Phone vs Camera: Northern Lights edition

Posted on by farlane
Northern Lights: Phone Edition by Monika Kross
Northern Lights: Phone Edition by Monika Kross

Northern Lights Phone vs Camera by Monika Kross

Given the veritable explosion of aurora borealis & nighttime photos due to the fact phone cameras are finally allowing people to take low light pictures, I think it’s important for folks to understand that even though you can’t get results like you see from some of the best northern lights photographers, these photographers aren’t faking or cheating. They are simply working with much more photo data & understanding of how to apply it than most people.

Monika shares “The difference between a phone shot and a camera shot, each taken several minutes apart. I took quite a few phone shots that night, esp as I worked my way up the coast of the Keweenaw in 28mph winds. In each phone shot, I see noise, blown pixels, and black feathering. Shooting on a camera in raw, we have to edit to put the contrast, color, and texture back into it. It looks very milky before editing and it takes a lot of work.

Click above for Monika’s Facebook or follow her on instagram at MichiganUnsaltedGirl!

PS: The phone camera is on the left!

PPS: More posts about camera operation & cameras on Michigan in Pictures!

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A case of the Cyber Mondays

Posted on by farlane

Screen Head by Chancellor Monnette

Cyber Monday is a term coined almost 20 years ago by Ellen Davis as the name for the phenomenon of people returning on the post-Thanksgiving Monday to shop with their high-speed Internet connections at work. It’s become the biggest online shopping day of the year & the second biggest shopping day of overall.

I really really hope that for Cyber Monday you think about buying prints, calendars & other items from the amazing photographers featured on Michigan in Pictures! There are all kinds of challenges including AI that make it harder and harder to earn a living with your camera!

Although Chancellor Monnette is no longer online, I still encourage you to check out his work on Flickr!

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Hungry for Power

Posted on by farlane
power | time traveler series | by brian day

power | time traveler series | by brian day

You may have heard that the owners of Pallisades Nuclear Plant plan to restart 70s-era facility in 2025, but did you hear that they also plan to fire up two smaller reactors on the site?

Holtec International, the company that owns and wants to restart the closed Palisades nuclear plant, is already working on preliminary site plans for a pair of 300-megawatt SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) previously announced for the industrial site along Lake Michigan in Covert Township.

…Advanced nuclear technology expert Staffan Qvist, Swedish engineer and scientist, said SMRs come with “inherent safety” measures using the basic physics of the plant’s design and engineering. He said SMRs will generate smaller loads of electricity than classic nuclear plants but will cost much less to build. Qvist said the Holtec SMR-300 is a primarily water-cooled design, and he likened it to a shrunken down version of a conventional pressurized water reactor (but)… Nuclear critic Kevin Kamps, of watchdog group Beyond Nuclear, said trying to restart the old nuclear plant and co-locate new modular units was setting up the site for “Fukushima-like domino-effect meltdowns.”

You can read more in mLive, but I think the thing that may be of most interest is WHY these plants are being restarted in the first place. Scientific American has a great look at how Artificial Intelligence (AI) uses a ridiculous amount of power & is on track to use a whole lot more.

I featured this photo of the Fermi plant in southeast Michigan from Brian’s amazing series called The Time Traveller way back in 2011. Check out his latest work on Instagram & for sure dig into some of his other photo series on his website.

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NOAA’s Michigan 2024-2025 Winter Outlook

Posted on by farlane
Chill Out by PeeblesPair

Chill Out by PeeblesPair

I’ve been hanging onto this post so long I was worried we’d have snow before I shared it!! The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released their seasonal outlook for Winter 2024-2025 which says (in part):

This winter, NOAA predicts wetter-than-average conditions for the entire northern tier of the continental U.S., particularly in the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes region, along with northern and western Alaska.

“This winter, an emerging La Nina is anticipated to influence the upcoming winter patterns, especially our precipitation predictions,” said Jon Gottschalck, chief of the Operational Prediction Branch of the Climate Prediction Center. La Nina conditions are expected to develop later this fall and typically lead to a more northerly storm track during the winter months, leaving the southern tier of the country warmer and drier.

Rae took this photo at Point Betsie Lighthouse on January 1st of this year. Follow her on Flickr & on Instagram for more!

The 2024-2025 U.S. Winter Outlook map for temperature shows the greatest chances for cooler-than-average conditions in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. (Image credit: NOAA)

The 2024-2025 U.S. Winter Outlook map for precipitation shows wetter-than-average conditions are most likely across the Great Lakes region of the U.S.. Drier-than-average conditions are forecast for parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast. (Image credit: NOAA)

The 2024-2025 U.S. Winter Outlook map for precipitation shows wetter-than-average conditions are most likely across the Great Lakes region of the U.S.. Drier-than-average conditions are forecast for parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast. (Image credit: NOAA)

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Waterfall Wednesday: Over Tahquamenon Falls Edition

Posted on by farlane
Over Tahquamenon Falls by Gary Ennis

Over Tahquamenon Falls by Gary Ennis

9 years ago I shared some photos of kayaking legend Marcelo Galizio plunging over Tahquamenon Falls. I was surprised to learn he had done it previously & even more surprised that he’d done it 19 times since 2012! The Newberry News shares in part:

Believe it or not, it’s legal. Water is in the public domain, and Galizio has a right to be there. What he does is highly unrecommended, however, even by Galizio.

