soaring and gliding mecca.
Reprinted with permission from Soaring and Gliding: The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Area by Jeffery P. Sandman and Peter R. Sandman. Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.
South Manitou Island by rdmegr
When I logged on briefly last night to see what photos had been added during the day. Just about the first thing I saw was this amazing photo of South Manitou Island from the air. In addition to the freighter, the photo clearly shows the beautiful natural harbor that made South Manitou an early Great Lakes settlement and the North Manitou Shoal lighthouse (aka “the Crib”). As much as I love the maritime history of the Manitou Passage, the coolest thing for me is that I very clearly recall hearing the plane fly past just after 6 PM on Sunday evening.
The photo is part of Daytrip to Mackinac Island, a set of photos that also includes photos of the Island, Straits of Mackinac, the Mackinac Bridge and Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Michigan in Pictures 