Detroit Street Photography with Brian Day

Posted on by farlane

resurrection

resurrection, photo by brian

The opening reception for the show Cardiovista: Detroit Street Photography takes place next Friday (January 16) from 5-7:30 at the University of Michigan Dearborn’s Alfred Berkowitz Gallery (in the Mardigian Library). The show features the work of Carlos Diaz, Bruce Harkness, Tom Stoye and Michigan in Pictures regular Brian Day. Click the link for details!

Brian took this shot of the reborn Cobo Center in 2012. View it bigger and if you’re in the metro Detroit area, I hope you get a chance to check out one of the most original and creative photographers I know in person! Also see his street photography at brianday.org.

Mercurial Dawn II – Five Mile Point

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Mercurial Dawn II - Five Mile Point (Hiawatha National Forest - Upper Michigan)

Mercurial Dawn II – Five Mile Point, photo by Aaron C. Jors

Aaron took this shot back in September of 2011 at Five Mile Point near Christmas, MI in the Hiawatha National Forest.

View his photo bigger and see more in his Michigan slideshow. You can also view & purchase Mercurial Dawn I and some other very cool photos in the Great Lakes Shorelines section at aaroncjors.com.

PS: While I was trying to figure out just where this beautiful place is, I stumbled upon this video about Five Mile Point produced by the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development using student photos.

Rotten Apples: 2014 Detroit Lions Playoff Edition

Posted on by farlane

The Rotten Apples

The Rotten Apples, photo by Joel Dinda

If you’re a Detroit Lions fan, you’re probably more than a bit dazed by yesterday’s game which had the Lions on the verge of winning their first playoff game in 23 years. Mitch Albom has a column that details the stunning turn of events as the door closed on the Lions’ playoff dreams:

In the end, however, the play everyone was and will be talking about was that pass interference call that suddenly wasn’t. It was third-and-1 with less than nine minutes to go in the game, the Lions at the Dallas 46, clinging to a 20-17 lead. Stafford threw to a 17-yard pass to Brandon Pettigrew (that in itself is a questionable move on third-and-1, isn’t it?) but linebacker Anthony Hitchens made contact and the two went down as the ball bounced away.

A flag was thrown, the crowd groaned, pass interference was called — not just signaled, called, announced, I heard it, I swear! — the ball was spotted and the Lions would have a fresh set of downs and at least makeable field-goal position.

Even the TV announcers on Fox were confirming the pass interference. And then, incredibly, the refs picked the flag up.

You know the rest – shanked punt, Lions’ penalties, Cowboys score, Stafford fumble, season over. My dad always used to say that if the refs beat you with a bad call, you probably beat yourself somewhere along the line by putting yourself in that position, something the Lions did time and again.

Ultimately, I think that Detroit got a lot of breaks through the season and showed that while they have a promising foundation, particularly on defense, they’re not (quite) ready for prime time.

I thought it was pretty cool that Joel posted the perfect pic for how I feel this morning. View it background big and see more in his Winter slideshow.

and then I saw this cloud…

Posted on by farlane

Untitled

Untitled, photo by Scottie Williford

Hoping you see some cool sights and enjoy a great weekend!

View Scottie’s photo bigger and see more in his slideshow.

More clouds on Michigan in Pictures.

Storm over Munising

Posted on by farlane

Munising, Mi. Lake effect clouds just off shore today.

Munising, Mi. Lake effect clouds just off shore today, photo by Thom Skelding

Winter has arrived across the state, just in time for 2015.

View Tom’s photo bigger and see more in his slideshow.

More weather and more Lake Superior on Michigan in Pictures!

Happy New Year!

Posted on by farlane

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!, photo by Spring Disney

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”
~Neil Gaiman

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s hoping for health & happiness for all of you, but also a mistake or two as the incomparable Mr. Gaiman prescribes.

Spring Disney shared this photo from Elizabeth Park in Trenton for the 2011 New Year. View it bigger on Flickr and see more (including some absolutely stunning owl photos) in her My Favorites slideshow.

More bridges and more New Year on Michigan in Pictures.

Frozen in Time, 2014 edition

Posted on by farlane

Frozen in Time

Frozen in Time, photo by photofrenzy2000

2014 will never come this way again, so for better or worse, here are some 2014 highlights from Michigan in Pictures…

Cougar CamThe most popular post was Cougar Cam Confirmation, which was published on November 7th. Since I’ve been sounding the “cougars live in Michigan” horn for several years now, it’s gratifying that the DNR is now on board.