Galizio is a professional kayaker, and he takes on these adventures for a living. He only performs a drop if the conditions prove themselves to be right, and only after his team is in place to assist. That includes a safety person waiting in a kayak downstream from the falls, a drone operator, and a camera person.

“I usually come back to the surface upside down,” he said. When that happens, he rights himself quickly, and no water gets inside his kayak.

…Eric Johnson, lead ranger for the park, has been with the park for 18 years and has concerns about activities like these. “I have the fear that it might get a copy cat attempt by somebody that’s not a professional waterfalls kayaker,” Johnson said.

Gary witnessed the team in action & wrote “Trust and team work! The work between these 2 is unreal… It was awesome to see how well – just amazing!” Click for more pics from the drop (use the right arrow to advance), and see more photos from Gary on his Facebook.

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Time to Vote, Michigan!

Posted on by farlane
Did you? by Meghan

did you? (vote) by Meghan

“Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.”
-Sydney J. Harris

We’ve finally reached the end of the wildest campaign since at least 1972. Polls are open til 8pm, and I hope that you if you haven’t already voted, that you can take the time to cast your ballot on your way out of the maelstrom of ads, flyers, signs & anger. It’s clear that no matter who wins, we will have some deep issues to work through as a nation. Here’s hoping that we can come together around our love of being healthy & alive to build something that works for more Americans instead of simply creating richer billionaires.

Meghan shared this photo back in 2016. She has since closed her Flickr account so I don’t have a link for you … except to Michigan.gov/vote where you can preview your local ballot!

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Lions & Tigers & Skeletons oh my!

Posted on by farlane
The Skeletons are Alive in Northville by Joel Williams

The Skeletons are Alive in Northville by Joel Williams

I know a lot of us have felt like we’d become skeletons before the Lions & Tigers were competitive, but here we are … even the Pistons won their first game of the season last night!

Happy Halloween everyone!! Joel took these ten years ago in Northville. See more in his The Skeletons are Alive in Northville & his Northville Skeletons 2016 galleries on Flickr!

Detroit Tigers Skeleton by Joel Williams

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Peppers

Posted on by farlane

Peppers by Joel Dinda

MSU shares that Michigan has over 1500 commercial farms growing peppers, which are packed with Vitamins A & C! Head over to MSU Extension for tips on storing & cooking peppers and down to your local farm market to buy them!

See more in Joel’s 366 gallery of mostly monochrome shots.

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Lake Michigan Salmon vs Homestead Dam

Posted on by farlane
Overcoming Obstacles by SueFi Photography

Overcoming Obstacles by SueFi Photography

NOTE: This could very well be a steelhead, but salmon season is ON

American Boating shares that the Lake Michigan salmon run – when adult salmon return to the river of their birth to lay eggs – occurs every fall:

There is no set start date, but you can usually start to see fish in the river in early September, and expect the run to be pretty much done by the end of October. A lot of this depends on the weather. A lack of rain and/or warm weather can make the run start later, and extra rain with cooler temperatures can cause the run to start a little earlier. I guess it all depends on when the fall rains and cooler temperatures hit the area. If you go to the rivers during September and October you are going to eventually find fish, it’s just a matter of timing it to catch the big run.

It’s pretty cool to watch too! The Betsie River salmon fishing group on Facebook confirms that the 2024 salmon run is well underway!

Sue caught this great pic of a salmon following its instincts as it attempts to surmount Homestead Dam in Benzie County, relying on its “inner knowing” and putting all focus and energy to making its way upstream! For sure follow her at SueFi Photography on Facebook for more!!

More fish & fishing on Michigan in Pictures.

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Getting ready for spooky season in Michigan

Posted on by farlane

Boyne City Witches Paddle by Julie A. Christiansen

I’ve been having a lot of fun with Michpics lately, especially seeing all the photos in the Facebook group which I encourage you to join. As we head into October, some upcoming features for spooky season on Michigan in Pictures include weird tales, haunted destinations, and general Halloween fun from across the Great Lakes State. I’d really like for all of you to be a part of it, so please share your favorite mysteries of Michigan in the comments or on the Michigan in Pictures Facebook!

Julie took these photos earlier this week at the Petoskey Ladies Stand-up Paddleboard Group’s Witches Paddle on Lake Charlevoix in Boyne City. You can (and should) click the pics for lots more & for sure follow Julie on Facebook for great shots from Boyne Country!

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