Talon Tuesday

Talons by Kevin Povenz

Talons by Kevin Povenz

Kevin came across a Great Horned Owlet sitting on a tree branch right over the trail. He shares that Great horned owl talons are incredibly strong, with some individuals capable of exerting a gripping pressure of 200 to 500 pounds per square inch. This powerful grip, along with their size, allows them to capture and subdue prey, including those much larger than themselves.

See more in Kevin’s Birds of Prey gallery on Flickr and for sure follow him on Facebook!

More owls including a Great Horned owlet at the owl tag on Michigan in Pictures!

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Hungry for Power

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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Fishing against the Light (and rain)

Contre Jour by Luther Roseman Dease

Some fish for fun while others fish for food by Luther Roseman Dease II

This photo I shared eight years ago is a great example of contre-jour, the term for shooting directly into the light source. Luther explains that the light creates a form of the subject without releasing its precious and cluttered details unto photography’s artistry. See many more examples in his Contre-Jour gallery on Flickr and for sure view & purchase his work on his website.

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Woodland Studies with Rodney Martin

via Leelanau.com

Gathering Place by Rodney Martin

Gathering Place by Rodney Martin

This Saturday Woodland Studies, a small exhibition of black and white photographs by Grand Rapids photographer Rodney Martin, will be available for viewing at the Glen Arbor Arts Center. Rodney is a photographer who has been featured in the past on Michigan in Pictures, and we’re excited to see his latest work! The GAAA writes:

Martin focuses his lens on the landscape. For the images in Woodland Studies, he zeros in on rivers, woods and orchards in Benzie, Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. His images were created in all four seasons; but they are related by the quiet and solitude he frames. There is little evidence of human habitation in these scenes. Instead, the images are studies of shadow and texture, shades of gray, and the deep and refreshing beauty of places off the beaten path.

Woodland Studies can be viewed in the GAAC Lobby Gallery or on the GAAC website starting this Saturday (January 7th).

Regarding this photo, Rodney shares:

I came across this gathering of roots three years ago when visiting the Teichner Preserve on Lime Lake near Maple City, Michigan. I returned four or five times over the past three years looking for the right angle to get the compelling image I wanted. I finally found it on my second visit this year. I call the image “Gathering Place.” The image speaks to me about community. I have been asked whether I warped this image to make the trees spread out from the middle. I did not. Nature did. The trees on the very left of the image hang out over Lime Lake. I suspect that in a few years the trees on the left will succumb to the waves that eat away at the shoreline and then fall into the lake.

Head over to his website for more pics including a really cool 2021 year in review!

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Petite Pointe Au Sable Lighthouse

Little Sable Lighthouse 4 by kmoyerus

Little Sable Lighthouse 4 by kmoyerus

Visit Ludington explains that Little Sable Point Lighthouse was originally named Petite Pointe Au Sable:

Located in the Silver Lake State Park at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, the Little Sable Point Lighthouse is a 107′ brick structure, constructed in 1874. This lighthouse is one of the tallest in the state of Michigan at over 100 feet and 130 steps to climb the tower. About 30 miles north, you can visit the other “Point” along Lake Michigan which is home to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse located within the Ludington State Park.

…it cost $35,000 to build and contained 3 rooms. The rare third order Fresnel lens emitted a constant white light, and flashed a brighter light at set intervals, visible 19 miles into Lake Michigan.

The early 1900s saw some changes to the lighthouse. In 1900 the tower was painted white, and an access road and storage building were added in 1902. The name was changed in 1910 to Little Sable Point Lighthouse, meaning “little point of sand,” representing its location which juts into Lake Michigan. In 1977, the tower paint was removed and the original brick exposed.

Over the years, the lighthouse has had 15 keepers; and for one month, a woman took over when the original keeper took a temporary leave. The Sable Point Lighthouse Keepers Association took over the maintenance of the lighthouse in 2005, and it is open to the public from late May to late September.

The Light probably looked much the same in the 1870s as it did when kmoyerus took the photo in early May. See more in their Oceana County gallery on Flickr.

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Visions of Redemption

The Sign by Fire Fighter's Wife

The Sign by Fire Fighter’s Wife

“The sign says do not enter, no trespassing allowed. With visions of redemption I walk against the crowd.”
-Melissa Etheridge

As usual, Beth shares a beautiful thought to ponder with an equally gorgeous photo. Head over to her Flickr for more!

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Window Cake

Window Cake by Peter Kelly

Window Cake by Peter Kelly

For some of us, social distancing has been a thing for weeks, but with Governor Whitmer’s executive order yesterday restricting non-essential travel, a lot more of us will be making window cake for the next three weeks. Stay safe everyone!

You can see more in Peter’s The Henry Ford set on Flickr & see lots more portraits on Michigan in Pictures.

Bay Shore in black & white

Untitled, photo by Ron Smith

View the photo background big, see more in Ron’s Up North slideshow, and follow him on Instagram @RonSmith.

More black & white photography & more from Charlevoix on Michigan in Pictures.

Alley Adventures, Grand Rapids Edition

alley-adventures-jerry-james

Alley Adventures, photo by Jerry James

Jerry writes Tonight’s image is brought to you by the darker side of reality. Things are not always sunsets and rainbows. Shot taken with the Olympus EM5 Mark II and the Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye in grand rapids, Michigan

View his photo bigger, view work and read his thoughts on his website, and definitely check out Jerry’s slideshow for more!

Warren Dunes in black & white

warren-dunes

Warren Dunes, photo by Mark Swanson

Warren Dunes State Park has three miles of shoreline and six miles of hiking trails on nearly 2000 acres. It is open year-round, and the centerpiece is the dune formation that rises 260 feet above the lake and offers spectacular views. It’s also our busiest state park!

View Mark’s photo bigger and see more in his Michigan – Black & White slideshow.

More about Edward K Warren & Warren Dunes on Michigan in Pictures.