Another Sunflower, photo by Through Joanne’s eye.
Joanne says this is just another sunflower from her garden last year. It’s part of a set with lots more sunflower photos.
Grim Detroit day
Grim Detroit day, photo by John Levanen.
This isn’t a commentary on Detroit or today or anything like that. Just thought it was high time to blog a photo by John, and I quite like this one from a rainy Detroit afternoon in 1972!
Detroit Tigers Spring Training Salute
I Salute You, photo by loridz.
Lori Haskell was fortunate enough to get down to Lakeland to catch some of spring training. We’re still waiting for that box of oranges, but she did bring back a nice set of photos of a preseason Tiger game.
If you made it there, post a link to your photos (or just tell us about the experience) in the comments!
Sunrise and ice sheets on Lake St. Clair
Lake St. Clair, Michigan, photo by radiospike.
This photo is part of a set of photos of the annual ice break-up on Lake St. Clair. Spike writes:
The ice started making deafening cracking noises and “glass shattering” noises as the sun’s first rays hit it. This was probably the last day to catch the ice blowing over from Canada as today was expected to reach 65 degrees.
The ice starts as a sheet on the lake’s surface, forming with days of sub-freezing temperatures. Strong winds crack the ice and break it into large floating pieces. Then the winds push the ice until it hits something to stop it… in this case, the Michigan shoreline. Some of the ice floes were standing 15 feet up in the air. What you see is entirely frozen lake. I’m standing up on the bank in Grosse Pointe Farms where the ice completely shattered and moved the concrete barrier.
Spike says that the Freakish Freeze feature in the Freep inspired his trip to the shore of Lake St. Clair. I confess that the same article has inspired me to keep an eye on photos from that area!
Pinorama & The Silver Dreams of Plastic Cameras
Michigan Theater Pinorama, photo by Voxphoto.
If you’re going to be in the Ann Arbor area next Friday (March 23) or any time through April 6, consider taking in the Cheap Shots Photographic Exhibition at Gallery 4, 212 Nickels Arcade in Ann Arbor. It is the first-ever exhibition by the Ann Arbor Area Krappy Kamera Club and is intended to celebrate the messy unpredictability and dreamlike imagery that only a truly rotten camera can provide. In addition to the Friday opening, there will also be talks on toy camera history, “orphaned” cameras (Argus, Brownies, old SLRs) and a free pinhole camera workshop taught by Vox (Ross Orr) and Matt Callow.
Now that we have that bit of business out of the way, how about the pics produced by Ross’s Panoramic Pinhole Camera? Ross has an article on building the pinhole cam used to take these photos in the latest issue of MAKE: Magazine. You can see more shots from his camera at the pin-o-rama tag, and be sure to click the links to make them bigger.
Lansdowne of Windsor, a Detroit River ferry boat
Crossing the Detroit River in winter c. 1904, LC-D4-22154
Under the headline of “Things I found when looking for something else” comes this photo from the massive Detroit Publishing Co. collection in the Library of Congress.
The ferry is identified as the steamer Lansdowne of Windsor, a vessel mentioned briefly in The Detroit River ferryboats in the Detroit News’ Rearview Mirror:
The old paddle-wheeled steamer, the Lansdowne, which by its retirement in 1956 was one of the oldest vessels still operating on the lakes, once carried passenger train cars across the Detroit River. It was resurrected briefly during the 1980s as a floating restaurant off downtown Detroit.
If you click the “More Photos” button at the top left of the article, you can see another (clearer) shot of the Lansdowne. The March 1970 edition of the Toronto Marine Historical Society’s Scanner had this to say:
For well over one hundred years there have been carferries operating across the Detroit River between Windsor and Detroit, and a large portion of this period, 87 years in fact, could well be called “The Lansdowne Era.” For exactly this long, a major item on the Detroit River scene has been the paddle-driven railway ferry, LANSDOWNE.
This veteran, 294 feet in length, was completed in 1884 by the Detroit Dry Dock Co. at Wyandotte, where her iron hull was known as Hull 66. Her horizontal, low-pressure engines were built in 1872 by E.E. Gilbert & Sons at Montreal for the wooden carferry MICHIGAN (I) and they were placed in LANSDOWNE at the time of her completion. Originally equipped with four stacks and two pilothouses, the ferry now carries but two stacks and one bridge and looks somewhat gaudy in the Canadian National Railway’s new livery. Nevertheless, she is the last sidewheeler operating on the Great Lakes and holds a great charm known to anyone who has observed her or made a crossing in her.
Recent photos of the “somewhat gaudy” Lansdowne can be found at the amazing Boatnerd.com.
SkyShow
SkyShow, photo by Infinity Rain
This is the part where I’m supposed to say things … about all I can say is that this photo reminded me of the powerful film Koyaanisqatsi.
Apex: Silver Lake Sand Dunes, 2002
Apex, photo by rckrawczykjr.
Ralph does a lot of work with holgas, but this one is part of his Digital Goodness set.
The Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Mears, Michigan is a Michigan State Park Off-Road Vehicle Area, so if you’re in the “driving around on sand” mood, this is the place. If you’r in the “Wikipedia editing” mood, head over to Wikipedia and edit the Silver Lake State Park (Michigan) article!
Lansing Photo: A new Lansing photo blog
Sun sets behind Ottawa Power Station, photo by Apocaplops.
Erich Zechar, known as Apocaplops on Flickr, has recently started Lansing Photo. He says that after moving to the Capital City, he’s missed the community of photographers that he enjoyed in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti. Rather than sit around and whine about it, he says he’s…
…creating this space to try to bring together people in the area who love Lansing, and love photography. Heck, loving Lansing is optional. Let’s just fill this void, and come together to create something new, something this area lacks and sorely needs.
Erich is featuring photos from area photographers and photo-related events in the Lansing area and also hopes to do photographer interviews and profiles in the future.
Saginaw Train Bridge
Saginaw Train Bridge, photo by n8xd.
Keith DeLong writes: This is a train bridge near St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw, Michigan.
I recommend you check this one out bigger.
Michigan in Pictures 