Photo Friday

Every Friday Echo runs images from the Great Lakes region that are mostly submitted by readers. Submit one to GreatLakesEcho@gmail.com. Include your name, a brief description of the image, when it was taken and any unusual circumstances involved in taking it.

Recent Stories

Fireflies in southern Michigan

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Image: Ken Scott

Photographer Ken Scott captured these fireflies streaking through the night sky near Willis, Mich., with a series of photos taken over 40 minutes. The technique of merging multiple short exposures into one eliminates the possibility of overexposing the ambient light such as that coming from a nearby city, said Scott, a Suttons Bay professional photographer. It also captured one of the beetles trundling across the ground and flashing its light.  Scott said it wasn’t until he posted the image that he noted the insect’s ground trek from the lower right corner of the frame. “Yeah, that bugger was a bonus!” he said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Wildlife, Beetles, Catch of the Day, Insects, Photo Friday

Photo Friday: The Manistique River’s slab wood islands

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SlabMore

Have an environmental image you’ve taken somewhere within the Great Lakes region and that you’d like to submit for Echo’s Photo Friday series? Send it to greatlakesecho@gmail.com along with the photographer’s name and town of residence, approximate date it was taken, where it was taken and a little bit of description of what we’re looking at. Context – how you happened to take it or whether there were physical or technical challenges in capturing it – is also helpful. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Land, Catch of the Day, Forests, Photo Friday, Rivers

Photo Friday: An emerald on the beach

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Kennedy's emerald dragonfly. Image: David Marvin

Note: This image and explanation is by David Marvin. Kennedy’s emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora kennedyi) tend to be fairly shy dragonflies when it comes to being photographed. This female Kennedy’s Emerald got caught in a quickly moving cold front along Lake Superior that caused it to land on the sandy beach, creating a rare occasion to photograph one without first capturing it. Its wings and body have dew that formed when the front arrived and the fog rolled inland. Kennedy’s Emerald dragonflies are related to other members of the Striped Emeralds of the Somatochlora genus, including the endangered Hine’s Emerald (Somatochlora hineana). Continue Reading →

Filed under: Wildlife, Catch of the Day, dragonflies, Insects, Photo Friday

Photo Friday: Shipboard education

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Volunteer educator and retired Dow chemist Dick Crooks shows students aboard the Appledore how to find dissolved oxygen using the Winkler reaction. Image: Appledore

BaySail in Bay City, Mich., is a 15-year-old non profit organization that teaches students through scientific observations and measurements of weather, water quality, aquatic life, and human impact on the environment, says Scott Ellis, the Lake Huron organization’s communications manager. Lessons on board the tall ship Appledore IV encourage collaboration with peers and experts. Some 43,000 students from schools throughout Michigan have been aboard. A new program launched this year called Windward Bound is a weekend long, sailing and camping trip for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other youth groups. They sail from Bay City to Tawas and participate in shipboard and land-based environmental education and sail training. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Water, Catch of the Day, education, Photo Friday

Photo Friday: June dawn at Middle Bass Island

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Sunrise Middle Bass Island, Lake Erie

Have an environmental image you’ve taken somewhere within the Great Lakes region and that you’d like to submit for Echo’s Photo Friday series? Send it to greatlakesecho@gmail.com along with the photographer’s name and town of residence, approximate date it was taken, where it was taken and a little bit of description of what we’re looking at. Context such as how you happened to take it, whether there were physical or technical challenges in capturing it or any other “story behind the picture” is also helpful. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Nearshore, Catch of the Day, Photo Friday