Nearshore

Flash point: The lighthouse Lake Superior nearly swallowed

By |

We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us some of their favorite or toughest Great Lakes shots and a bit of a story behind the picture. This image and explanation are by David Marvin. Most people have never heard of the Crisp Point Lighthouse, much less ever visited it. It stands on the Lake Superior shore fourteen miles west of Whitefish Point, connected to the rest of the world by only a winding seasonal gravel road. Originally, Crisp Point housed only a lifesaving station, starting in 1876.

Climate

Flash Point: Laura Miller shoots Maumee River ice

By |

We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us some of their favorite or toughest Great Lakes shots. Photographer and artist Laura Miller sent us these photos. Late January 2014 has been particularly difficult along the Maumee River in Ohio because of the amount of snow and rain we received with near-record precipitation.  These photos of an ice jam reflect the challenge of the river environment with the next challenge being flooding in the spring. Although this part of the river had an ice jam, farther upstream the water was flowing freely as the ice had been swept away.  The Maumee River is the largest Great Lakes watershed and feeds into Lake Erie.  There is a wonderful park system that follows the river providing abundant opportunities to enjoy the river.  Getting to the river isn’t the easiest during the winter months. The most difficult aspect of this photo adventure was knowing where the river bank ended and the river began.  You can’t help but respect the power and beauty of the ice when you’re actually on the banks of the river.   As you get closer to the water’s edge, you can easily go through the ice not knowing there is water flowing underneath.

Echo

Flash Point: Shawn Malone on capturing northern Michigan’s night skies

By |

 

Shawn Malone, owner of Lake Superior Photo, describes the process behind North Country Dreamland as a combination of “luck and persistence.”

Malone is a veteran photographer, who focuses on shooting images of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the Lake Superior Watershed. This is her first time-lapse compilation. It’s put together with more than 10,000 photo frames and 33 northern Michigan night sky events last year. These night skyscapes include multiple northern lights scenes, meteor showers, nebulae, planets, constellations, the Milky Way and comets. Many of them were taken over both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.

Echo

Flash Point: Mark Schacter captures Cuyahoga River ruin and redemption

By |

We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us favorite challenging Great Lakes shots and the story behind making them. Mark Schacter sent this photo and story. My challenge: how to capture in a single photograph a story of environmental ruin and redemption on Lake Erie? The subject was the Cuyahoga River, which rises in the northeast corner of Ohio and follows a 140 km U-shaped path before emptying into Lake Erie at Cleveland. One day in 1969 an oil slick on its surface caught fire in Cleveland. Although this was not the first time the filthy Cuyahoga had burned, Time magazine seized on the 1969 fire as emblematic of the devastating effects of water pollution in the US.

Flash Point: Peter Scott Eide’s favorite Great Lakes shots

By |

We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us their favorite Great Lakes shots. Peter Scott Eide sent us these photos of Lake Superior. Native Feather

This image was taken using Kodak black-and-white film. It was shot in the early spring when the water levels tend to be at their lowest. This particular spring they were at historically low levels, and sections of shoreline became exposed that normally lay buried beneath the sand and water.

Flash Point: Bryan Hansel’s toughest Great Lakes photos

By |

We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us their favorite Great Lakes shots. Bryan Hansel of Bryan Hansel Photography sent us these photos. I was on a 45-day, 800-mile kayaking expedition from Port Huron, MI to Grand Marais, MN when I heard about an upcoming storm that was predicted to blow gales for days. I was on a deadline and needed to get to Houghton to jump a ferry to Isle Royale before the storm hit, so I was paddling 30+ mile days. Before I got this photo, I had paddled about 33 miles and got to camp just as the sunset started.

Flash Point: Craig Blacklock’s favorite Great Lakes shot

By |

We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us their favorite Great Lakes shot. Craig Blacklock of Blacklock Photography sent us this photo, also the cover image from his book Apostle Islands – From Land and Sea. Bear Island, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
 I discovered this small arch the previous afternoon. I took the time to set up and make an image. I was ecstatic about the composition, which seemed to contain all the elements of the Apostle Islands, but was not satisfied with the light.

Flash Point: Ken Scott’s toughest Great Lakes photo

By |

We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us their toughest Great Lakes shots. Ken Scott of Ken Scott Photography sent us this photo. South Manitou Lighthouse

Lit by a full moon, this is a stack of 350, 30-second exposures. The hard part was getting the timing to work out so I could travel out to the island when there would be a full enough moon to light the landscape and no clouds to interfere with the shoot. It was a crap shoot and took a few trips out to get the timing the way I wanted it.

Echo

Flash Point: Justin Calkins’ toughest, favorite Great Lakes shots

By |

We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us their favorite and toughest Great Lakes shot. Justin Calkins – related to our very own Gary Wilson – of Justin Calkins Photography sent us these photos. Wind Storms

This photo was shot during the week-long wind storms of October 2010 in Grand Haven, Mich.  The gusts were as high as 70 mph, with very large violent waves. Lake Michigan Severe Storm
I took this photo in 2006 and even though it’s older I still wanted to share it. In my opinion it captures an excellent look at a severe storm system over Lake Michigan at Pere Marquette Park, Muskegon, Mich.