Fishtown 1940, Fred Dickinson

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Fishtown, Leland Michigan 1940, photo by Fred Dickinson

I got a call yesterday from Grace Dickinson. In the course of talking with her, I found that she had a web site where her photography and the photography of her father, Frederick W. Dickinson, is on display. Fred is one of my all time favorite photographers and I had the chance to sit down with him years ago and talk about his life and work. It appears in Reflection: The Lens of Memory and you might enjoy it.

The above photo of Leland’s Fishtown is hand-colored and, according to the Dickinson Gallery in the Sleeping Bear Dunes:

This technique of hand coloring was widely used in previous years. The same process was also used in tinting/hand coloring high school senior pictures. The paint is transparent and oil based. The colors are applied to the black and white photograph with cotton and blended over the image without obscuring the image. The detail work in small area is done photo colored pencils. Hand colored landscape photos have a pleasing effect with its muted shades of color.

You can see more work and purchase photos from the Dickinson Gallery web site.

Three Faces of the Barton Dam

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Barton Dam (Photomatix HDR)

Barton Dam (Photomatix HDR), photo by jhoweaa.

The photographer has posted three versions of this photo of the Barton Dam in Ann Arbor and is interested in hearing which of the three folks prefer. They also write “I really like this dam. It was designed by University of Michigan Dean of Architecture Emil Lorch and built in 1912” and provide a link to this great historical photo of the Barton Dam being built.

Here are the other two images (original and normal HDR):

1890s View of Michigan’s Capitol from the Lansing Standpipe

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

STANDPIPE VIEW OF LANSING LOOKING WEST, C. 1890s.

These two photos are from the book Lansing: City on the Grand by James MacLean and Craig A. Whitford from Arcadia Publishing (book details & purchase online). The 128 page book features over 200 historical photos of Lansing. In addition to photos you’d expect (Lansing Olds, REO plant and the Capitol building) there are photos and stories you wouldn’t like Barnes Castle (torn down in 1957 for a parking lot) and Charlie Zmuda, the “Bat Man”.

(above) STANDPIPE VIEW OF LANSING LOOKING WEST, C. 1890s.
A popular location for photographers to capture the city was the standpipe located on south Cedar Street. THE MYSTERIOUS STANDPIPE, C. 1890sThis view was taken prior to the construction of a new wide steel bridge on Michigan Avenue, crossing the Grand River. (FPML/CADL.)

(right) THE MYSTERIOUS STANDPIPE, C. 1890s.
The standpipe was constructed in 1885 and served as the city’s storage tank for water. The tower was located east of Cedar Street and south of Michigan Avenue, where the Board of Water and Light have their holding tanks today. The remarkable aspect of the standpipe was that you could walk to the top on the circular staircase that wraps around the tower. Many a photographer took advantage of this and quite a few panoramic photographs were taken. The standpipe was torn down in 1949. (FPML/CADL.)

Photos reprinted with permission from Lansing: City on the Grand by James MacLean and Craig A. Whitford. Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.

View other excerpts from Arcadia Publishing’s Michigan books at Michigan in Pictures!

Last October – Orton Effect

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Last October - Orten Effect

Last October – Orten Effect, photo by CaptPiper.

The “Orton Effect” is based upon the work of photographer Michael Orton You can learn how to apply the technique using film or digital processes, visit Michael Orton’s web site, see a bunch more photos in the Orton group.

Whatever you do, be sure to check out these ortonized photos from Michigan and don’t miss other photos in the Michigan in Pictures Michigan Fall Wallpaper series!

.exposure.detroit.people mover safari

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by tEdGuY49.

On December 30th, members of the Exposure.Detroit group took a photo safari on the People Mover in Detroit. Ted has a whole set of photos from the outing that you will want to check out and you can also click for a slideshow of a bunch of photos from the People Mover safari. (and you should – there are some really excellent photos there!)

The concept of a real-world photo outing ties in very nicely with an article about online communities extending to the offline world today on Absolute Michigan. It would be great to hear from folks about what they think of this.

Water And Sky 2

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Water And Sky 2

Water And Sky 2, photo by s•stop.

I didn’t say anything about the last photo I blogged from this photographer, and though I feel that I should say something about this one, all I can come up with is: “Check out all Sam’s photos because he has some amazing shots from all over the world.”

Michigan Christmas Wishes

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Fishtown Christmas

Fishtown Christmas, photo by farlane.

I’m wishing for…

snow
blue skies
more snow
the time and wisdom to get out and play in all that snow
music
beauty
laughter
a bit more snow
and, if it’s not too terribly much trouble, peace on earth.

Hope the season, the year, your life or the fat guy in the red suit brings you what you’re wanting, needing and hoping for.

Van Dyke: Elizabeth Park

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Elizabeth Park

Van Dyke: Elizabeth Park, photo by Matt Blackcustard.

It’s been a little while since we’ve blogged one of Matt’s photos.

This one was taken with a modified Voigtlander brilliant pinhole (apparently the pinhole was not standard). It is a Van Dyke brown print, which you can learn about here and here. One of the things I learned is that the process was named for the resemblance of the print color to the brown oil paint named for the Flemish painter Van Dyck.

Elizabeth Park is on the Detroit River in Wayne County and has the distinction of being Michigan’s first county park.

The Southdown Challenger

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Quiet Night on the Detroit River

Quiet Night on the Detroit River, photo by theempirebuilder.

The latest entry into the Small World Files is today’s photo of the 100 year old Southdown Challenger upbound on the Detroit River just above the Ambassador Bridge. Mac of Detroit Bike Blog wondered if I’d seen these photos. I hadn’t and spent a good long while poring through this amazing set of Southdown/St. Mary’s Challenger photos that takes you all across the Great Lakes, under the Mackinac Bridge and even belowdecks.

A few recent ones were taken on Leelanau County’s Suttons Bay. I mentioned that the hill in one of them looked like the hill on a site we had designed for a housing development. Wade, the photographer, said “I’m sure you are right. In fact, in the link you sent, the Challenger is in the 5th row from the top on the far left side.”

Anyway, check out this amazing gallery of photos and also head over to Boatnerd.com to read the equally amazing history of the St. Mary’s Challenger, which was built in 1906 in Detroit and has gone through a dizzying array of names and circumstances in the century that followed. Seriously, there should be a movie or something about this ship.


A Little Lomo from Grand Rapids, Michigan

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A Little Lomo

A Little Lomo, photo by docksidepress.

Well, this isn’t actually from a Lomo camera, but it certainly has a Lomo vibe.

What the heck is this Lomo, anyway? The best place to find out is at the Lomographic Society International where you can learn about the Lomo’s birth in the LOMO Russian Arms and Optical factory (where the Lomo Compact Automat was born) and subsequent rise to world domination. Almost at least.

Be sure to click on the 10 Golden Rules, where you learn to Take your camera everywhere you go, to shoot from the hip and generally chuck everything you know about photography out the window.

Reading about lomography really made me smile … maybe it will make you smile too.