Like beauty, danger is all around you

Posted on by farlane

Laura getting the shot

Laura getting the shot, photo by Andrew McFarlane

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”
~William G. T. Shedd

Every so often I have to write a post to clarify what Michigan in Pictures is or is not, and I guess that today is one of those days.

Sunday morning, I posted this photo (also at the bottom of this post) to the Michigan in Pictures Facebook page with the very accurate caption “We went out to Good Harbor Bay on Lake Michigan yesterday to play on the ice!” As you can see from the photo, Laura is positioned well back from the edge. While perhaps not perfectly safe, she is far safer than she was driving to the beach.

Several readers took issue with the idea that it’s appropriate to “play” in a potentially hazardous environment like shelf ice on Lake Michigan, suggesting that it’s irresponsible for me to share photos from risky environments, that I not do it, and that I focus on providing precautionary education encouraging people to make safe decisions. I replied (in part):

Shelf ice is indeed dangerous if you don’t know where you are and what you’re doing. The water where we were is 3′ deep in summer and the ice very solid, so in my opinion, play is exactly what it was.

Your concern for safety is good, but if you take proper precautions, you’re a heck of a lot safer here than driving on a winter road.

I post pictures all the time where the photographers have taken calculated risks to see, photograph and experience things that you cannot see and photograph without an element of risk. I allow my son to surf in conditions that can be very dangerous, let my daughter climb trees high enough to probably kill her if she fell, and hiked on trails where one slip meant death.

I suppose I should post disclaimers of “don’t be an idiot” with all photos of risky environments, but I think I will continue to assume that my readers will assess risks on their own, and I will continue to experience and share Michigan as I choose.

…Please understand that Michigan in Pictures is a place where I share amazing pictures that are shared with me. I’m not doing this as a public service to educate people on how to stay alive and safe. I do it for love of Michigan and to share the cool experiences it offers. I trust that my readers will exercise appropriate caution as they enjoy Michigan, and I’m 1000% sure that if folks get out and wisely play a little closer to the edge, they’ll have a happier and longer life.

Caveat emptor!

Caveat emptor will remain the policy of Michigan in Pictures, which I will again remind readers is my personal blog, not paid for by anyone and offered with the sole hope that you can find pictures and places that help you enjoy and appreciate Michigan more.

View my photo background big and see more on our mileelanau Instagram.

PS: Thanks to Kate Wittenberg for the perfect William G. T. Shedd quotation that she shared in the comments!

PPS: Here’s the photo Laura shot. Position, framing, tone.

Lauras Photo

Above St. Joseph Pier

Posted on by farlane

St Joseph Pier Light from Above

Above the ice encrusted St. Joseph pier, photo by Christopher Kierkus

As previously referenced, the fantastic ice on St. Joseph Pier has become a Michigan winter icon. Christopher took this shot with his drone SPIKE, a DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter and a GoPro Hero 3+ Black edition camera. I found it shared on Michpics regular Craig Sterken’s page – he’s the one bending down to get a lens out of the case.

Christopher shares that getting these photos can be more than a little harrowing:

We photogs are a little nuts … especially scary is walking the little “ice path” around the inner light to get to the outer part. One slip up there and you’re in the soup.

View the photo bigger on his Facebook and see more of his work including some more really cool aerials at PhotoDocGVSU on Flickr … or head straight for SPIKE’s pictures!

More aerials on Michigan in Pictures.

Icebreaking on the St Mary’s River is an international effort

Posted on by farlane

Icebreaking on the St Marys River

Icebreaking on the St Mary’s River, photo by U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Here’s an aerial shot of the 228-foot Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) SAMUEL RISLEY working in partnership with U.S. Coast Guard’s Sault Ste. Marie Sector on icebreaking operations in the St. Mary’s River last weekend. They write:

USCG Sector Sault Ste. Marie is also in high gear kicking off the 2015 Operation Taconite season, as ice continues to build daily across the Great Lakes. US Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers are conducting around the clock icebreaking operations to assist commercial vessel traffic in the connecting waterways of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron.

Operation Taconite is the largest domestic icebreaking operation in the US. Over water shipping offers the only effective means of transporting the vast amounts of iron ore from the mines at the Head of the Lakes in Minnesota needed to meet the demands of steel mills in Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. Operation Taconite is primarily responsible for ensuring the successful transport of this cargo amid the harsh winter conditions of the northern Great Lakes.

Air Station MH-65s routinely fly ice reconnaissance flights in support of the operation

The photo was taken by the crew of one of the Traverse City Coast Guard Air Station’s Dolphin helicopters. View it background bigtacular and click through for a shot of the USCG Icebreaker Mackinaw working to keep this vital shipping channel open.

There’s more winter wallpaper and more ships on Michigan in Pictures.

Ice Caves Return to Lake Michigan

Posted on by farlane
Ice Caves Return

Ice Caves Return by Heather Higham

With a long run of temps in the single digits and teens and the mercury way down to -11 here in Traverse City this morning, I wasn’t all that surprise to learn that ice caves and other formations are starting to form on Lake Michigan.

Ice caves off the Leelanau Peninsula last winter created a sensation that drew thousands to the Leelanau Peninsula to view some fantastic formations. While they haven’t reached that level yet, the frigid temperatures from Polar Vortex II make it likely that photographers and lovers of the outdoors could be in for another fantastic & frozen feast in 2015!

