michigan

Frigid Sunrise at Wawatam Light

Posted on January 13, 2025January 13, 2025 by farlane

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.

It’s time for the 2025 Detroit Auto Show!

Posted on January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 by farlane

Here it comes by Detroit Auto Show

The Detroit Auto Show starts today and runs through January 20th. The Freep shares that in addition to no longer putting on airs as the North American International Auto Show, there won’t be any concept cars or earth-shaking demos. Instead, the show will include more than 30 car brands showcasing their vehicles. Luxury cars will be returning to the floor, and there will be test tracks, charity drives and engineering exhibits.

Being a place for buyers to meet sellers & see the range of cars in the market is for sure cool, but can we just have just a couple concept cars? For science?? Here’s two from past Michpics posts…

1938 Phantom Corsair by Alden Jewell

Speed Racer by Michael Doyle

“Without Detroit, cars wouldn’t be cars, culture wouldn’t be culture, and music wouldn’t be music. My family wouldn’t be what it is without this city.”

– @stephen_mcgee, Filmmaker, 2x Emmy Award Winner, Photographer MY DRIVE. MY CITY. MY SHOW.™

The Auto Show had a cool series of photos last fall showing notable Detroiters & their rides. I’ve featured Stephen McGee’s pics here so I thought it would be nice to share this one his daughter took of him. Follow him on Instagram & get lots more Detroit Auto Show goodness on Michigan in Pictures!

Michigan offers Winters like no other!

Posted on January 9, 2025 by farlane

Winter Sunshine Waves by Matt Kazmierski

mLive’s Mark Torregrossa is my favorite Michigan meteorologist most especially for articles like the one he shares today about why Michigan’s winter weather is unlike anywhere else in America:

Several times a year I can point out to you weather we see nowhere else in America. One of those times is when we get Arctic air crossing the 40-degree water of Lake Michigan.

Look at the low temperature forecast for tomorrow morning, Jan. 9. You could call a friend in northeast Lower Michigan, and they will tell you it’s very cold and near zero degrees. Look at the “warmer” air that blows off of 40-degree Lake Michigan. We will have spots around Kalamazoo, South Haven and Benton Harbor that only drop to 20 degrees. Southeast Lower Michigan can be colder than the northwest shoreline of Lake Michigan at this time of year. Thursday morning’s map clearly shows that strange temperature pattern. We also see the warmer air under the clouds and lake effect snow stretching southeast off Lake Michigan.

Matt took this at Nordhouse Dunes back in March of 2022 & the one below in March of 2023. Head over to his Flickr for his latest!

Ice, Sand, Snow & Water by Matt Kazmierski

Low Temperature Forecast graphic by mLive

Top 5 Photos for 2024 & looking ahead to 2025

Posted on January 2, 2025 by farlane

Every year I like to look back on the most popular photos from the previous year of Michigan in Pictures, and this year is no exception. Joey’s incredible drone shot of workers laying the last girder in place to connect the deck of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge to the Detroit Port of Entry was not only the most popular post in 2024 — with 2.9 MILLION views it also became the most popular post ever on Michigan in Pictures! This astonishing project has been directed and paid for by Canada & opens in November of 2025! Learn more about the Gordie Howe Bridge on Michigan in Pictures & for sure follow Joey on Instagram and view & purchase photos on his website!

Gordie Howe’s Last Girder by Joey D

Checking in at number two is this peach of a photo of Turnip Rock near Port Austin in Michigan’s Thumb. Tom shared that this gigantic stone developed its signature look after millennium of being worn away by waves thumping across its bow to the point where it’s just an island inhabited by some trees and very little else. Head over to Tom’s website to view & purchase his work!

Turnip Rock at sunset by Tom Clark

Fly Me to the Moon by Morgan Andrew Somers

This shot from Flint by Morgan Andrew Somers of a plane flying into the eclipse was the 3rd most popular pic of 2024. It is also one of the coolest eclipse photos & photos in general I’ve ever seen!

MASPhoto has the receipts – it’s not fake. View & purchase prints including this one at morganandrewsomers.com.

Mackinac Bridge Walk & Herbert C Jackson by the Mackinac Bridge Authority

The 4th most popular post was a pair of pics showing the freighter Herbert C Jackson passing under the bridge with Mike Rezabek’s photo of the walk below from the deck of the Jackson completing the 360 view!

