Turmoil, photo by rossmat5msu.
A long exposure of the remnants of a wooden breakwall. It’s part of Matt’s Ludington set (slideshow).
Higgins boats discharge their cargo … on the beaches of Saint Joseph
The Higgins boats discharge their cargo. (IMG_1314), photo by bill.d.
From the Things I Wish I Had Known About in Advance files comes this fantastic set of photos of last weekend’s D-Day re-enactment in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph (slideshow). Bill uploaded them all nice and big so be sure to cruise through that slideshow link. Or even better, download PicLens, click the set link and enjoy. (trust me on the PicLens thing – coolest web software I’ve seen in quite some time).
The 2008 Saint Joseph and Benton Harbor WWII Reenactment Weekend took place last weekend and was sponsored by the veterans’ organization Lest We Forget of SW Michigan. It was designed to teach folks about WWII history, veterans, and the equipment utilized and featured reenactments of the battles at Normandy (D-Day) and Peleliu (Palaus archipelago in the Phillipines).
Because I can, here’s a link to an amazing reenactment of the landing at Omaha Beach.
Bathing Beauties in Northern Michigan
Michigan Women Antique Northern MI Bathing Beauties Card Love It, photo by UpNorth Memories – Don Harrison.
I am sure that the publishers of this card intended the title to be slightly mocking.
When I saw it, however, I was struck by how much fun they appear to be having and how little they care about anything other than each other’s company and enjoying Michigan’s amazing watery fun.
Hope you get a chance to do some beautiful bathing of your own this summer, and also that you check out Don’s postcards (slideshow) because he posts them big and has hundreds and hundreds!
Gladstone Michigan
Gladstone Michigan, photo by Sean Depuydt.
D300 and 30 seconds.
Sean appeared on Michigan in Pictures a while back with Zero Image Pinhole Camera: Bridge over Escanaba river.
Ted at the Beach
Taking the Long Shot
Matthew says that this dock sits on Point Lookout in AuGres, Michigan (on Lake Huron). It’s part of his My Photographic Love Affair set (slideshow).
I’m not old enough to remember a summer starting on a more down note in Michigan (and the rest of the country). A war with no end in sight, sour economy, mortgage crisis, assorted disasters and $4 a gallon gas have created a mood that suggests the best thing to do right now is huddle at home and wait for things to get better.
As I drove through Farwell the other day, I heard an unknown AM talk show host ask:
“Are you going to trade the memories of your children, husband, wife or yourself for an extra $50 in your pocket?
Gas is $4. It will be $5 or more by the end of the summer, but the memories will still be worth a hundred times more.
That made me think of how many times we as a nation have faced times when things weren’t easy, when everything wasn’t neatly laid out, when we had to work a little harder to make it all work out. I don’t think that any one of those challenges was overcome by choosing to seek less out of life for ourselves and those we love.
Here’s hoping we can take the long shot, beat the odds and win this game. All of us.
Have a magnificent weekend!
A most wonderful disorder at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Mosquito Beach, photo by Terrapin Dawg.
“We had been told of the variety in the colour and form of these rocks, but were wholly unprepared to encounter the suprising groups of overhanging precipices, towering walls, caverns, waterfalls … mingled in the most wonderful disorder”
– Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
Matt deemed that all that was required to preface his cool set of photos from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (slideshow), all of them background big & bold.
I can’t disagree at all, but I will add that you might enjoy more Pictured Rocks features from Michigan in Pictures, this slideshow of the pictured rocks from the Absolute Michigan pool and also Dig Michigan: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Absolute Michigan!
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Must. Reach. Water., photo by J.E.T.
This photo is part of Jesse’s Northern Expedition II set (slideshow) and – for me at least – does the best job of all the 400+ Sleeping Bear photos that I’ve looked through today in capturing the wonder and wide-open fun of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
I’ve been doing that because today on Absolute Michigan I just finished Dig Michigan: Sleeping Bear Dunes. It’s a map, link and photo filled exploration of the national park in my backyard … I hope you like it.
Why Stop To Think Of Weather
Why Stop To Think Of Weather, photo by jbnuthatch.
jbnuthatch offers an excerpt from I’m In The Mood For Love that I everyone in Michigan probably needs to hum one day or another.
Why stop to think of whether
This little dream might fade
We’ve put our hearts together
Now we are one, I’m not afraidIf there’s a cloud above
If it should rain, we’ll let it
But, for tonight, forget it
I’m in the mood for love
I think it’s also pretty obvious that I have some sort of thing for ducks
Spring at Pere Marquette
Spring at Pere Marquette, photo by cabriden.
It’s dredging season in Michigan’s harbors … fishing season too!
NOAA’s nautical chart of the Muskegon Harbor says that the Muskegon South Breakwater light is 70′ tall while the North light is half that and that they’re probably dredging to a depth of 26 feet.
Be sure to check it out bigger.
Michigan in Pictures 