Rock River Falls in the Rock River Canyon Wilderness

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Rock River Falls

Rock River Falls, photo by Shadows in Reflection.

The Rock River Falls entry on the fantastic waterfall info site Go Waterfalling says:

This wild waterfall is hidden in the Rock River Wilderness Area north of Chatham. Reaching it will require you to drive down some old logging roads and hike a mile or two along some ill defined trails, but if you are looking for a good waterfall adventure it is worth it.

Trails.com has a map to Rock River Falls and Hunt’s UP Guide notes that the falls are in the Rock River Canyon Wilderness, which has “no signs, no waste containers, no planned improvements” but does boast a 150′ deep canyon and the Eben Ice Caves. You can read a lot more about Rock River Canyon Wilderness right here.

See it bigger in Michael’s Waterfalls slideshow (view the set).

La Grande Vitesse by Alexander Calder

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

_B218834

_B218834, photo by ramjetgr.

I was in the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art on Wednesday and saw some whimsical sculptures and mobiles by Alexander Calder. It didn’t seem like the delicate structures could have come from the same hand. Turns out they did. The Alexander Calder entry on Wikipedia explains:

Alexander Calder (22 July 1898 – 11 November 1976), also known as Sandy Calder, was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing the mobile. In addition to mobile and stabile sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry and jewelry.

…In June 1969, Calder attended the dedication of his monumental stabile “La Grande Vitesse” located in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This sculpture is notable for being the first public work of art in the United States to be funded with federal monies; acquired with funds granted from the then new National Endowment for the Arts under its “Art for Public Places” program.

You can get up close with La Grande Vitesse at West Michigan Sculptures (includes a cool 360 degree walk around) and also check out the Calder slideshow from Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr. You can also read this article about the dedication from the National Endowment of the Arts.

Be sure to check this out bigger or in his Grand Rapids 09 set (slideshow)

Happy Thanksgiving from Michigan in Pictures!

Posted on by farlane

Struttin' 1 9935-09

Struttin’ 1 9935-09, photo by StacyN – MichiganMoments

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving if you celebrate it, and that if you don’t you get a chance to celebrate what you’re thankful for.

You can get a lot of absolutemichigan.com/Turkey has all kinds of Thanksgiving fun including our Totally Terrifying Turkey Trivia Test – check it out!

Stacy took this shot along the road near Ravenna, Michigan. Check it out in her Best Animal / Bird Images set (slideshow).

(way) Over the River

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Geese

Geese, photo by amariefoto.

I hope you have safe travels, much to be thankful for and a Very Michigan Thanksgiving.

See this bigger in Andrea’s slideshow.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox … Michigan Red Fox that is

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The Sly look

The Sly look, photo by taterfalls.

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
~Roald Dahl

Wes Anderson’s film Fantastic Mr. Fox (based on the book by Roald Dahl / view trailer) opens tomorrow, so I thought it a good time to take a look at the red fox. The Michigan DNR’s Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes fulva) page says:

Red foxes can be found in every county in Michigan but are especially common in areas with fallow and cultivated fields, meadows, bushy fence lines, woody stream borders, and low shrub cover along woods and beaches. They can also be found in suburban and, less commonly, urban areas where food is readily available. Foxes are highly mobile, which means they can use a large area to find food and shelter.

Red foxes resemble slender, small dogs, with the head and body typically around two feet long. Red fox tail is long and bushy, usually around 15 inches. The size and weight of foxes are commonly overestimated, because their long fur masks a bone structure that is slighter than that of most domestic dogs. Red foxes have a characteristic red coloration (hence their name), with the face, top of head, and neck having yellow or orange coloration. The tail is reddish mixed with black, and always has a white tip. The outer sides of the ears, lower parts of the legs, and feet are dark or black, while the insides of the ears, and the lips, chest, and belly are creamy white.

Much more about red foxes at Wikipedia and at Vulpes vulpes (red fox) on the UM Animal Diversity Web.

Be sure and check this out bigger also have a look at Tate’s slideshow of this brave fox in action.

