Long Exposure-Live Composite Mode Fireworks by Charles Bonham
Please practice safe explosions for the Fourth of July weekend! Every year one or two Michiganders lose their lives & many more lose fingers or suffer injury.
Charles took this photo last year at the Bay City Fireworks using the Olympus Live Composite Mode that lets you shoot a series of images using the same exposure time, with each shot only recording new sources of light. Very cool!! See more in his Fireworks gallery on Flickr.
Anna Lysa took this over a decade ago, and tonight Detroit’s massive Ford Fireworks show provides the unofficial kickoff for the 2024 Michigan Fireworks Season. Some of the big shows include South Haven Light Up the Lake (July 3), Grand Rapids (July 6), Mackinac Island (July 4), Munising (July 4), the National Cherry Festival (July 4 & 6), Field & Flight Fireworks in Battle Creek (July 4 & 6) and the absolutely massive Bay City Fireworks Festival (July 4-6). Can’t find anything close? Meg has a huge list at MichiganFireworks.com!
See more in Anna’s Michigan gallery on Flickr & have a great holiday!
On January 26, 1837 Michigan was admitted to the Union as the 26th state. The Freep has a feature with some fun facts about Michigan a few years ago. One that caught my eye was this one:
What’s a Michigander?
The term many of use and love today was coined by none other than Abraham Lincoln in 1848. Then an Illinois congressman, Lincoln referred to Michigan governor Lewis Cass, who was running for president as a Democrat, as a “Michigander”, meaning he was as silly as a goose. Lincoln was mad at the Democrats for making more than they should have of Cass’ military experience, and the term was meant as an insult. “There is one entire article of the sort I have not discussed yet;” Lincoln said, “I mean the military tale you Democrats are now engaged in dovetailing onto the great Michigander.”
They note that while neither is official, many prefer “Michiganian.” I have always been a fan of Michigander, but I confess this fact is making me reconsider!
Julie took this photo at a big birthday for Michigan, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Bridge which (IMO) is what made Michigan, Michigan. See MANY more photos in her Michigan album on Flickr & enjoy our collective birthday!
Bay City Fireworks Festival by mark5032001
Wishing all of you a very happy Fourth of July!
Mark took this shot back in 2010 at the annual Bay City Fireworks Festival. See more in his Favorites gallery & enjoy your weekend!
Bay City’s ‘Big Show’ – focus pulling by Tom Clark
Few things in our normal lives have been untouched by the coronavirus pandemic, and public fireworks displays are no exception. Instead of the normal pages & pages of options, MichiganFireworks.com lists just a couple dozen 2020 shows still happening.
Tom took this photo at the Bay City Fireworks Festival back in 2018. He writes that “Focus Pulling is a technique of adjusting focus from out of focus to tack sharp during a firework explosion over 1 to 3 seconds. similar physical operation as zooming during exposure only you use the manual focus ring instead of the zoom ring.”
Pretty sweet effect! See more at www.tom-clark.net/fireworks!
Bay City Independence Day Celebration, photo by Charles Bonham
Happy 4th of July everyone!
View Charles’s photo bigger and see more in his Bay City Michigan album.
Bay City Fireworks Festival, photo by Jeff Caverly
“There are those who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American Dream.”
-Archibald MacLeish
View the photo background big and see lots more from Bay City’s Fireworks Festival in Jeff’s slideshow!
Untitled, photo by Micigama K
I hope you have a wonderful (and hopefully long) weekend that’s as free of care as you can make it.
If fireworks are your thing, here’s an awesome site by a real human listing Michigan fireworks displays. Also check out Michigan Fireworks Friday over on Absolute Michigan for an update on Michigan’s fireworks laws.
View the photo of the fireworks over Detroit bigger and see more in Micigama’s 2016-06-27-Detroit Fireworks slideshow.
freedom festival | detroit, michigan, photo by Ryan Southen
“Freedom lies in being bold.”
~Robert Frost
Hope your Fourth of July is as big, bold & amazing as this great shot of the Detroit fireworks over the Renaissance Center from Lafayette Park.
View Ryan’s photo bigger, purchase it and others and definitely follow him on Facebook!
UFO “Cyclops” Hovers Over Saginaw River, photo by AmBelCanto
“Where there are people, there are UFOs.”
~ William Konkolesky, Director, Michigan MUFON
The Mt. Pleasant Morning-Sun had a feature this weekend on the Michigan chapter of the Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network aka MUFON. In the article, Michigan Mutual UFO group watches the skies, MUFON Director William Konkolesky talks about his experiences and then details what a MUFON investigator does:
“We can take soil samples, we have labs that can identify anomalous readings in the soil. One of the things we would be looking for is unusual chemicals in the soil,” he said.
Konkolesky said that although the reported UFOs are often things like “airplanes and Chinese lanterns,” some investigations aren’t that simple. “More than 80 percent of the reports we get a year (turn out to be) identifiable objects and the rest are things that you can’t easily explain,”
Konkolesky said those interested in being MUFON investigators have to apply online, buy the training materials necessary to become an investigator, and pass a certification test. “Some of the things (investigators are taught) are basic things like how to identify an airplane, data collection, and how to interview a witness, just to name a few,” Konkolesky said.
Konkolesky said he understands why some may be skeptical about the existence of fully-functional life on other planets. “If you haven’t encountered the UFO phenomenon yourself, it obviously takes a lot for somebody to feel the need to take it to heart,” Konkolesky said.
View this photo from the 2007 Bay City Fireworks bigger and see more in AmBelCanto’s slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 