Heather writes that while she didn’t go too far afield searching for ice caves, but there’s definitely some cool stuff to be discovered along the coast. She took this Esch Road Beach in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. View her photo bigger on her Snap Happy Gal Facebook page and see more in her ice formations slideshow at Flickr.

More ice caves on Michigan in Pictures.

 

Encased … and Encammed at St. Joseph Lighthouse

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Encased

Encased, photo by John Burzynski

While the St. Joseph Lighthouse just made an appearance in my 2014 roundup, sometimes you can’t have too much of a good thing. Speaking of good things, there’s a webcam at the St. Joseph lighthouse that allows you to look in on this incredible scene whenever you want!

View John’s photo bigger on Flickr and see more in his Great Lakes Lighthouses slideshow.

PS: Also a shout-out to Michigan in Pictures regular John McCormick whose 2013 pic of the St. Joseph Light has (according to USA Today) “gone viral” as the face of the Polar Vortex!

Lots more lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures.

Stormin’ Norman

Posted on by farlane

Stormin Norman

Stormin’ Norman, photo by Fishtown Leland

Here’s a shot an iced-in fishing tug in the Leland Harbor. It was taken yesterday before the latest storm rolled through. Gonna be a while before fresh fish is available!!

View this photo by Fishtown Preservation background bigtacular, see more on their Facebook page and learn about this organization and their mission at fishtownmi.org.

There’s more boats and more winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.

PS: If you want a look at (or share) pics of the storm impacts across Michigan, mLive is calling for folks to share their photos. Of course you can also share them on the Michigan in Pictures Facebook or by tweeting @michpics!

 

Frozen in Time, 2014 edition

Posted on by farlane

Frozen in Time

Frozen in Time, photo by photofrenzy2000

2014 will never come this way again, so for better or worse, here are some 2014 highlights from Michigan in Pictures…

Cougar CamThe most popular post was Cougar Cam Confirmation, which was published on November 7th. Since I’ve been sounding the “cougars live in Michigan” horn for several years now, it’s gratifying that the DNR is now on board.

Isle Royale Star BreezeWith 77,000 views on Facebook, the cougar cam was the most popular post there too, followed very closely by Space Weather and Starbreeze that benefited from the Lake Superior Photo bump!

Paradise is the nickname of this placeShawn of Lake Superior Photo checked in with the second most popular pic, Paradise is the nickname of this place, a photo that features one of the amazing & out-of-the-way Michigan gems that I learned about in 2014.

Ice Caves Leelanau Peninsula by Ken ScottThe third most popular picture & story was one from close to my home, the astonishing The Ice Caves of Leelanau that drew tens of thousands of people to the Leelanau Peninsula last winter to see them. You can click that link to see Ken’s photos or save yourself the time and head over to his site to purchase his book, The Ice Caves of Leelanau.

Winter at Tahquamenon Falls John McCormickWeighing in at number four was Winter at Tahquamenon Falls by John McCormick aka MichiganNut. While this photo didn’t make his 2015 wall calendar, a dozen other great ones did!

Shadow Moon by Michael SeabrookClosing out the top five was the Blood Moon and the Lunar Eclipse Tetrad by Michael Seabrook. The first two of these four total lunar eclipses are in the books, but April 4 & September 28, 2015 are still to be seen.

Polar Vortex Cabin FeverThe top commented post was Michigan in Pictures is a blog, folks, which I posted after getting a bunch of negative comments after sharing a photo from a group working against the Keystone XL Pipeline coming through Michigan. It made me very happy to get support for protecting the beautiful natural heritage features on Michigan in Pictures from so many readers … and also to share the awesome photo of our cats!

View this photo from December of 2010 at the St. Joseph Lighthouse bigger and jump into photofrenzy2000’s slideshow for more awesome shots!

Frozen Hawthorn

Posted on by farlane

Christmas Hawthorne

Frozen Hawthorne, photo by Pete Hudeck

I was looking for photos of last December’s ice storm that paralyzed much of Michigan last year, but then I found this photo which seemed like a much better way to start a Monday! If you want to read about that, the Grand Rapids National Weather Service has a recap of the storm.

View Pete’s photo bigger and see more in his slideshow.

More ice on Michigan in Pictures!

Spires and the Solstice

Posted on by farlane

Spires

Spires, photo by Liz Glass

The Old Farmer’s Almanac shares that winter begins with the Winter Solstice at 6:03 PM EST tomorrow (Sunday, December 21):

Winter inspires both joy and woe. Some people can’t wait for the cooler weather, snow, skiing and ice skating, curling up by a fire, and the holiday spirit. Other people dislike the frigid temperatures, blizzards, and wild weather.

The word solstice comes from the Latin words for “sun” and “to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, as summer advances to winter, the points on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets advance southward each day; the high point in the Sun’s daily path across the sky, which occurs at local noon, also moves southward each day. At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The Sun is directly overhead at “high-noon” on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn. In the Northern Hemisphere, the solstice days are the days with the fewest hours of sunlight during the whole year.

Definitely check out Liz’s photo bigger and see more in her massive & cool Ice slideshow or (if you prefer) her Abstracts slideshow.

Shoreline Anemones

Posted on by farlane

Shoreline Anemones

Shoreline Anemones, photo by Aaron Springer

Aaron got a great pic of the mid-day December sun illuminating the ice-soaked plant life at the Point Betsie Light.

View his photo bigger and see more in his slideshow.

More icy goodness on Michigan in Pictures!