Rainboat … aka the State of Michigan

Posted on by farlane

Sorry about the bad link this morning…

Traverse City 9-15-2011, by Mark O’shaughnessy

It was quite the double rainbow last Thursday in the Traverse City area. I was off to the right end of the bow in Suttons Bay but I couldn’t fit it all in in any of my photos.

The boat is the State of  Michigan at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, a  training ship that allows cadets to put into practice the theory and skill sets taught in the classroom. The vessel is a:

…224-foot former Navy submarine surveillance ship Persistent, which is now T/S State of Michigan. The vessel is relatively new, having been built in 1986 as part of a series of 18 Stalwart-class T-AGOS vessels designed to tow highly sensitive sonar arrays for the tracking of Soviet submarines. As the Soviet threat diminished in the 1990s, the Navy decided to decommission the T-AGOS fleet, and in 1998 Persistent and sister ship Vindicator were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard for primary use in drug interdiction.

See the specs and check it – and Grand Traverse Bay – out on their webcam!

See this photo bigger on Facebook and see more from Mark on his photography website.

Greeny Goodness from Michigan’s Vineyards

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Greeny Goodness

Greeny Goodness, photo by sgs_1019.

The sun, with all those plants revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.
~Galileo Galilei

The sun is working away on the 2011 vintage in Michigan’s vineyards, and today I’m working away on the lawn of the Grand Traverse Commons in Traverse City on the 3rd annual Traverse City Wine & Art Festival. It’s a celebration of the culture & cuisine of northwest Michigan that brings together 24 wineries from Leelanau, Old Mission, Traverse City & Benzie with over 100 wines from 2010 and other years along with a slew of artists with work for show and sale, great food & music and some incredible performance art!

If you’re in the neighborhood, please come by as I think it’s going to be amazing! If not, definitely pick up a bottle of Michigan wine – you will be happy to learn what the sun has been up to! If you’re looking for some suggestions, check out the medal winners from the 2011 Michigan Wine Competition!

Check this out bigger and in Sarah’s slideshow.

Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes is the most beautiful place in (Good Morning) America!

Posted on by farlane

Please Just Come
Please Just Come, photo by Happyhiker4

 

On Leelanau.com yesterday, I reported that the Sleeping Bear Dunes have been named the most beautiful place in America by the viewers of Good Morning America.

Today I’ve been reading here and there of folks who are wondering if in fact the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore deserves that distinction. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s 1600+ pictures of the Sleeping Bear Dunes from the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr. Even better, here’s the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore homepage – take a trip and decide for yourself!

One of my favorite photographers who shoots in the dunes is Mark Lindsay. See this photo bigger and also in his Dunes slideshow.

 

Traverse City Film Festival: Be Your Dreams

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Traverse City Film Festival Opening Night 2011 - 6 by Mark O'Shaughnessy

Traverse City Film Festival Opening Night 2011 – 6 by Mark O’Shaughnessy, photo by tcfilmfest.

All week I’m working on the Traverse City Film Festival (TCFF) through Absolute Michigan. One of the neat features of the festival is nightly free movies on the BIG screen along Grand Traverse Bay. On Tuesday night and thanks to George Lucas, TCFF had an unprecedented showing of The Empire Strikes Back. I say unprecedented because this just doesn’t happen with Star Wars. However, festival co-founder Michael Moore asked, and Lucas said OK. That’s kind of been how TCFF has gone over 7 years. Nothing about it, from convincing the community that a festival celebrating film would fly in Traverse City to producing an almost 100% volunteer run festival, has been likely or easy. It has been fun & exciting though!

You can get a flavor of the action in Traverse City’s thank you to Lucas.

Mark O’Shaughnessy is one of the many photographers working the Traverse City Film Festival. Check out the epic battle that ensued and more shots in the July 26: Opening slideshow.

Neptune Rounds the Sun

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Neptune Jr.

Neptune Jr., photo by farlane.

The planet Neptune was discovered in 1846, and at 4.5 billion km from the Sun, it completes an orbit every 164.79 years. Today – July 12, 2011 – Neptune completes the first full orbit since its discovery!

And you thought it took you a long time to get the garage cleaned out…

I took this photo early this Spring along the TART Trail in Traverse City. While I had just learned this little fact about Neptune, I actually rode out that day all the way to Pluto, a distance of about 6 miles. You can see the Sun and inner planets right at the TC Library. In their list of fun weekend things for families to do, MyNorth.com writes:

Bike through a six-mile long interactive model of the solar system on a portion of the TART trail in Traverse City. Hand-crafted sculptures of each planet and plaques sharing details about each planet dot the trail according to an accurate scale of the solar system. Beginning at the Sun directly outside the Traverse Area District Library, bikers of all ages can travel to the far reaches of Pluto and back again on wide paved trail that make the trip smooth and simple. Traverse Area District Library is located at 610 Woodmere Ave Traverse City.