Bridge Walk from Herbert C Jackson by Mike Rezabek

Milo and the Morazan by Chris Roxburgh

Milo is a good boy & this photo by his owner & Great Lakes shipwreck explorer Chris Roxburgh was our 5th most popular photo of the year.

Follow Chris on Facebook, view & purchase his work including coffee table books on his website, and learn more about the shipwreck of the Francisco Morazan off South Manitou in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore from Leelanau.com!

Eastern Hognose Snake by Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

The most popular post from previous years was the 2014 feature on the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos). The “puff adder” is one of only 17 species of snake in Michigan and like all but one of the, it’s harmless to humans.

FYI, the only poisonous snake native to Michigan is the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake which has the weakest venom of any rattler.

I promised a look at what’s in store for 2025, so here are five goals I think I can achieve in the coming year:

Visiting or revisiting places I’ve talked about on Michigan in Pictures, either in person or real life. One of the biggest reasons I created Michigan in Pictures was to provide a window into the many cool experiences available in the Great Lakes State. Back in the day when I started, I was able able to get out and about to all corners of the state, but these days I just don’t have the same time to do that. I’m hoping that in addition to pushing myself to do more, I can find some photographers exploring them.
Highlighting more photos from our Michigan in Pictures group on Facebook and creating addition virtual & maybe even real world opportunities to share photos. There used to be some very fun Exposure.Detroit shows & meetups back in the day, and I was even able to lead a field trip to the Grand Traverse Commons with the group. These days I work & know folks at some cool spots here in Detroit that would be fun to explore, and there are a lot of photographers featured here that have deep roots in all corners of Michigan. Social media is cool & all, but for my money, the real world is where things are going to be at in the years to come.
Reaching out to some of the amazing Michigan photographers I’ve profiled over the years to see what they’re up to now & what they’re thinking about photography. And of course to do profiles on some of the great new photographers I’m sharing. I didn’t do a whole lot of Michigan Photographer Profiles, but the ones I did were absolutely fascinating to me both as a photographer and as a lover of Michigan.
Find more Michigan companies & photography companies to donate swag to give away. When we were running Absolute Michigan at full steam, we used to get a lot of free promotional items like concert tickets, museum passes, free lodging stays, outdoor & other gear, and lots more.
Featuring more of my own photos. Because I enjoy taking them!

Stay tuned & thank you for being a part of Michigan in Pictures! Click for more Michigan in Pictures Year in Reviews & related posts.

19 years of Michigan in Pictures

Posted on December 30, 2024 by farlane

Upper Deck by Andrew McFarlane

I started Michigan in Pictures way back on December 30, 2025. In the 19 years since, I’ve shared 2840 posts – well, 2841 now – to 1.6 million people! Thank you all for being a part of it!!

The most popular post ever remains Know Your Michigan Turtles, but every year Underwater Stonehenge in Lake Michigan gains a little ground. The top five rounds out with Fist of a Champion: Detroit’s Monument to Joe Louis, Northern Lights Forecast: Predicting the Aurora Borealis in Michigan & Detroit’s Michigan Central Station. To make the boxes below line up nicely, I’ve added #6 which is a personal favorite: Slumpy: the William Livingstone Mansion in Brush Park.

In 2025, I am going to celebrate the 20th year by revisiting some of the amazing photographers & photographic subjects to see where they are now!

I took this photo & the one below at the Manitou Music Festival at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore way back in 2005! You can see a lot more in my Music Makes Me Smile gallery on Flickr, and the dancing fellow in the bottom picture is Jacob Wheeler, editor & publisher of the fantastic Glen Arbor Sun!

Jacob Dancing by Andrew McFarlane

How about Michigan as Canada’s 11th Province? 🤔

Posted on December 26, 2024December 26, 2024 by farlane

2Nations by James Devlin

There’s been some honestly crazy talk about Canada becoming our 51st state in the news. Leaving aside the fact that Canada is actually bigger than the US, only 13% of Canadians actually want this. David Olive of the Toronto Star thinks it’s funny because many Canadians think of Michigan as Canada’s 11th province. He makes some humorous points but concludes with some compelling facts:

Canada is Michigan’s biggest trading partner, accounting for about 41 per cent of Michigan’s exports, or approximately $40 billion per year. And so, at its own expense Canada is nearing completion on a $6.4-billion second bridge across the Detroit River, named for Red Wings legend Gordie Howe.

Thousands of people commute each day from their homes in Michigan to their work in Canada and vice versa. Let’s join Michigan to Canada so that those nurses, engineers, municipal workers and computer programmers can more easily travel within the same country. The pandemic played havoc with those commuters, when the international crossing was closed.