Isle Royale Star BreezeWith 77,000 views on Facebook, the cougar cam was the most popular post there too, followed very closely by Space Weather and Starbreeze that benefited from the Lake Superior Photo bump!

Paradise is the nickname of this placeShawn of Lake Superior Photo checked in with the second most popular pic, Paradise is the nickname of this place, a photo that features one of the amazing & out-of-the-way Michigan gems that I learned about in 2014.

Ice Caves Leelanau Peninsula by Ken ScottThe third most popular picture & story was one from close to my home, the astonishing The Ice Caves of Leelanau that drew tens of thousands of people to the Leelanau Peninsula last winter to see them. You can click that link to see Ken’s photos or save yourself the time and head over to his site to purchase his book, The Ice Caves of Leelanau.

Winter at Tahquamenon Falls John McCormickWeighing in at number four was Winter at Tahquamenon Falls by John McCormick aka MichiganNut. While this photo didn’t make his 2015 wall calendar, a dozen other great ones did!

Shadow Moon by Michael SeabrookClosing out the top five was the Blood Moon and the Lunar Eclipse Tetrad by Michael Seabrook. The first two of these four total lunar eclipses are in the books, but April 4 & September 28, 2015 are still to be seen.

Polar Vortex Cabin FeverThe top commented post was Michigan in Pictures is a blog, folks, which I posted after getting a bunch of negative comments after sharing a photo from a group working against the Keystone XL Pipeline coming through Michigan. It made me very happy to get support for protecting the beautiful natural heritage features on Michigan in Pictures from so many readers … and also to share the awesome photo of our cats!

View this photo from December of 2010 at the St. Joseph Lighthouse bigger and jump into photofrenzy2000’s slideshow for more awesome shots!

Happy 9th Birthday to Michigan in Pictures!

Posted on by farlane

Engine House 9

Engine Engine Number 9, photo by Rudy Malmquist

Back on December 30, 2005 I blogged the first photo to Michigan in Pictures. If you click that link, you can start at the beginning. Be warned though – as of today there’s 2,805 posts!!

Thanks to all of you for staying tuned and here’s hoping for many more years.

Rudy is one of the photographers who’s been contributing since the beginning. He notes that the former Engine House 9 in Grand Rapids is now the Mitten Brewing Company. View his photo background big and see more in his slideshow.

More birthday fun on Michigan in Pictures.

Snowy Topper

Posted on by farlane

Michigan Snowy Owl Winter

snowy12-28-4, photo by Dan Lockard

What’s on top of your tree this year? Right now in the Absolute Michigan photo group, we’re seeing a ton of snowy owls. While these arctic owls are not found in the summer, we are in their winter range, as the Michigan DNR’s Winter Visitors page shares:

Just because the leaves have fallen from the trees and there is a chill in the air is no reason to put away your binoculars. Winter offers unique viewing opportunities. Many of our summer resident birds migrate to warmer summer climates. Still, there are several species of birds that migrate from Canada and find Michigan the perfect winter temperature. Winter is the only time several of these species can be found in Michigan.

Two of the largest migrants are the snowy owl and the great gray owl. Snowy owls can be found moving into Michigan during winter when the food supply on the arctic tundra is in short supply. Snowy owls have been recorded as far south as Lansing, Michigan. Because they rarely see humans on their northern homes, they are not timid and can be easily viewed for long periods of time.

Friday’s Sault Star reported that about three dozen snowys were sighted during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird count on December 20th. That’s more than average. We’ll know if this is an irruption year after all the bird count numbers are released in January.

View Dan’s photo taken near Muskegon background big and see lots more (including a couple shots of the great gray owl) in his awesome Owls slideshow.

Lots more snowy owl pictures & information (including a couple more by Dan) in the Michigan in Pictures archives!

Root Beer Falls

Posted on by farlane
Tahquamenon Falls Root beer falls

Tahquamenon Falls, photo by Courtney Cochran

The Tahquamenon Falls are Michigan’s biggest waterfall and quite a sight to see in any season. It draws its name from the distinctive root beer color of the water which is created by the leaching of tannins from the cedar swamps that feed the river.

At its peak flow, the river drains as much as 50,000 gallons of water per second, making it the second most voluminous vertical waterfall east of the Mississippi River after only Niagara Falls.

View Courtney’s photo bigger and see more in her Landscapes slideshow.

Lots more Tahquamenon Falls on Michigan in Pictures!

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