When we get our normal cold here in Michigan the air moves from southwest Canada, across the northern Plains and into the Great Lakes region. A little stiffer brand of cold comes from northwest Canada in the Yukon Territory. Our most dangerous cold comes straight from the north. If the air is really cold it will originate in Siberia, cross over the North Pole and then pour south into the Great Lakes and Northeast.
We are probably just lucky the Great Lakes still have 35 degree to 40 degree surface waters. This same Arctic outbreak of cold would take us 10 degrees colder if it happened with colder Great Lakes’ waters. In looking at the pattern I wouldn’t be surprised to see another Arctic outbreak in a week or two when the lake water is colder.
Lucky indeed because even with the temperature moderation of the Great Lakes, the temps Monday & Tuesday do not look fun!
Charles is one of Michigan in Pictures’s most enduring photographers. He took the photo below earlier this week in Leland’s Fishtown & you can see more in his Steam Engine, Railroad Photos gallery on Flickr.
Pure Michigan shares that lower Bond Falls is a scenic and popular waterfall in the Upper Peninsula’s Ontonagon County that is created by the middle branch of the Ontonagon River tumbling over a thick belt of fractured rock that divides it into numerous small cascades. Total drop of the falls is approximately 50 feet & you can get directions & more from the DNR page for Bond Falls Scenic Site.
I originally saw this photo posted by a Facebook page not affiliated with the photographer, something that has become increasingly common. I really hope we can all endeavor to share info & links for the photos we share and to block & report pages that steal photos from actual photographers!
You can view & purchase more Michigan waterfall pictures including these on John’s website, and also get prints, canvas, puzzles, photo coasters, note cards, and Michigan calendars at michigannutphotography.com so what are you waiting for?
9 years ago I started a Michigan in Pictures Patreon page to allow folks to throw me a few bucks in support of michpics. A big thank you to all who have done so – it means a lot to know you care.
My best friend Ken who has since passed on & I took these photos way back in August of 2007 after an honestly incredible rock stacking event on the Lake Michigan shoreline just north of the village of Frankfort. I still have no idea who did this, but I know that I will never forget it!! I hope you enjoy these photos & the video and also that you’re able to make or discover magic in your corner of the Great Lakes State.
Several times a year I can point out to you weather we see nowhere else in America. One of those times is when we get Arctic air crossing the 40-degree water of Lake Michigan.
Look at the low temperature forecast for tomorrow morning, Jan. 9. You could call a friend in northeast Lower Michigan, and they will tell you it’s very cold and near zero degrees. Look at the “warmer” air that blows off of 40-degree Lake Michigan. We will have spots around Kalamazoo, South Haven and Benton Harbor that only drop to 20 degrees. Southeast Lower Michigan can be colder than the northwest shoreline of Lake Michigan at this time of year. Thursday morning’s map clearly shows that strange temperature pattern. We also see the warmer air under the clouds and lake effect snow stretching southeast off Lake Michigan.
Every year I like to look back on the most popular photos from the previous year of Michigan in Pictures, and this year is no exception. Joey’s incredible drone shot of workers laying the last girder in place to connect the deck of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge to the Detroit Port of Entry was not only the most popular post in 2024 — with 2.9 MILLION views it also became the most popular post ever on Michigan in Pictures! This astonishing project has been directed and paid for by Canada & opens in November of 2025! Learn more about the Gordie Howe Bridge on Michigan in Pictures & for sure follow Joey on Instagram and view & purchase photos on his website!
Checking in at number two is this peach of a photo of Turnip Rock near Port Austin in Michigan’s Thumb. Tom shared that this gigantic stone developed its signature look after millennium of being worn away by waves thumping across its bow to the point where it’s just an island inhabited by some trees and very little else. Head over to Tom’s website to view & purchase his work!
This shot from Flint by Morgan Andrew Somers of a plane flying into the eclipse was the 3rd most popular pic of 2024. It is also one of the coolest eclipse photos & photos in general I’ve ever seen!
The 4th most popular post was a pair of pics showing the freighter Herbert C Jackson passing under the bridge with Mike Rezabek’s photo of the walk below from the deck of the Jackson completing the 360 view!
The most popular post from previous years was the 2014 feature on the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos). The “puff adder” is one of only 17 species of snake in Michigan and like all but one of the, it’s harmless to humans.
FYI, the only poisonous snake native to Michigan is the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake which has the weakest venom of any rattler.
I promised a look at what’s in store for 2025, so here are five goals I think I can achieve in the coming year:
Visiting or revisiting places I’ve talked about on Michigan in Pictures, either in person or real life. One of the biggest reasons I created Michigan in Pictures was to provide a window into the many cool experiences available in the Great Lakes State. Back in the day when I started, I was able able to get out and about to all corners of the state, but these days I just don’t have the same time to do that. I’m hoping that in addition to pushing myself to do more, I can find some photographers exploring them.
Highlighting more photos from our Michigan in Pictures group on Facebook and creating addition virtual & maybe even real world opportunities to share photos. There used to be some very fun Exposure.Detroit shows & meetups back in the day, and I was even able to lead a field trip to the Grand Traverse Commons with the group. These days I work & know folks at some cool spots here in Detroit that would be fun to explore, and there are a lot of photographers featured here that have deep roots in all corners of Michigan. Social media is cool & all, but for my money, the real world is where things are going to be at in the years to come.
