Above Lake Michigan by Bill Dolak
With full honor & respect to the absolutely brutal temps across Michigan this morning, here are some sweet photos from a series that Bill took on February 1st at Fennville’s Pier Cove Park. There’s even a shot of a sundog in one of the photos!
See more in his Droneography – Autel EVO Lite+ gallery on Flickr!
Hasselblad 501CM w: 180CF-Lake Superior Shoreline (Little Girl’s Point) by Kirt E Carter
One of my favorite things about Michigan in Pictures is seeing some of the incredible cameras people are using.
One man who has some sweet gear is Kirt E. Carter and he has been bringing some incredible Hasselblad pics to the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr for the better part of a decade. I figured today was a good day to bring attention to his amazing work. The large one below of icicles on the Eagle Harbor shoreline – see more in the Hasselblad search in the Absolute Michigan group & for sure head over to his website to view & purchase his work!
Valentine on Ice by GR2 Photography
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone & I hope you have a lovely & love-filled Valentine’s Day & weekend!
I’ve featured this awesome shot from Lake Michigan in Empire before & I will feature it again! See more on GR2 Photography’s Facebook.
Holstein Cattle in Michigan by Lee Rentz
mLive’s Mark Torregrossa shares that there is a winter weather advisory for 4-6″ of snow covering most of the southern two-thirds of the Lower Peninsula. He notes that the far southeast corner, including Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Monroe are expected to get some freezing rain as well that will reduce snowfall to 2-4″ in that area. He also shared a little bit about how a storm watch evolves over time:
A winter storm watch is usually issued when a storm system is one to two days from starting. This long lead time is used to help you get ready if you have to make travel or work changes. Eventually as the storm gets closer, the winter storm watch either turns to a winter storm warning or a winter weather advisory.
The map above shows how the large winter storm watch area earlier today has been fine-tuned to mostly winter weather advisories. A winter storm watch still exists for the Thumb and northeast shoreline until the next round of data shows which way to go on the watch. There should be some lake enhancement of the snow totals in the Thumb and northeast shoreline, possibly putting those areas over the six inch winter storm warning criteria.
Lee shared this photo of Holstein cattle on an Amish farm riding out a winter snowstorm in Mecosta County to the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr last January. When I did a quick Google search because I had forgotten if Lee was a he or a she, I realized that he had a lot more photos in excellent essay entitled FALLING SNOW: A Landscape Transformed on his blog:
When I see snow falling, dissolving the landscape into a place entirely different, I am enthralled by the veiled look of the land. Every surface is softened and sounds are muffled and most people have retreated indoors. The familiar is transformed.
The pictures in this photographic essay were taken near my Michigan home, where I love to venture into the heaviest snow squalls, finding barns and forests transformed by the falling snow. I am fortunate to live near an Amish community, where their barns and buggies and homes are often featured in my winter photography. Enjoy the photographs, and find a new appreciation for winter.
Head over to the Lee Rentz Photography Journal for lots more!
mLive’s Mark Torregrossa shares that the winter storm bearing down on Michigan overnight is expected to bring a solid band of freezing rain from Jackson to Ann Arbor to Detroit and south to Michigan’s southern border that could have up to one-tenth of an inch of ice accumulation. Based on radar, the iciness will be worst from 4am – 9am Thursday
Mike captured this great shot of a mail truck delivering in Port Huron on a winter day with a Nikon Zfc & TTArtisan 50mm Tilt shift lens 1.4. I hadn’t heard of this lens befor which the manufacturer says transforms ordinary scenes into captivating ‘Lilliput’ landscapes with selective focus and beautiful bokeh.
See more in Mike’s Winter 2025 gallery & for sure follow him on Flickr.
January Shore by Andrew McFarlane
Most of the photos on Michigan in Pictures are by other people, but sometimes on Fridays I like to share my own. These are from the Lake Michigan shore in Leland from late January 2017. Follow me here for more pics and for sure feel welcome to support me & Michigan in Pictures through Patreon donations!
Lake Michigan Ice Mounds by Mark Swanson
The Lansing State Journal reports the National Weather Service says that a triple threat of subzero temperatures, high winds and ice-free Great Lakes really piled up the lake effect snow last week:
“This snowy week is nearly at an end, including a visit from real Arctic air, and many towns near Lake Michigan and Lake Superior got a foot or two of fresh snow as a result,” the NWS said. “Clearly, the vast majority of snow was a result of lake effect, as plenty of other parts of Michigan only saw an inch or two at best.”
Air temperatures in Michigan fell below zero Jan. 18-22. In some cases, the thermometer didn’t read above zero for two days. The coldest reading in the state came Monday night when Stambaugh, in the western UP, registered minus 30 — before wind chill. The town also saw minus 28 on Tuesday night while Ironwood’s NWS observer recorded minus 27.
You can see that the conditions have also piled up shoreline ice in these pictures that Mark took over the weekend at Lincoln Township Beach just north of Grand Mere State Park. Here are some more recent ones and a shot from summer of 2016 below. More in Mark’s 2025 gallery on Flickr!
Barton Dam – Cold by Bruce Bertz
Most of the schools in Michigan were closed today due to single digit or subzero temps as the entire state wonders what box it put the electric blanket in. ArborWiki’s entry for Barton Dam says that:
The City of Ann Arbor purchased the dam from Detroit Edison in the 1960s and restarted hydroelectric generation in the 1980s. The facility has a 900-kilowatt turbine that generates 4.2 million kWh per year.
Barton Dam is one of Ann Arbor’s four dams on the Huron River. It was designed by engineer Gardner Stewart Williams and architect Emil Lorch and built in 1912-13 as part of the development of hydroelectric power on the Huron River by the predecessor of Detroit Edison. The earthen-construction dam is 34 feet high and 1767 feet long, and has a typical surface area of 315 acres and typical storage of 5050 acre-feet. The dam can be accessed from Huron River Drive from the city park located at the foot of Bird Road.
See more including another shot from Barton Dam Nature Area in Bruce’s 2025-01 gallery on Flickr and STAY WARM!!!
Winter Wonderland at Bond Falls by Michigan Nut Photography
Pure Michigan shares that lower Bond Falls is a scenic and popular waterfall in the Upper Peninsula’s Ontonagon County that is created by the middle branch of the Ontonagon River tumbling over a thick belt of fractured rock that divides it into numerous small cascades. Total drop of the falls is approximately 50 feet & you can get directions & more from the DNR page for Bond Falls Scenic Site.
I originally saw this photo posted by a Facebook page not affiliated with the photographer, something that has become increasingly common. I really hope we can all endeavor to share info & links for the photos we share and to block & report pages that steal photos from actual photographers!
You can view & purchase more Michigan waterfall pictures including these on John’s website, and also get prints, canvas, puzzles, photo coasters, note cards, and Michigan calendars at michigannutphotography.com so what are you waiting for?
Winter at Upper Bond Falls by Michigan Nut Photography
Frigid Sunrise at Wawatam Light by Robert F Carter
Pure Michigan shares that Wawatam Lighthouse started life in 1998 as a Michigan Welcome Center travel icon at Monroe, Michigan. In 2004, the Monroe Welcome Center was being revamped and the lighthouse was put up for relocation. The City of St. Ignace was the lucky recipient and the structure was trucked north in five pieces. It stayed on the Chief Wawatam Dock for a time, awaiting the construction of its new platform … The Wawatam Lighthouse beacon was first lit on August 20, 2006. Visible for more than 13 miles out over Lake Huron, it is now an official aid-to-navigation. The 250 millimeter Fresnel lens casts its light in a 152 degree arc.
Robert writes “Four of us from my camera club decided to visit Michigan’s U.P. in search of the Snowy Owl. We left early and before we got up to the hunting grounds, we stopped by St. Ignace to see the sunrise. This area of Lake Huron was not frozen over yet even though it was about -5 degrees this morning. One did not stay outside the car very long with the blowing breeze.”
See more in Robert’s Lighthouses gallery on Flickr & see lots more lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures.
Michigan in Pictures 