Passage to…., photo by Ajit Rudrangi
The Exposure Detroit February 2009 Exhibit opens next Friday (Feb 20) from 7-10 PM at the Bean & Leaf Cafe in Royal Oak. The show features work from five photographers:
These openings are a great chance to view work from some very talented photographers and to meet many fimne folks from the Exposure.Detroit group.
You can view this photo from an Exposure.Detroit Ann Arbor photo safari larger in Ajit’s Exposure Detroit Show Probables set (slideshow)
Untitled, photo by ( Jennifer )
Jennifer took this shot a few weeks ago at the annual Kalkaska Winterfest. She has some great photos of the sled dog racing that yu can check out in her Winterfest set (slideshow).
Hope you get a chance to get out and run around this weekend!
Actually, this is from last year’s Cardboard Sled Race at Mulligan’s Hollow, but I really needed to say “Intergalactic Human Sled Race” for my own fulfillment … and hopefully to SEE a picture of it in the Absolute Michigan pool (hint, hint).
The race takes place Friday night at 8 PM on Washington Ave. in Grand Haven and will feature teams with 4 Pullers, 1 Musher and 1 Rider. It’s all part of Grand Haven Winterfest 2009 that takes place January 22-25 and features all kinds of winter fun: sled & snowboard competitions, ice sculpting, a snow angel contest and (of course) the sport of kings, hamster and gerbil racing. There’s also art, music and event a luau. Sounds like great fun if you’re in the area this weekend (and please remember the part about the photos of the Intergalactic Human Sled Race).
This photo is one of several in Craig’s Winterfest slideshow and there’s even more in the Grand Haven Winterfest slideshow.
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!
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!
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.
Castle Rock Curios, photos by Alan C of Marion,IN
This photo is just one of very many in Alan ‘s Roadside Finds set (slideshow) and you’ll also want to wander through his Michigan pics!
Michigan’s Roadside Tourist Attractions will be showcased in a special exhibit opening at the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing on January 10, 2009.
Michigan’s Roadside Attractions, set to run through Sept. 14, 2009, features more than 50 roadside attractions that grew up as Michigan expanded its highway system from the 1930s through the 1970s. Many of these attractions still provide fun and excitement for millions of tourists each year.
“Deer parks and dinosaur gardens are just a couple travel experiences that take center stage again in this exhibit. Places like Castle Rock in St. Ignace, the Soo Locks Boat Tours and the multiple locations where Paul Bunyan has been spotted are also featured through photos, artifacts and souvenirs,” said Phillip C. Kwiatkowski, director of the Michigan Historical Museum System. ” Michigan’s Roadside Attractions is about treasured mementoes, from miniature Paul Bunyan statues and plastic purses to dinosaurs, seashells and even ceramic doll dish sets.”
Learn more about the exhibit from the Michigan Historical Museum.
I know you’re all wondering about Castle Rock – here’s what Roadside America has to say:
Castle Rock is an abrupt, geologic protuberance just north of the Mackinac Bridge on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The nearly 200-ft. column of rock was long ago augmented with a man-made ramp and walkway to provide tourists a climb for an unparalleled view of Lake Huron and distant Mackinac Island.
At the base of the Castle Rock lookout is an amusing Paul Bunyan statue accompanied by his mythical sidekick, Babe the Blue Ox. This Bunyan is rare. Instead of standing, ready to deforest Michigan, Paul sits, staring googly-eyed towards the lake. With a newspaper in his hands, we’d complete the visual that Paul is halfway through one of his mighty bowel movements.
OK, probably should have cut that one sentence earlier. Read more about Castle Rock from Hunt’s UP Guide (I learned that it only costs 50¢ to climb – definitely stopping next time!)
The Pere Marquette #1225 (Christmas train 12/25) One of the Last!!!, photo by David Sr. – Lapeer Photography.
A lot of times I think I’ve written about something on Michigan in Pictures and then when I look, it turns out I haven’t.
Such is the case with the Pere Marquette #1225 Christmas train. David writes that this train was used as the model for the train in the animated movie “The Polar Express” with Tom Hanks (view trailer on YouTube). Wikipedia explains:
The steam locomotive that pulls the Polar Express is modeled after an actual locomotive that is on display at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan. The Pere Marquette 1225 Berkshire-type (2-8-4), built in 1941 at the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, OH, was part of the Pere Marquette Railway system before being decommissioned in 1951. Slated for scrapping, it was acquired by Michigan State University (MSU) in 1957 and exhibited on campus.
In 1971, MSU steam enthusiasts commenced the formidable task of restoring the mighty locomotive to operating condition. Restoration was substantially completed in 1985, and in 1988, number 1225 started pulling excursion trains in the Owosso area and around Michigan. The locomotive has been listed on the United States National Register of Historical Places.
In the film, artistic liberty is taken with the appearance of the locomotive and its tender, both being made to seem even more massive than the 794,500 pound (361,136 kilogram) original. Many of the train’s sound effects, such as the whistle blowing and steam exhausting, were created from live sampling of number 1225 while in operation.
Learn more about the train and see it in action at The Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso. See it bigger along with other views of Michigan in David’s Michigan slideshow (view set) and see more photos of the Pere Marquette 1225 in the 1225 Michigan slideshow (really a treat!)
The movie was based on the Caldecott Medal winning book The Polar Express written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. Like the movie, it’s set partially in Van Allsburg’s hometown, Grand Rapids.
Step Right Up!, photo by murn
In Gallery Project: Step Right Up! on her awesome blog Relish, Myra explains:
I took a break from working on orders yesterday to join Mary Morgan in visiting the Gallery Project space on S. Fourth Ave. (Ann Arbor), where artists are in the process of installing their pieces for a new show that starts tomorrow, December 10. I don’t normally cover (non-performing) art, but this exhibit is just so cool I couldn’t resist.
The exhibit is comprised of 18 theatrical, interactive scenes — many with costumes and props — designed as backdrops and inspiration for exhibit-goers’ own photographic portraits.
Fulfill your dream of being photographed with a life-size Barbie cake, complete with your own tiara. Or if you’ve always wanted to join the circus, now you can. The 18 different installations are symbolic/conceptual monkey bars for your creative expression. You are limited only by your imagination. Come play!
The exhibit is a fundraiser for the Gallery Project — and a brilliant one at that! A PhotoPasses may be purchased for $20, which entitles you to visit the exhibit and snap as many photos thereof as you’d like over the course of the 6-week show (excluding the opening reception). Tickets for the opening reception (this Friday, December 12) are only $10. If you don’t have a camera or a photographer (or a vast retinue of paparazzi) with you, don’t despair — gallery assistants will be slinging genuine, actual film–based, Polaroid instant cameras, and you may purchase portraits for $5 (or 3 for $10).
Sounds like a blast! Click over to Relish to see more pics of the scenes and head to Myra’s slideshow on Flickr to see the above photo bigger and bolder. You should also read Mary’s article in the Ann Arbor Chronicle!
DSC_8102_2_2, photo by photosbyhpennington.
…is also America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The day was sunny and gorgeous and Heather got some great photos that you can view in her America’s Thanksgiving Parade 2008 set (slideshow). Check out more of her work at photos by heather pennington.
Enjoy the day – looks like another beauty!
Michigan in Pictures 