Taking a break at Lovers Leap by Michigan Nut Photography
John writes that he caught these paddle boarders taking a break beneath Lovers Leap in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. See it bigger on Facebook and be sure to head over to Michigan Nut Photography for more great pics from his day!
Comet Neowise by Lake Superior Photo
Shawn of Lake Superior Photo took this photo of Comet Neowise peeking through the clouds and fog yesterday morning. She shares that it’s visible to the naked eye & you can catch it the next few days in the northeast before sunrise!! EarthSky explains how to see Comet Neowise:
We still have to wait for another very bright comet, what astronomers call a great comet. There’s no strict definition for great comet, but most agree that Hale-Bopp – widely seen by people in 1997 – was one. Lesser comets are moderately frequent, though, and, right now, there’s a nice binocular comet in the dawn sky. Some skilled observers have reported that – once you spot it with binoculars – you can remove them and see the comet with the unaided eye. Using binoculars or other optical aid is a must, though, if you want to see this comet’s split tail. The comet is called C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE).
Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) is up at dawn now; it will be highest in the dawn sky around July 11. Then it will gradually approach the horizon each day. By mid July (around July 12-15), the comet will become visible at dusk (just after sunset), low in the northwest horizon.
If the comet remains relatively bright, it might be easier to see in the second half of July during evening dusk, because, at that time, it will appear somewhat higher in the sky.
You can view the photo on the Lake Superior Photo Facebook and view & purchase work at LakeSuperiorPhoto.com.
Summer Day on Lake Superior by Michigan Nut Photography
John took this in late June near Munising on Lake Superior. Head over to Michigan Nut Photography on Facebook or his website for lots more! He’s even got jigsaw puzzles from some of his photos!
Bay City’s ‘Big Show’ – focus pulling by Tom Clark
Few things in our normal lives have been untouched by the coronavirus pandemic, and public fireworks displays are no exception. Instead of the normal pages & pages of options, MichiganFireworks.com lists just a couple dozen 2020 shows still happening.
Tom took this photo at the Bay City Fireworks Festival back in 2018. He writes that “Focus Pulling is a technique of adjusting focus from out of focus to tack sharp during a firework explosion over 1 to 3 seconds. similar physical operation as zooming during exposure only you use the manual focus ring instead of the zoom ring.”
Pretty sweet effect! See more at www.tom-clark.net/fireworks!
Electric & Perfectly Hectic by Snap Happy Gal
Heather says it was electric, and perfectly hectic which seems to me to be an apt description for Michigan’s wild 2020 ride.
See it bigger on her Facebook and definitely follow Snap Happy Gal Photography on Facebook and Instagram for more!
Michigan is drowning right now in some of the worst rains on record. Every day for the last two weeks, from Midland to Grand Rapids to Traverse City, my feed has been full of images of people losing everything to flooding. PLEASE send rainbows.
Just so this post isn’t a totally depressing send-off for your weekend, let me call in one of my favorite websites, Atmospheric Optics. Regarding secondary rainbows or “double rainbows” they say that the secondary is nearly always fainter than the primary, with colors reversed and more widely separated:
Light can be reflected more than once inside a raindrop. Rays escaping after two reflections make a secondary bow.
The secondary has a radius of 51º and lies some 9º outside the primary bow. It is broader, 1.8X the width of the primary, and its colours are reversed so that the reds of the two bows always face one another. The secondary has 43% of the total brightness of the primary but its surface brightness is lower than that because its light is spread over its greater angular extent. The primary and secondary are are concentric, sharing the antisolar point for a center.
Tom took this near Alma back in 2014. See his latest on Flickr & check out more Michigan rainbows on Michigan in Pictures!
Kayaking During The Flood by Charles Bonham
mLive has some positive news in the catastrophic Midland flood of 2020, reporting that Midland officials say the river will crest 3 feet lower than expected:
Officials stressed that although the water is receding, it will take several days and residents should remain vigilant. It’s possible “we won’t even hit the 24-foot flood stage until the end of the weekend or later during Memorial Day,” Bone said.
“It’s essentially a mess out there and it isn’t safe to drive around barriers or travel on the roads that are deemed closed,” he added. “Everybody please stay safe and do your best out there and we’ll get through this.”
