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Of snow & snowflakes…

Posted on December 14, 2006December 10, 2015 by Michigan in Pictures

This beautiful photo reminded me of one of the first pieces I ever published on the internet, an excerpt from the 1993 book It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes by Michigan author Jerry Dennis & illustrator Glenn Wolff titled Nature Baroque: Snowflakes & Crystals.

For my money, Jerry is one of the very best writers about the beauty and mystery of the natural world (and Glenn is a standout illustrator), and this chapter tells you all kinds of stuff you probably didn’t know about snowflakes, from the process that forms them to giant snowflakes to the snowflake photography of Wilson A. Bentley, the Snowflake Man and how you can photograph snowflakes as well. FYI, Aricee (the photographer of the above shot) explains how she took this right here.

You can possibly find a copy of the book at a used book store or on Amazon.com. If you have a curious child (or curious inner child) buy this book now. If you’d like to check out more wintery items from the Northern Michigan Journal (defunct but still online), please be my guest!

SeedPod II

Posted on December 13, 2006October 5, 2007 by Michigan in Pictures

SeedPod II, photo by DetroitBikeBlog.

From the creator of the excellent Detroit Bike Blog.

Van Dyke: Elizabeth Park

Posted on December 12, 2006December 12, 2006 by Michigan in Pictures

Van Dyke: Elizabeth Park, photo by Matt Blackcustard.

It’s been a little while since we’ve blogged one of Matt’s photos.

This one was taken with a modified Voigtlander brilliant pinhole (apparently the pinhole was not standard). It is a Van Dyke brown print, which you can learn about here and here. One of the things I learned is that the process was named for the resemblance of the print color to the brown oil paint named for the Flemish painter Van Dyck.

Elizabeth Park is on the Detroit River in Wayne County and has the distinction of being Michigan’s first county park.

Point Betsie Lighthouse in Winter

Posted on December 11, 2006February 16, 2017 by Michigan in Pictures

P2190088B, photo by jsorbieus.

According to Life Along the Manitou Passage’s page on the Pt. Betsie Light (developed in 2001):

The light was constructed in 1858 at a cost of $3,000 and was called the “Point Aux Bec Scies” lighthouse. This point of land is translated from the French as “sawed beak point”. The original 37 foot tower was replaced by a 100 foot structure in 1880 and houses a Fourth Order Fresnel lens. It was not fully automated until 1983, and is the last manned lighthouse on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

Time has marched on and in June of 2004, ownership of the light was transferred to Benzie County and is operated by the Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse. They have an excellent timeline and a wealth of other information about the lighthouse, including their plans for restoration and some great historical and modern day photo galleries.

As is usually the case, Terry Pepper has an excellent narrative on Point Betsie’s history. Thanks also to Jim for uploading this large enough to be my computer wallpaper! ;)

a white christmas

Posted on December 9, 2006December 9, 2006 by Michigan in Pictures

a white christmas, photo by radiospike.

Here’s a photo from Commerce Township on Christmas Eve is one of many in the new Michigan Gallery on Flickr. It’s a group where Michigan photographers can feature their best.

Slideshow of recent additions to the Gallery

stitch

Posted on December 8, 2006December 8, 2006 by Michigan in Pictures

stitch, photo by Boston Fan in Michigan.

Sam says that this is “next installment in my continuing quest to give myself ink poisoning.”

This photo is part of her baseball miscellany set of photos. For some great baseball writing, check out her blog Blue Cats and Red Sox.

Green Hornet

Posted on December 7, 2006December 9, 2016 by Michigan in Pictures

Green Hornet, photo by swatzo.

Oh yeah.

Polaroid Transfer | 2

Posted on December 6, 2006December 6, 2006 by Michigan in Pictures

Polaroid Transfer | 2, photo by brad|gillette.

Brad Gillette is a photography student and portrait photographer from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s also the guy who’s going to help Michigan in Pictures break through its “horizontal format bias.”

I think that this is Brad’s favorite photo from his cool set of polaroid transfers. His work is also available for purchase!

open road

Posted on December 5, 2006December 5, 2006 by Michigan in Pictures

open road, photo by catzinahat.

One of the many things I like about the photo sharing site Flickr is that every day it finds ways to introduce you to new photos and new photographers. I think that it is the mark of some folks who care very much about what they do and consciously worked to design a web site that would encourage this ever-bubbling newness.

Catalina, who took today’s picture, has a rich collection of photos that (in a Flickrless world) I might never have seen. Like some kind of photo-seeking bee, I flew from this photo to this photo before finally settling here.