car abstract, photo by *Alysa*.
The 2009 Woodward Dream Cruise is in the rearview mirror but even if you missed it, you can see some great photos in the Woodward Dream Cruise slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool. See this bigger in Alysa’s slideshow.
There’s tons more in the Woodward Dream Cruise slideshow from all Flickr users and also the Woodward Dream Cruise group.
If you wonder where it all got started, check out Cruisin’ the Original: Woodward Avenue on Michigan in Pictures.
courtesy Absolute Michigan…
Electric Blues, photo by Rudy Malmquist.
“Les Paul brought six strings to electricity and electricity to six strings. Les Paul was an innovator, a groundbreaker, a risk taker, a mentor and a friend. Try to imagine what we’d be doing if he hadn’t come along and changed the world. There will always be more Les to come. That’s certified.”
~ Billy Gibbons, one of many to praise Paul
Les Paul, designer of the Gibson Les Paul and an incredibly influential musician, passed away yesterday at the age of 94.
Wikipedia says that in addition to collaborting on the the guitar that bore his name, Paul is credited with recording innovations including overdubbing, tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording. The “Wizard of Waukesha” was also one of the most influential guitarists ever, developing licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing that set him apart from his contemporaries and have carried through to the modern day.
There’s so much more to be said. Start with:
Les Paul Online is the artists official web site. Definitely go here to get a feel for the man. Paul’s good humor and amazing skills shine through.
The World Has Lost a Remarkable Innovator and Musician: Les Paul Passes Away at 94 from Gibson Guitar
What makes the Gibson Les Paul unique and The Man Behind the Guitar from the Les Paul Guide
You can (and should) watch Les Paul – Chasing Sound! on YouTube. Also see Les Paul Chasing Sound (IN MEMORIAM 1915-2009) at PBS to read some great history and a timeline of Paul’s career.
Legendary guitar-maker Les Paul left mark in Kalamazoo from mLive is just one of the articles they have about Paul.
Gibson Guitar in Kalamazoo, Michigan from Michigan in Pictures seems to be where people go to ask questions about Gibson guitars the have … and has some good information about the company.
Be sure to check out Rudy’s photo bigger.
The Vineyard, photo by starryeyez024.
The first ever Traverse City Wine & Art Festival takes place Saturday, August 22, 2009 in Traverse City on the grounds of historic Building 50 at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.
The festival will feature full pours of wine from 22 wineries on the Leelanau & Old Mission Peninsulas along with a selection of Traverse City and Leelanau restaurants serving food & desserts, art from over 30 artists and a great selection of music from Michigan bands including Thom Jayne and the Nomads.
Be sure to check this photo out bigger – it’s part of Kendall’s Lake Michigan vacation set (slideshow).
PS: My company is coordinating the wine festival, so please accept my apologies if Michigan in Pictures is really late some days … such as today! ;)
Riverfront Redevelopment, photo by Mario.Q.
Mario has a great Ottawa Street Power Station set (slideshow) in which he’s documenting this redevelopment project.
Wikipedia’s entry for the Ottawa Street Power Station says:
The Ottawa Street station provided electricity and steam to the downtown Lansing area from 1939 through the late 1980’s. By 1971, improvements at the Board of Water and Light’s Eckert Station permitted the Ottawa Street Station to operate as a backup station for electric generation. It continued to provide steam service into the 1980s. In 1984, this Board of Water and Light’s Eckert Station began providing steam service, initially as a backup to the Ottawa Street Station, but eventually as the primary steam service source. As equipment became obsolete, it was removed from the Ottawa Street Station, and ultimately it was decommissioned in 1992 for electric and steam.
…In 2007 it was sold to be redeveloped as corporate headquarters for the Accident Fund Insurance Company of America. Massive renovations to convert the plant to an office building are currently underway by The Christman Company, with completion of the entire 7-acre office campus scheduled for the first quarter of 2011.
Lansing City Pulse article about the Ottawa Power Station redevelopment and this great thread on the project from SkyscraperPage (complete with 3D renderings).
Michigan Central Station, photo by jeanpierrelavoie.
Let’s go for a ride, shall we?
Chris Sebok sent me a link to this amazing panoramic walkthrough of Detroit’s Michigan Central Station by Montreal photographer Jean-Pierre Lavoie (part of his Detroit set). It’s an extremely cool walkthrough that you have to see to believe!
NOTE: There is sound on this so turn it down if you’re surfing on the sly!
Check out more on MCS from Michigan in Pictures.
As Dominique points out, you only get 4 points for L-A-K-E. When all is said and done, however, there are few words that are more important to Michiganders. The DNR notes that Michigan boasts more than 11,000 inland lakes and you can access 2,700 inland lake maps online.