Let’s scrap that border before the next pandemic.

As someone who has regularly visited Canada all my life; vacationing on Sugar Island & St Joseph Island, skiing in Searchmont, enjoying music in Toronto, and zipping across to Windsor with just my enhanced Michigan license whenever the mood strikes me, I’m giving that a big amen!

James shared the photo of the Ambassador Bridge back in February of 2018 writing: Fog covers the cities of Windsor, ONT and Detroit, MI. The Ambassador Bridge connects the two cities. 5 shot panorama stitched in Lightroom. Shot from Detroit Riverside Park.

There’s more pics in his Detroit gallery on Flickr including the photo of the two nations looking downriver.

Overall, the report found 82% of Canadians do not want to become the 51st state with only 13% saying they would.

Detroit by James Devlin

Seasons Greetings from Saginaw Water Works

Posted on December 24, 2024 by farlane

Saginaw Water Works 2020 by Cathy B

Cathy shared this awesome shot of the Saginaw Water Works in the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr way back in December of 2020 which will give you an idea of how far behind I am! Have a very happy holiday – I will probably be posting regularly but maybe not! For sure I will have the annual roundup of the most popular pics of 2024 next week.

See lots more from Cathy on her Flickr including some stunning shots of frozen bubbles on geraniums!

Frozen bubble on geraniums by Cathy B

Decked Out Steam for the Cameron Christmas Train

Posted on December 23, 2024December 23, 2024 by farlane

Decked out steam by Robby Gragg

Robby got a great shot of Little River 110 sitting decorated in Quincy, MI waiting for its turn to lead the Cameron Christmas Train, which I just learned about. The train is a partnership of the Cameron Memorial Community Hospital, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society & railroad enthusiasts that wends through Ohio, Indiana & southern Michigan every November.

He has a lot more on his Flickr including the shot below of NKP SD9 358 holding in Jonesville.

NKP SD9 358 in Jonesville by Robby Gragg

Farlane Friday: Not Your Grandma’s Hudson’s

Posted on December 20, 2024December 20, 2024 by farlane

Not your grandma’s Hudson’s by Andrew McFarlane

On December 31st, I will begin my 20th year of doing Michigan-focused photo blog Michigan in Pictures!! I’m going to try some new things this year to keep things fresh & fun for Michigan in Pictures regulars including yours truly like featuring more of my photos from the present day & my surprisingly extensive archives. As with today’s entry, a lot of them will be from Detroit where I live.

My first “Farlane Friday” is the brand new building at the new Hudson’s building in downtown Detroit which I am honestly a big fan of. I wasn’t alone, because this photo blew up when I shared it in the Detroit Photography group on Facebook. Hudson’s was Detroit’s signature department store and the place where I – like many Detroiters – unquestionably got my first picture taken with Santa. I also spent more than one Saturday reading dinosaur books at the lunch counter while my Grandma shopped with her friends. You can head over to Hudson’s Detroit for lots more about this new addition to Detroit’s skyline & for sure check out this post about the history of Hudson’s on Michigan in Pictures.

Downtown Holland says no to snow

Posted on December 19, 2024December 19, 2024 by farlane

Heated Sidewalk in Holland by Discover Holland

One of the stories you read more & more every year is how online shopping is killing downtowns. Discover Holland shares that in the 80s when suburban malls were wreaking similar havoc, downtown Holland business owners & the city created a plan for Snow Free Holland, now the largest municipal snowmelt system in North America:

Joining the conversation was Holland native and Prince Corporation founder, Edgar D. Prince. Prince brought to the table an idea that he discovered while in Europe, a system of underground piping that circulates warm water to keep the snow and ice at bay during the winter months. Using this idea, Prince expanded on the possibilities of snow and ice free access in downtown, and thus began the downtown Holland snowmelt project.

Currently, snowmelt is maintained by the Holland Board of Public Works in collaboration with the Holland Energy Park. Snowmelt was first implemented in 1988 and is the largest municipally-run snowmelt system in North America. By using waste heat from power generation, water is heated and circulated through 120 miles of plastic tubing underneath the streets and sidewalks. The tubes are 3/4″ in circumference; Holland has 600,000 square feet of tubing totaling 4.9 miles and 10.5 acres of heated streets and sidewalks. With the water heating up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the system can melt 1″ of snow per hour – even at 20 degrees F with 10 MPH winds!

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