Check it out on black and in my Traverse City, Michigan slideshow.

Cherry (festival) Time

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Stop! Cherry Time.

Stop! Cherry Time., photo by nasunto.

The National Cherry Festival is underway here in my hometown of Traverse City with all kinds of parades, family fun and (of course) plenty of delicious cherries!

Learn about Michigan cherries from Absolute Michigan and remember that Michigan tastes better!

See this background boomtacular and in Nina’s slideshow.

Cherry Blossoms in Leelanau County

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms, photo by leelanau2010.

One of the sites I work on is Leelanau.com, and every May I’m always asked “When will the cherry blossoms be out?”

It’s been a slow, cold spring but I’m happy to report that the answer is “Right now!”

Tart Sweet cherry blossoms are out all over and the tart cherry blossoms will be along in a few days. That means this weekend will be the best one for photos.

David took this shot near Northport. Check it out background big, on his map or in his Cherry Blossoms slideshow.

Enjoy more blossoms and more Spring Wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!

At the end of a spring day…

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

KAScott_20100603_8800_1792b

KAScott_20100603_8800_1792b, photo by Ken Scott.

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
~Margaret Atwood

A fitting motto for the month of May indeed!

Speaking of May, head over to Absolute Michigan for the May Michigan Event Calendar which includes a lot of garden-based fun and don’t miss the Lanscaping & Gardens section for all kinds of articles and links!

Check this out in Ken’s Open Space Garden Planting slideshow and watch a the whole garden get planted in 3 minutes on YouTube!

May is Blossom Time in Michigan!

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Traverse MI 1950s East Grand Travese Bay Cherry Blossoms Photo by Phil Balyeat Avery Card 58253 S1155661 National Cherry Festival Postmark 1961

Traverse MI 1950s East Grand Travese Bay Cherry Blossoms Photo by Phil Balyeat Avery Card 58253 S1155661 National Cherry Festival Postmark 1961, photo by UpNorth Memories – Donald (Don) Harrison.

The annual National Cherry Festival got its start around 1910, as cherry growers in the Grand Traverse area began to hold informal “blessing of the blossoms” ceremonies each year at blossom time in May. Businesses jumped on the bandwagon (cherry truck?) in 1925 for the formalized “Blessing of the Blossoms Festival” which was such a big deal that in 1930 they expanded to 3 days and in 1930 President Herbert Hoover attended the opening. The next year the Cherry Festival was declared a national affair and in 1933 they moved it to summer.

Although it’s now a summertime affair (July 2-9, 2011), the wineries on the Old Mission Peninsula hold an annual Blossom Days celebration (May 14 & 15 this year). My informal read of the cherry blossoms here says that tart cherry blossoms will be in full swing with sweets kicking off.

Apparently in 1906 there was some sort of spiritual attraction of orchards, because to the south in Benton Harbor, the Reverend W. J. Cady of the First Congregational Church in Benton Harbor was the first to urge his parishioners to drive through the orchards and view the fruit blossoms. Cady termed them “symbols of life renewed” and his sermon is credited with the birth of the Blossomtime Festival. Now the Blossomtime Festival in St. Joseph/Benton Harbor is shared between the oldest and largest multi-community festival in the state of Michigan. Join them this Saturday (May 7) for the Grand Floral Parade and more!

Check this photo out big as a cherry orchard, in Don’s slideshow and see another cool old orchard photo right here.

Two Photographers Play In The Street…

Posted on by farlane

The Wave, photo by Brian Confer

It isn’t often one of your favorite photographers (Brian Confer) shoots some cool portraits of another of your favorite photographers (Gary Howe) who happens to also run one of your personal favorite blogs (My Wheels Are Turning). When Gary posted some of the photos on Two Photographers Play In The Street & Nobody Gets Hurt yesterday, I knew I had to feature it here. He explains:

For this Reclaim the Streets themed concept we simply dragged some of my furniture into the street, gathered a few of my favorite books and wheeled the Flying Pigeon around. Brian took care of the rest with his excellent sense for lighting and mood. Other than a reschedule because of too much sun and blue sky, it went smooth. No one hurt, no one delayed.

You can see more photos from the shoot right here, and definitely read the excellent feature they were for: Old school social networking: TC’s Gary Howe wants to build a truly connected city.

See more photos from Brian at Studio B Photography.