Archive for month: June, 2014

As a Michigan native who grew up in the Detroit area during the Muscle Car era, I have cars in my blood. Not the wimpy imports of today, or European snobmobiles, but classic Detroit Iron like the Chevy SS396, Corvette Sting Ray, Hemi ‘Cudas, Road Runners, Goats and 442s, and original Mustangs and Cobras. Long before the days of the EPA, unleaded gas and air bags, these beasts ruled the road.

My home town adjoins Woodward Avenue, one of America’s premier cruising strips. Woodward’s glory is still celebrated the third weekend of August every year when the Woodward Dream Cruise takes place. Never heard of it? Well, it’s only the biggest one-day automotive event the world, routinely drawing 1.5 million spectators and 40,000 classic cars.

In my Car Show Galleries, you’ll see these magnificent machines in all their glory. I feel sorry for all you Gen-Xers and Millenials. You don’t know what you missed!

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is my favorite getaway destination. The “U.P.” is freedom — freedom from crowds, pollution, traffic, crime, big cities and all their problems. The U.P. is woods, water, pure air, small towns, friendly people, great hunting and fishing, many historic attractions, and an abundance of natural beauty. Whether your passion is outdoor sports like hiking, backpacking, canoeing, skiing, golf, sailing, kayaking, camping, or any combination of these, the U.P. is the place for you.

The images in the Touring Michigan’s Upper Peninsula section of the Modern galleries represent some of my own outdoor passions, as captured through the lens of my camera in all seasons. These images were collected over a span of several decades. Now, come with me to the U.P. and discover the wonders of this fantastic place!

I spent my college years at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. MTU was established in 1885 as the Michigan College of Mines, for good reason. It’s located in the heart of Michigan’s “Copper Country,” which runs from White Pine to the southwest for over 100 miles to the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Along the way are many small towns still chock full of remnants of the copper mining booms of the past.

Arriving at Tech basically ignorant of the vast storehouse of rich history surrounding me, it wasn’t long before I started to learn about the area’s past. As I began to travel around the Keweenaw, I discovered a new world of photographic possibilities. The galleries in the Copper Country Mining Heritage collection on BlockPhotos.com document some of the remaining historic mining buildings in the Copper Country. Sadly, many have been lost, demolished to reduce the risk of injury to hapless explorers and the lawsuits which would certainly follow.

Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula is a four-season photographer’s paradise even without the old copper mining buildings. But, their presence makes this area even more worthy of serious photographic pursuit. Attractions like the rugged Lake Superior coastline, lighthouses, mountaintop vistas, ghost towns, and virgin pine forests await you.

For most of my life, I’ve lived near the Great Lakes, either in Michigan where I grew up, or in Wisconsin, where I came to rest following three job relocations. The proximity of the Great Lakes and the many photo opportunities they offer led me to begin photographing lighthouses in the early 1980s. Throughout the ’80s, ’90s, and into the 2000s I visited and photographed over 250 lighthouses.

My first lighthouse image was actually a painting, not a photograph. While a student at Michigan Tech, I sometimes fled to the shores of Lake Superior seeking relief from the stresses of college life. One of those trips took me to Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, on the western shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula, where I painted the watercolor image shown below.

I started photographing lighthouses in 1982, on a trip up the Minnesota shore of Lake Superior. The trip concluded in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. My fascination with lighthouses grew throughout the 1980s, and I was soon planning travel for the express purpose of photographing lighthouses. I also joined a lighthouse enthusiast group, the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA). As the 1980s unfolded, I found myself on boats cruising to many offshore lighthouses, in addition to photographing beacons on shore.

As my collection of lighthouse photos and experiences grew, fate intervened. In 1989, I was discussing my photographic interests with some friends, and a member of the Sailing Club of the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee asked if I could do a slide show for them. This request came in November of that year, and we agreed upon a date in the following February for the show.

Over the next couple months, I wrote the script for the show, which debuted as scheduled on a beautiful winter night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s really refreshing to see all the open water in my photos during a frigid Wisconsin winter!

In the 1990s, the internet age dawned, and I decided to publish my photography online. My companion photo site Lightstations.com was launched in 1999, and was recently redesigned, reconstructed, and remains a showcase for my lighthouse photography.

In Great Lakes Maritime section of the Modern galleries, several of my maritime interests are on display. Besides lighthouses, I also enjoy photographing tall ships whenever I have the opportunity to do so.