State Fair, photo by s•stop.
Here’s a photo from the 2007 Michigan State Fair (Fair web site).
Sam also has a nice set of Michigan State Fair photos (slideshow)
supersampler: Watermelon umbrella
Watermelon umbrella, photo by caterpillars.
Who doesn’t want the Lomographic Society International’s Queen of All Multi-Lensed Cameras, the Supersampler?
Surfing, Michigan Style
Surfing01.jpg, photo by Evography.
Evography writes: Dropping in from the pier, the tricky part is not getting worked right back into the pier.
Check out his Great Lakes Surfing set (slideshow!!) for a bunch more photos, most of which are large enough for your computer background needs!
When you’re finished with that, head over to Absolute Michigan for a Michigan surfing extravaganza featuring tons of Great Lakes surfing videos (including some 1970s footage of folks surfing off this same pier!)
Which I should add is the Grand Haven Pier!
exposure.detroit Selective Focus photography show
MexicanTown Safari (59), photo by Auberon.
The above photo is part of Auberon/Merlin Elsner’s Show Pictures set (slideshow). Merlin is one of five excellent exposure.Detroit photographers who will make up the SELECTIVE FOCUS Photographic Exhibition on Friday, July 20th, 2007 from 7 PM – 10 PM at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea in Royal Oak, Michigan
exposure.detroit is a photography group (based on Flickr) with the stated mission to EXPOSE the unknown Michigan photographer to a network of artists and friends who share in the same passions for art, photography and fun. When I checked Michigan in Pictures, I realized that of the photographers in the show, Merlin was the only one who I hadn’t blogged something of.
- Markmarko (Mark Mancewicz, right here)
- ArtsyT (Tina Doepker, soon to be right here)
- Nomm de Photo (Rein Nomm, right here)
- Jnhkrawczyk (Jill Hamilton-Krawczyk, right here)
- Auberon (Merlin Elsner, now right here)
If you can make it to the D on the 20th, do go – they’re all wonderful folks who will make you feel welcome and provide a rare treat for your eyes and soul.
Um … I thought for SURE I had blogged a photo from Tina … apparently not. I’ll have to remedy that soon!
Michigan Fireworks Extravaganza … now with added Northern Lights
This morning I looked at fireworks photos from this year’s Independence Day fireworks displays at Sylvan Lake, Muskegon, Schoolcraft, Detroit, Traverse City, Lansing, Bay City, Jackson, Wyandotte, Lost Lake Woods, Rockford, Ann Arbor, Flint, West Branch, Kensington Park, Detroit and even my hometown of Leland. They came in classic red, white and blue, understated yellow, even black & white. There were photos of the crowd, the fireworks barge, photos from who knows where and even one in my inbox from Saginaw. Had I had the link for the Michigan Fireworks page, I could have driven around to some of them!
In the end, I thought it best to wait until next year to allow folks to upload their photos from July 4, 2007 (and the 3rd, or whenever your town celebrates) and look to last year.
When I did, I realized that there’s nothing that can compare to watching the July 4th fireworks celebration at Copper Harbor, Michigan and having the Northern Lights come out.
Happy 4th of July, Michigan!
Lan July 4th parade 127e, photo by indefinitejourney.
Fourth of July, July 4th, the Fourth or Independence Day – call it what you will, this is our day. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail:
The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.
I doubt Adams envisioned the star-shaped sunglasses, but bring on the pomp, the parades (the picnics!), the sports and games (best leave the guns at home), the bells, bonfires and brilliant, booming illuminations. Somewhere amidst all of that if you can, think about the acts of devotion that could be made towards making this nation and state ever more worthy of celebration and love.
I should point out that this photo is part of an awesome set of Lansing 4th of July Parade photos (slideshow!!)
Striking a 50s pose
Vintage Base Ball and the Kent Base Ball Club
2002 (213), photo by xman12.
I think it’s pretty cool that just hours after Brian H got me interested in the Kent Base Ball Club, Detroit Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander hurled a no-hitter.
The Vintage Base Ball Association says that base ball (two words prior to the 1880s) is a re-creation of the game based on rules of the late 1850s, 1860s and 1880s. Michigan boasts 13 base ball teams – more than any state.
The Kent Base Ball Club of Grand Rapids is a founding member of the Vintage Base Ball Association.
Grand Rapids’ first team, the Kent Base Ball Club of Grand Rapids was formed on April 4, 1867, when a group of Civil War veterans formed a club to continue playing the game they had learned while in the army. Silas K. Pierce, who had recently moved to the city from Ionia, was elected as the club’s first president…
One hundred and twenty-three years later, in 1990, a group of local enthusiasts led by city historian, Gordon Olson, decided to reorganize the Kents and play the game of base ball as it had originally been done in the 1860s. Olson had found the original constitution and by-laws of the Kent Base Ball Club in the Grand Rapids History and Special Collections Center at the public library, and was curious to see how the old game compared to its modern counterpart. The newly reconstituted Kents now play an average of 12-15 games per summer, and have appeared in Columbus, Ohio; Fayette State Park, Greenfield Village, Old Kent Park (all in Michigan), and Doubleday Field at Cooperstown, New York. In period uniforms, they do their best to live up to the enthusiasm and dedication to sportsmanship and fair play that motivated the original Kents.
Every year in early June they play the Silas K. Pierce Cup (State of Michigan Championship) at John Ball Park in Grand Rapids and you can get a schedule, more history and links at their site.
xman12 has over 1200 photos of the Kent Base Ball Club in action.
Summer 2007 … LAUNCHED!
Memorial Weekend is a time to honor the sacrifice of those who have fought for our country, but it’s also the beginning of summer. When I saw the photos of Kendall and her family having fun this weekend on a Michigan lake (Joslin Lake in Unadilla), I knew that this important facet of Memorial Weekend couldn’t pass unremarked.
It seems as if quite a number of people braved the dire forecast, took their lives in their hands and ventured out into the potentially chilly Michigan air. 360Michigan’s Mark Houston went to the Memorial Day Parade in Ferndale while Dave Hogg snapped some shots at Royal Oak’s Parade. David McGowan spent the weekend in the Manistee National Forest with some campfire cooked venison stew. Shqipo went to the St. Mary’s Polish Fair in Keego Harbor while Craig took in the Holland Farmer’s Market (and some tasty asparagus!). Joy took a pair of horses to the Empire Beach while Mario Q lamented that the Tigers just didn’t have the horses to pull off a victory vs. the Indians at Comerica.
I could go on and on, but since I’m starting to reach for transitions, I’ll ask you all to continue by posting links in the comments to any of your Michigan Memorial Day Weekend photos!
Baskets of morels at the Boyne City Mushroom Festival
This photo was provided by the Boyne City Morel Mushroom Festival. You can get a ton more information about the National Mushroom Festival and Michigan morel mushrooms today on Absolute Michigan.
Michigan in Pictures 