Lake Michigan @ PJ Hoffmaster State Park

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by DTOWN Thug (Tim Mayo).

See it bigger in his Lake Michigan slideshow and see more from PJ Hoffmaster State Park on Michigan in Pictures..

Before the Mackinac Bridge: City of Munising

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Mackinac MI UP Great Lakes Passenger and Auto Ferry City of Munising connecting Mackinaw City and St Ignace before the Mackinaw Bridge was build

Mackinac MI UP Great Lakes Passenger and Auto Ferry City of Munising connecting Mackinaw City and St Ignace before the Mackinaw Bridge was built, photo by UpNorth Memories – Donald (Don) Harrison.

Before the Mackinac Bridge was built (check Absolute Michigan for lots more on that), going to or from the UP was by ferry. The City of Munising was the last of the breed:

Built by the American Ship Building Company of Cleveland in 1903 for the Pere Marquette Railway Company, the “Pere Marquette 20” became the “City of Munising” in 1937. The Michigan Department of Highways used the ship to ferry autos across the Straits of Mackinac until 1959. The ship was used for potato storage by a Washington Island, Wisconsin firm until 1973.

Michigan State Ferry Album has some photos of the City of Munising and other ships that plied the Straits.

Check this out bigger and see some shots of the old ferry docks in Don’s slideshow of old Mackinac photos

An Ill Wind

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

An Ill Wind

An Ill Wind, photo by MightyBoyBrian.

Be sure to check this out bigger and in his sky, my friend set (slideshow).

Hope the winds blow fair for you this weekend!

The Cutting Room Floor

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

God and Automobiles

God and Automobiles, photo by g. s. george.

Yesterday on Absolute Michigan we featured Generation Y Michigan, a project of Michigan Radio that is probing why young adults leave Michigan (or buck the trend and choose to stay). While poking around, I found an engaging feature by Colleen Hill of Pixelgawker that features the photography of Geoff George (a regular on Michigan in Pictures). It’s titled Editors and Image Makers: On Photographing Detroit, Part 1 and begins:

One of the most important jobs in the media, that of the editor, often goes unseen. A well-edited film is seamless in its delivery. There are no awkward cuts or pauses, and the plot transcends time and distance effortlessly. Recently Detroit has been a prime topic of interest both in the national media and in film. With the copious number of photographs and footage of the city circulating the Internet and television, I can’t help but wonder, what is the edited version of Detroit that resides in the minds of the most of Americans? What are the parts left behind on the cutting room floor?

Read on for a lot more! About the photo above, Geoff writes:

This is the memorable and ironic view that greets every motorist traveling south on I-75 towards downtown. Thousands of these motorists are surely suburban GM workers on their way to work every day, and the irony of this chance alignment is hopefully not lost on them. In the background, the Renaissance Center, Detroit’s tallest building and GM World Headquarters. In the foreground, St. Josaphat, a 105-year old still-functioning relic from Detroit’s heyday. Detroit is the Motor City, but the sins committed here cannot be forgotten or forgiven–from the hundreds of murders every year to the construction of a freeway system that divided and destroyed vibrant and working neighborhoods. Hopefully this image will one day have different associations.

For me, it is a powerful view that is quintessentially Detroit. I’m sure it’s been photographed hundreds of times, but the balance and contrast between Detroit’s largest and most infamous glass skyscraper, a struggling community church, and the freeway that cut a swath across the city and acted as a runway for white flighters provides me with endless fascination. I hope you will find it equally stimulating.

You can see a whole lot more in Geoff’s the city on the strait: detroit set (slideshow).

Storm Chaser: Surfing in Grand Haven

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Storm Chaser

Storm Chaser, photo by johndykstraphotography.

Around the end of August, surf season really starts in earnest in Michigan and on the Great Lakes. As the winds and waves build through September and November, so does the level of the surfing. Grand Haven is one of Michigan’s best breaks (see Surf Grand Haven) and one of the locations featured in Vince Deur’s awesome film Unsalted. Here’s a cool preview of Unsalted from Absolute Michigan.

Be sure and check this out bigger and also check out the Michigan surfing slideshow in the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr!