Michigan at 300k

Posted on by farlane
Twin Silos by Mark Smith

Twin Silos by Mark Smith

Last Friday, my Absolute Michigan photo group on Flickr crossed a major milestone when Mark Smith added the 300,000th photo to the group! I created the group 20 years ago to support my Absolute Michigan supersite which was regrettably demolished by the Pure Michigan campaign. Regrets aside, the group remains an incredible place for seeing images from every corner of the Great Lakes State taken by nearly 4000 members (3,930 to be exact). From Alanson to Midland to Zeeland you can find photos of parks, parties, & people enjoying everything Michigan has to offer.

If you’re a photographer on Flickr & would like to share your photos, check out this group topic for the details! Also consider joining our Michigan in Pictures Group on Facebook!

Here are a few more shots from Mark’s excellent Barn gallery on Flickr . For sure click through to see them all & head over to Leelanau Landscapes view & purchase his work!

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20 years of Michigan in Pictures

Posted on by farlane

Twenty years ago this morning on December 30, 2005, I started Michigan in Pictures to share some of the great photos I was seeing on Flickr along with some of the Michigan stories & events we were putting out on Absolute Michigan*. By way of celebration, here are some highlights from the first decade with the second to follow tomorrow!

2006: Michigan Photographer Profiles

The top two posts of 2006 were also my favorite: the Michigan Photographer Profiles of Ann Arbor Huron High senior Marjorie O’Brien and Matt Callow, a British born and bred photographer with a penchant for pinhole photography & unique cameras. I had so much fun exploring the motivations and techniques of some of my favorite photographers that I am honestly wondering why I stopped 🤔

Grungy by I am Jacques Strappe

Grungy by I am Jacques Strappe

Holga 35mm- Barton Dam by Matt Callow

Holga 35mm- Barton Dam by Matt Callow

2007: Slumpy

slumpy by ryan southen

slumpy by Ryan Southen

Ryan’s photo of the William Livingston Mansion in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood in Detroit has remained one of the most popular of all time. Slumpy has also served along with with Michigan Central Station as a centerpiece for the discussion of “ruin porn” photography.

2008: Northern Lights & an Electric Forest

The top two pics of the year took us to the Rothbury Music Festival (now Electric Forest) and high above the earth with the first of very many posts about predicting the aurora borealis.

Hey Snoop, Michigan Loves You by Ann Teliczan

Hey Snoop, Michigan Loves You by Ann Teliczan

Skyfire by Kevin’s Images

2009: Lake Michigan Stonehenge

Lake Michigan Stones via bldgblog

The post about a stone circle underneath Lake Michigan in Grand Traverse Bay near Traverse City is the second most popular of all time.

2010: Photo evidence of Michigan cougars

Menominee County Cougar, June 2010 by Michigan DNR

While cougars in Michigan are a given in 2025, they were very much a question 15 years ago when we shared this trail cam pic.

The comments are kind of hilarious ;)

2011: Marquette Northern Lights

Marquette Northern Lights, October 24, 2011 by Shawn Malone

This isn’t the first of the many photos I’ve shared by Lake Superior Photo’s Shawn Malone, but it is one of my faves!

2012: Mount Arvon is Michigan’s Tallest

Mt Arvon – Michigan’s Highest Point by Gowtham

Gowtham took us all the way up Mount Arvon as part of my Michigan’s Tallest series.

2013: Know Your Michigan Turtles

I’m Posing for the Camera by capcbd

The most popular post of 2013 is also the most popular of all time: Know Your Michigan Turtles. It’s also the hub for information about Michigan’s 10 native turtle species so check it out!

2014 & 2015: Ice Cave Obsession

In the same way that I thought it was fascinatingly cool to have bridge photos as 4 of the 6 top photos in my 2025 Michigan in Pictures Year in Review, I think it’s pretty darn nifty that the top photos of 2014 & 2015 both reflected the hold that ice caves had on Michigan winter discourse. Check out Ken’s Ice Caves of Leelanau and Heather’s Ice Caves Return to Lake Michigan, and I will see you tomorrow!!

Lake Michigan Ice Cave Sunset by Ken Scott

Lake Michigan … ice cave sunset II by Ken Scott

Ice Caves Return by Heather Higham

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* Absolute Michigan was my Michigan supersite that was put out of business by the $10-30+ million per year behemoth that was Pure Michigan. Here’s a look courtesy the Wayback Machine of absolutemichigan.com in its prime.

19 years of Michigan in Pictures

Posted on by farlane
Upper Deck by Andrew McFarlane

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!


Know Your Michigan Turtles
Underwater Stonehenge in Lake Michigan
Fist of a Champion: Detroit’s Monument to Joe Louis

Northern Lights Forecast: Predicting the Aurora Borealis in Michigan
Detroit’s Michigan Central Station
Slumpy: the William Livingstone Mansion in Brush Park

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

Jacob Dancing by Andrew McFarlane

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Out of (Facebook) jail…

Posted on by farlane

Tease… by Brad Worrell

I had a bit of a scare yesterday when I was informed by Facebook that my 14 year old Michigan in Pictures page had been removed for “impersonation”. Although they restored the page on appeal, I do have a request for everyone to sign up for email updates of posts with the “Subscribe to Michigan in Pictures!” link in the sidebar in case I’m not so lucky next time.

Brad took this photo ten years ago at Fort Wayne in Detroit. See more in his Detroit Gallery on Flickr.

Wait I have one more request! If you enjoy Michigan in Pictures, please feel welcome to send me money through Patreon!

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More from Michigan: Lighthouse Park Sunrise edition

Posted on by farlane

Lighthouse Park Sunrise by Caitlin Rose

One of the reasons I started Michigan in Pictures almost 30 years ago (wow!) was that I remembered how much I missed the beautiful variety of my home state when I wasn’t living here. Another equally important reason was that I hoped to help those of us who live here – including myself – get more out enjoyment from the amazing bounty Michigan has to offer.

Along those lines, my friend Caitlin shared some really great wisdom the other day that she’s letting me share with all of you:

I have a thing for getting up in the middle of the night and driving to big water to watch the sun rise. I stretch and breathe into the sunrise and then I rise and move and dance while the beach has few occupants. I peruse the rocks for treasure, also while dancing.

I swam, I snacked, I napped in both my hammock and on my air couch before heading home. There was a “one out one in” line at the beach entrance when I left at 2:30. I giggled to myself as it was already cloudy and PACKED with people by then… I had a wonderful day of recovery and solitude. I am proud to be free to get up and go where I want, when I want, and how I want. Early mornings on a day off might not be ideal to everyone but to me, this is it ✨

Sounds ideal to me too! You may not be able to see her post, but you can check out Caitlin’s latest photos at ChasingPrudence on Instagram. Here’s more about Lighthouse Park.

#michpics

Posted on by farlane
Good Morning Brockway

Good Morning Brockway, photo by Jiqing Fan

Today’s post might win the 2013 Incomprehensible Garbledegook Award…

Almost all of the photos on Michigan in Pictures are those added to the Absolute Michigan pool on the excellent photo sharing site Flickr, with occasional photo posted to the Michigan in Pictures Facebook mixed in. While that’s very convenient for me, there’s a whole  lot of great photos on Twitter and Instagram too.

If you’re interested in sharing your photos and aren’t into Flickr, please feel free to use the “michpics” hash tag: #michpics on Twitter and #michpics on Instagram. If your photo is in some other place, you can tweet it with that hash tag.

Thanks everyone for sharing and I hope you get a chance to enjoy some of Michigan’s beauty this weekend!

Jiqing Fan took some amazing photos this fall. View his shot from Brockaway Mountain on the Keweenaw Peninsula bigger and see more in his slideshow. Past features of Jiqing Fan on Michigan in Pictures.

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