Enjoying a winter for the ages

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Raymond flying high

Raymond flying high, photo by gerrybuckel.

A co-worker of mine who covered a Michigan Cup cross-country race last weekend said to me: “It feels like we’re having a winter for the ages this year – I’m getting out skiing and sledding and stuff more than I have in years.”

That made me wonder if I was enjoying my winter as much as I should be. My conclusion was that I’m not and my (belated) resolution is to start!

Gerry’s sons seem to have no such problems. She writes that they got a new tow behind sled for Christmas and decided to try it out behind the snowmobile. She made them put it up when I got this picture (she let them back out again though).

“They remind me of my brothers when we were kids,” she says. I hope that we can all take a little time and make sure that our kids (and ourselves) remind us of those days!

fading boundaries

Posted on by farlane

fading boundaries, photo by urban picasso studios

David suggests viewing this photo from Otsego County on black. I agree!

Underwater images from a Lake Michigan Stonehenge

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

If you’ve ever wondered what the most popular post on Michigan in Pictures was, you’ve arrived. Over 100,000 people followed a Reddit post here to learn about an underwater discovery.

September 29, 2011 Welcome everyone from Reddit. We don’t have any update to this story right now but I’ve emailed Mark and will post anything I learn. You might enjoy some of our Weird Michigan features from Absolute Michigan too!

Lake Michigan Stones

Lake Michigan Stones, photo via bldgblog.

In Stonehenge Beneath the Waters of Lake Michigan, Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG writes:

In a surprisingly under-reported story from 2007, Mark Holley, a professor of underwater archaeology at Northwestern Michigan University, discovered a series of stones – some of them arranged in a circle and one of which seemed to show carvings of a mastodon – 40-feet beneath the surface waters of Lake Michigan. If verified, the carvings could be as much as 10,000 years old – coincident with the post-Ice Age presence of both humans and mastodons in the upper midwest.

Regarding the slightly repurposed “sector scan sonar” device that Northwestern Michigan University College professor and underwater archaeologist Dr. Mark Holley & Brian Abbott were using to survey some old wrecks when they made their discovery, Geoff writes:

The circular images this thing produces are unreal; like some strange new art-historical branch of landscape representation, they form cryptic dioramas of long-lost wreckage on the lakebed. Shipwrecks (like the Tramp, which went down in 1974); a “junk pile” of old boats and cars; a Civil War-era pier; and even an old buggy are just some of the topographic features the divers discovered.

You’ll definitely want to click through to read the rest and see more pictures!

You can read a detailed feature about this in U.S. archeologists find possible mastodon carving on Lake Michigan rock at NowPublic and listen to some radio reports from the time of the discovery in August of 2007 that include an interview with Dr. Holley and another with Grand Traverse Bay Ottawa Indian tribal member and historian John Bailey in Mammoth discovery beneath Grand Traverse Bay? on Absolute Michigan.

Glass by Dale Chihuly

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Glass

Glass, photo by Spencer Olinek.

In the course of looking for photos for Michigan in Pictures, I see a lot that I say “I can’t blog this today, but I’ll definitely come back some day and do it.” Often, some day never comes. Sometimes it does though…

Here’s a photo from the 2005 Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. Get it at the Wallpapery delicious size.

There’s a Dale Chihuly Wikipedia page and at Dale Chihuly’s web site you can see a lot of his work including a ton of videos at his web site (check out “Chihuly In Action”). His bio says:

Dale Chihuly is most frequently lauded for revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement by expanding its original premise of the solitary artist working in a studio environment to encompass the notion of collaborative teams and a division of labor within the creative process.

However, Chihuly’s contribution extends well beyond the boundaries both of this movement and even the field of glass: his achievements have influenced contemporary art in general. Chihuly’s practice of using teams has led to the development of complex, multipart sculptures of dramatic beauty that place him in the leadership role of moving blown glass out of the confines of the small, precious object and into the realm of large-scale contemporary sculpture. In fact, Chihuly deserves credit for establishing the blown glass form as an accepted vehicle for installation and environmental art beginning in the late twentieth century and continuing today.

Here’s a cool slideshow of Flickr photos from the 2005 Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

The Michigan Jump

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Jump

Jump, photo by jnhkrawczyk.

I saw this photo of Nikki jumping which reminded me of the photos last week of assorted maniacs jumping over Detroit and I realized that there’s a whole lot of jumping going on in the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr.