Reaching out to some of the amazing Michigan photographers I’ve profiled over the years to see what they’re up to now & what they’re thinking about photography. And of course to do profiles on some of the great new photographers I’m sharing. I didn’t do a whole lot of Michigan Photographer Profiles, but the ones I did were absolutely fascinating to me both as a photographer and as a lover of Michigan.
Find more Michigan companies & photography companies to donate swag to give away. When we were running Absolute Michigan at full steam, we used to get a lot of free promotional items like concert tickets, museum passes, free lodging stays, outdoor & other gear, and lots more.
I started Michigan in Pictures way back on December 30, 2025. In the 19 years since, I’ve shared 2840 posts – well, 2841 now – to 1.6 million people! Thank you all for being a part of it!!
I took this photo & the one below at the Manitou Music Festival at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore way back in 2005! You can see a lot more in my Music Makes Me Smile gallery on Flickr, and the dancing fellow in the bottom picture is Jacob Wheeler, editor & publisher of the fantastic Glen Arbor Sun!
Active dunes gradually advance over time. In some places trees and telephone poles have been buried in drifting sand over a period of several years. A common question is “How fast are the dunes moving?” Rates of sand movement vary from one place to another and from one year to the next. At the Dune Climb the average rate of advance has been about 4 feet (1.2 meters) per year over the past few years.
Direction of sand movement also varies from one place to the next. The shapes of dunes reveal the direction of the winds. Dry, loose sand can take on a maximum slope of 34 degrees, known as the angle of repose. As sand piles up on an unvegetated dune, the leeward (downwind) slope approximates the angle of repose, while the windward slope is more gradual. Ripples in the sand show a similar asymmetrical shape.
Dune sand moves primarily by a process called “saltation”, literally “jumping”. Wind forces grains of sand to roll, collide with other grains of sand, and in subsequent collisions some grains bounce into the air, are driven downwind as they fall, and upon landing strike other grains to produce a chain reaction. On a windy day you can see a hazy zone of sand moving just a foot or two above the ground.
Neil took the photo above last year in late December & shared “One of the many things that I love about hiking around the sand dunes is finding miniature landscapes created by the strong winds. The textures and lines compose a true natural work of art!”
In Lower Michigan the winter storm watch stretches from the Kalamazoo area northward through the Grand Rapids area and up the western shoreline through Muskegon, Grand Traverse area and Charlevoix. Cadillac is also in the winter storm watch. The western Lake Superior shoreline counties in the Upper Peninsula are also in the winter storm watch.
You can find this shot from Michigan’s largest waterfall & many others in the Winter in Michigan gallery on the Michigan Nut Photography website. John also shares much more on his Facebook!
The 1868 peak in sail-powered ships on Lake Michigan also marked the year the 123-foot Rouse Simmons was launched from Milwaukee’s shipyards. The ship was built by the firm of Allan, McClelland, and Company, one of Milwaukee’s preeminent shipbuilding firms …In the early 1870s, the Rouse Simmons joined the sizeable shipping fleet of wealthy lumber magnate and philanthropist Charles H. Hackley of Muskegon, hauling loads of lumber for Hackley’s fleet from company mills to the various markets around the lake for roughly 20 years.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the popular German tradition of decorating an evergreen tree in the home was widely practiced, and it was not uncommon for a handful of lake schooners to make late-season runs from northern Michigan and Wisconsin loaded with thousands of Christmas trees for busy Chicago waterfront markets. Estimates of the number of Christmas schooners vary, but perhaps up to two dozen vessels in any season delivered evergreens to markets in Great Lakes states.
In Chicago, most vessels, including the Rouse Simmons, sold the trees directly from their berths along the Chicago River’s Clark Street docks. Electric lights were strung from the schooner’s bow to stern, and customers were invited to board the ship to choose their trees. In addition to selling Christmas trees, many boat operators, including Schuenemann, made and sold wreaths, garlands, and other holiday decorations. Barbara Schuenemann and her three daughters (Elsie is pictured above) helped make and sell these items as part of the family’s holiday trade.
You can read on for much more about Herman Schuenemann’s long career as “Captain Santa” which tragically came to an end on Friday, November 22, 1912 when the Rouse Simmons, heavily laden with 3,000–5,000 Christmas trees filling its hold & deck, left the dock at Thompson, Michigan looking “like a floating forest.” Sadly, the Rouse Simmons sailed into a powerful winter storm on the lake that sent her and several other ships including the South Shore, Three Sisters, and Two Brothers to the bottom of Lake Michigan.
On November 23, 1912, Back in 2007 Rich Evenhouse shared this video of a dive to the wreck of the Rouse Simmons. The shipwreck lies upright in 165 ft. at the bottom of Lake Michigan & I’ve heard that every year divers place a Christmas tree on the bow.
Given the veritable explosion of aurora borealis & nighttime photos due to the fact phone cameras are finally allowing people to take low light pictures, I think it’s important for folks to understand that even though you can’t get results like you see from some of the best northern lights photographers, these photographers aren’t faking or cheating. They are simply working with much more photo data & understanding of how to apply it than most people.
Monika shares “The difference between a phone shot and a camera shot, each taken several minutes apart. I took quite a few phone shots that night, esp as I worked my way up the coast of the Keweenaw in 28mph winds. In each phone shot, I see noise, blown pixels, and black feathering. Shooting on a camera in raw, we have to edit to put the contrast, color, and texture back into it. It looks very milky before editing and it takes a lot of work.
Michigan in Pictures 