Check it out bigger or in Petoskey, MI set (slideshow).
Lake In the Clouds Sunrise, photo by Marc Akemann.
I know that we were just at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, but this one was too good to let pass. Marc writes:
The previous day I had been experimenting with a Tiffen CC30M filter for an upcoming job where there was an excess of green. I accidentally left the filter on my 28mm lens which I had planned to use for this shot of Lake In the Clouds. Being 60 miles away from this place, I had to wake up at 3 AM to hit the road to beat the sun. I got to the overlook, climbed down the side of the cliff about 10 feet to a ledge, all in the dark, set up and waited a few minutes, never checking the lens. So that explains why I shot this with the CC30M filter. Anyway, while I was waiting for the right light, the sky was crystal clear and the wind was calm. All of a sudden a stiff wind came in from my right and whistled on over the lake, bringing these clouds in with it. Almost as quickly as it came, the wind stopped and, well, I started shooting. It was really weird.
Check this out bigger in Marc’s Landscape slideshow (or Weather slideshow) and read more about the Lake of the Clouds here and here on Michigan in Pictures.
Rain or Shine (since 1922), photo by paulh192.
This week (August 2-8, 2009) is National Farmer’s Market Week. I hope you get a chance to get out and buy some fresh and local food. There are markets all across the state and you can learn about them through the Michigan Farmer’s Market Map on Absolute Michigan.
Be sure to check this photo from the Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids out bigger and also have a look at markets from all over the state in the farmer’s market slideshow from the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr!
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, photo by kmaz.
Be sure to check this out bigger or in Konrad’s Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park set (slideshow).
I’m thinking this waterfall might be Manabezho Falls. For more on this amazing state park, check out Porcupine Mounties on Michigan in Pictures, this cool article from Summit Post on visiting and enjoying the Porkies and the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park site.
More of the same (and much more of the different) in the Michigan Waterfalls group on Flickr!
Antrim County Farm, 1889, photo courtesy Seeking Michigan
The good folks at Seeking Michigan dug this gem for me and it’s one of those that you just have to check out bigger.
Teaching Michigan History is just one of many of great online features from the apparently soon-to-disappear Michigan Department of History, Arts & Libraries. Read about how this freaks out historians that this incredible cultural resource is being scrapped to save 2 million dollars and see Facebook for efforts to save HAL. They published this cool Excerpt from Charles Estep’s Farm Diary, August 1884 that gives a look at the difficult life of a farmer at the turn of the century in Michigan. It begins:
Nineteenth century farmers often kept hand-written diaries of their farming activities: planting, raising and harvesting crops. The following is an August 1884 excerpt from Charles Estep’s “Farm Diary 1883-1886.” His farm on Musgrove Highway later became the Fred Bulling Farm in Sebewa Township, Ionia County, Michigan. Today, farmers often keep track of their crops on computers. Historians and scientists use diaries and computer print-outs to study farming practices and trends over time.
Since I have no idea how long these materials will stay online if HAL is dissolved, here’s a few excerpts from the excerpt:
Friday, August 1st, 1884. Perry cut some oats yesterday. He came over this morning. I went out and found they were too green and got him to wait until next week. I worked in the corn a little and bound up some oats.
Tuesday, 5th. A little showery this forenoon. I handled over some manure. Perry helped me part of the forenoon. Afternoon he cut and I bound oats.
Friday, 8th. Perry finished cradling the oats today. I went to Portland to take my teeth to have them fixed over. They are worse than ever they were. He is going to reset them again. Ella Estep rode out to Father’s with me.
Friday, 15th. I did but little today. I finished the oat stack, marked out a headland, set a stump on fire and the fire ran all over the piece. In the afternoon my head ached, so I did not work.
Tuesday, 19th. Today I plowed and picked up stone. I am plowing my oat stubble. The weather is very warm and very dry.
Thursday, 21st. I went down home and helped thresh part of the day. The rest I picked stone and plowed. Father and Bion had 971 bushels of wheat.
Friday, 22nd. I picked up a load of stone and plowed today.
Saturday, 23rd. Foe was sick all night last night. After breakfast I went down and got Mrs. VanHouten to come and see her. She said we had better send for a doctor right away, so I went down home and started Bion after the doctor and got Mother. Then I went and got Mrs. D. Leak. In the meantime Mrs. Olry came. Dr. Smith came at two o’clock. At about four o’clock our baby was born, a bouncing healthy boy of 8 and 3/4 pounds. Foe was very sick, indeed. Mother stays all night.
Thursday, 28th. I was down to Mr. Ralstons and borrowed a baby crib. I borrowed a drag down home. I went out and dragged a while. It commenced to rain too hard to work most of the time. I went and got Mrs. D. Leak to come and dress the baby.
Michigan in Pictures 