The part of me that tries to relate everything to Michigan thinks that all this jumping could be a very essential skill for Michiganders in the days to come. By all accounts, our free-falling state economy is still falling, meaning that more cuts to schools and other public services could be coming this year and next. While Michigan’s auto manufacturers have been granted a temporary reprieve, I don’t think anyone expects them to return to the point where they can drive our economy as they once did.

I think we’re at the point as a state where we need to make our best guess as to where Michigan’s future is, gather our strength, and jump with all our might.

This photo is part of Jill’s Black & White set (slideshow). It was taken in front of the Fisher Building at the Motor City Am Jam at the Comerica Cityfest last summer and was in no way selected for this post to imply jumping OFF anything as a solution – rather to show how high and exuberantly we will need to jump!

To the Edge

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

To the Edge

To the Edge, photo by hardyc.

Chris got this shot of geese walking to the edge of the ice at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor. I wonder if the sunsets do anything for birds? (other than making them think “gonna be getting cold now” and “almost bed time”)

Be sure to check it out bigger, have a look at this great shot he got of the Detroit Princess and also see Chris’s web site.

Motown Records / Hitsville USA 50th Anniversary in 2009

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

FH040003

FH040003, photo by haycarrieanne.

If you check it out bigger you can read the historical marker … or check out the front and back at Mich Markers! Carrie has many more cool shots in her Capturing Detroit set (slideshow).

Wikipedia’s Motown Records page says that Motown Records (Tamla Motown outside of North America) was founded in Detroit, Michigan. by Berry Gordy as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959. That makes next Monday Motown’s 50th birthday!

“Hitsville USA” is now the Motown Historical Museum. They write:

There were many many talented young artists, musicians, song writers, producers, engineers and staffers who contributed to the Motown Sound. They came to Hitsville because they loved making music. Hitsville became known as a hit factory. It was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, cranking out hit after hit record from 1959 until 1972.

“My own dream for a hit factory was shaped by principles I learned on the Lincoln-Mercury assembly line. At the plant, cars started out as just a frame, pulled along on conveyor belts until they emerged at the end of the line – brand spanking new cars rolling off the line. I wanted the same concept for my company, only with artists and songs and records. I wanted a place where a kid off the street could walk in one door an unknown and come out another a recording artist…a star!”
~ Berry Gordy, (Founder, Motown Record Corporation)

Motown is just one of the Michigan businesses, organizations and municipalities celebrating an anniversary in 2009 – head over to Absolute Michigan and the 2009 Michigan Anniversaries page to see many more and add ones we might have missed!

Exposure.Detroit Gallery Opening

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by mlephotos.

Exposure.Detroit, which I think is Michigan’s largest photographer group, will be taking another step next week with the January 15th opening of the Exposure.Detroit Gallery at the Garden City Hospital. Here are the details on the opening, and I’m guessing that someone from the group might drop by to tell us more about the gallery.

I don’t know if Meghan will have any work hanging in the inaugural show, but I bet she will before too long. See this photo (and others) bigger in her my favorites set (slideshow)

Luge Run at the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

DANGER--Wipeout Ahead

DANGER–Wipeout Ahead, photo by taterfalls.

Tate says that this is what happens when you don’t steer enough. Be sure to check the photo out bigger.

The Muskegon Winter Sports Complex is located at Muskegon State Park. This amazing complex features over an acre of skating rinks (including a 700′ skating trail), 16k of groomed and lighted cross-country trail through woods and along Lake Michigan (he longest lighted trail system of its kind in the Midwest) and the luge track.

The Muskegon Luge is one of four luge tracks in the United States and is considered the most publicly accessible. Although much smaller than the Olympic tracks in New York and Salt Lake City, the Muskegon track was designed with the public in mind. The track was designed by three time Olympian Frank Masley. The track consists of six curves and two starting areas, the public start for recreational “learn to luge” sliders and the other from the top for more experienced sliders from the Muskegon Luge Club.

Click through to the Muskegon Luge page to see a cool video from Wild Weekend TV showing how accessible it is to the public.

Lake Superior Shore in Winter

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Lake Superior Shore in Winter

Lake Superior Shore, photo by Treefarmer.

It’s been a while since I posted a straight-up winter background – be sure to check this out bigger for maximum chill. Treefarmer has some more great ones in his Upper Peninsula of Michigan set (slideshow).

Find more winter backgrounds on the Michigan Winter Wallpaper page.