Kaye said things have changed quickly since officials last addressed reporters Wednesday afternoon, when they were predicting the river to crest at 38 feet at about 8 p.m. Soon after, an updated forecast moved the flood peak back by about three feet and about four to five hours.
“At this point in time, by all models, by all indications, at least, we’re cautiously optimistic that we’ve crested…we’ve kind of plateaued right now, but we will start the descent as water starts to recede,” Kaye said. “That’s great news for the county, for the city, certainly for the residents and business owners that are in the affected areas.”
More from mLive & also check out their comprehensive timeline of the flooding. Check yesterday’s Michigan in Pictures post on Facebook for more photos of the devastation in the comments. Stay safe, Midlanders & everyone!
Thanks to Charles for this shot & see more photos including this view down Ashman Street on his Flickr!
2020 Flooding in Midland by City of Midland
“While the 1986 flood was a 100-year flood, what we’re looking at here is an event that is the equivalent of a 500-year flood. It’s something that is extremely rare, extremely catastrophic and quite dangerous.”
– Midland City Manager Brad Kaye
The Detroit Free Press reports that by the time you’re reading this, downtown Midland could be under 9 feet of water as the result of two dam breaches on the Tittabawasee River:
Urging residents to evacuate and saying downtown Midland could be under 9 feet of water by Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer late Tuesday declared a state of emergency for Midland County after the Edenville and Sanford dams breached.
Speaking during a press conference late Tuesday, Whitmer said parts of the city of Midland, the village of Sanford, Edenville Township and Dow Chemical had been or were being evacuated. She said officials were working to evacuate residents in Tittabawassee, Thomas and Saginaw townships on Tuesday evening.
…Whitmer said at a 10 p.m. briefing Tuesday that state officials expected the worst over the next 12-15 hours with as much as 9 feet of water in downtown Midland, the largest city in the area with about 40,000 residents and the home to Dow Chemical.
“This is unlike anything we’ve seen before… but this is truly a historic event that’s playing out in the midst of another historic event,” Whitmer said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic which has led to stay-at-home orders throughout the state and the deaths of more than 5,000 people.
Several dams upstream of Midland along the Tittabawassee had either been breached or were releasing water uncontrollably after 4 to 7 inches of rain fell Sunday and Monday, including the Edenville and Sanford dams on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people in mid-Michigan.
Read on for much more in the Freep & you can also tune in for a live Facebook update from the city later today. Here’s some photos & a drone video of the flooding via mLive:
The Wreck of the Westmorland by Chris Roxburgh
Chris Roxburgh is a diver and photographer who is one of my favorite follows on Facebook. About this photo he writes:
The Westmorland shipwreck located in a 200’ deep unpublished location in Lake Michigan. After many wreck hunters tirelessly searched for this vessel rumored to have whiskey Barrels and gold that was being delivered to the garrison army on Fort Mackinac. She sank on December 7th 1864. When she was finally found in 2010 by Ross Richardson the mystery was unlocked to her final resting place.
The Westmorland was one of the first 200 foot long steam powered ships in the Great Lakes and at first was called a “propeller” since they used a prop instead of sails. She hauled many tons of grain and meat across the Great Lakes. With a crew of 34 she steamed into rough seas with over 20’ waves and a violent snow storm all while leaking from the night before. As the crew made a bucket brigade trying to keep the engines out of the water they could not keep up with the ever increasing flow. Once the water stopped the engines she could not keep straight into the waves. The lifeboat Davits you can see in this picture where used to lower the boats Into the water as she sank. Out of the 34 crew fifteen went down with the ship and two succumbed to weather on the shore of Platte Bay as the others walked 40 miles to a nearby town.
I was very excited to dive her because only a handful of trusted divers have been given the opportunity to visit this site. Dusty Klifman and I decided to plan this deep dive last week as the opportunity with perfect weather on Lake Michigan arrived.
Follow Chris through his Facebook page and definitely check out this video from Blueyes Below of him diving the wreck & also click through for more videos!
See lots more Michigan shipwrecks on Michigan in Pictures and support me on Patreon if you can.
Michigan in Pictures 