Travel by Any Means Necessary

Tag: Michigan State Parks

Hartwick Pines

Chapel in the Woods

Hartwick Pines State Park is one of the largest state parks in Michigan and is interesting because it is home to 49 acres of old growth pine forest with trees that are estimated to be between 350 and 375 years old. Somehow, these pines that was spared from northern Michigan’s booming logging industry in the 1800s. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built two buildings to house the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum, which focuses on the history of logging in Michigan, back when Michigan was the largest producer of lumber in the United States.

The above photo shows the Hartwick Pines Chapel, also known as “Chapel in the Woods” which is a popular location for weddings in a natural environment. It is also a great spot for quiet meditation during your exploration of the park.

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Wordless Wednesday: Chapel in the Woods

Chapel in the Woods//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Wordless Wednesday: Frozen Landscape

Winter Landscape

Wordless Wednesday: Milliken Lighthouse

Milliken Lighthouse

Fort Wilkins – Protecting the Copper Country

Fort Wilkins B&W

During our summer road trip, we spent a day at the tip of the Keewenaw Peninsula, in Copper Harbor. One notable site in Copper Harbor is historic Fort Wilkins. I’ve visited a few forts in my travels from Fort Michilmackinac in Mackinac City  and Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West to Castillo de San Marcus in St. Augustine and there was something about For Wilkins that felt different. There are no stone barricades meant to keep enemies from invading. The buildings of Fort Wilkins look like small houses. This is because this fort was not built for war, but instead to assist the law enforcement in the Keewenaw. When copper was discovered in the upper peninsula, it was anticipated to bring lawlessness and chaos like the gold rush in California, but the miners that came were well behaved. When The Mexican American War broke out, the soldiers moved down to Texas and the fort was abandoned. After the Civil War, it was reoccupied to serve as a place for soldiers to serve out the rest of their enlistment. In 1923, the fort and nearby lighthouse became a Michigan State Park.

About the Photo:
With this photo, I was trying to go for an old-timey postcard feel.  This is a single RAW exposure, edited in Lightroom. I tried a bunch of different presets and none of them really did was I was trying to do, so I converted it to black and white and then did color and contrast adjustments until I got the photo you see above.

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm kit lens, handheld

Date Taken:
June 28, 2016

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Wordless Wednesday: Trillium in the Woods

Trillim in the Woods

Happy Memorial Day!

Light & Shadow

Happy Memorial Day from GSDP!

Last weekend, I was able to cross another State Park off my list. I recently discovered Seven Lakes State Park while planning our summer road trip and when I realized how close it was, I had to check it out! There are 230 acres of water at the park and a big draw is Big Seven Lake and the recreation that goes along with it. There are also 4 miles of hiking trails around the lakes to explore around the lake. This is a gorgeous park and I can’t wait to go back!

About the Photo:
This photo was taken on one of the hiking trails around the lake. I love how the light was coming in during Magic Hour (about an hour before sunset) and I had to capture it! This was a single RAW exposure with basic edits done in Lightroom. To figure out when Magic Hour is, visit Golden-Hour.com.

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, handheld

Date Taken:
May 22, 2016

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Big Red

Holland LighthouseThe Holland Harbor lighthouse is the most photographed lighthouse in Michigan and like all of Michigan lighthouses, has an interesting history. The United States Lighthouse Board (yes, that was an actual thing. Oh, the things I learn while doing research for this blog) initially recommended construction of a lighthouse in Holland Harbor in 1870. The original lighthouse on this spot was built in 1872. In 1880, a new light was installed in a protective cage on top of a pole. The lighthouse keeper used a pulley to lower the lamp for service. Can you imagine? The current lighthouse, commonly known as “Big Red” was built in 1907.The architecture of the building was designed to reflect the Dutch influence in the area. Like many Michigan lighthouses, it has been abandoned by the Coast Guard but was restored and preserved by a private historical group. Because you would have to cross private property to see it up close, private access to the lighthouse is limited. But, it can be viewed across the channel from Holland State Park. (wikipedia)

About this Photo:
This wasn’t much of a planned shot, I know the lighting wasn’t great when we were at the park, but I  snapped this shot while walking the pier at the state park. This was a single RAW exposure with basic edits done in Ligthroom. I was able to pull some detail back into the sky by pulling out the highlights (this is a great save if you ever have a shot with a blown out sky).

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 50.0 mm f/1.8 handheld

Date Taken:
May 8, 2016

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Chris Corner #5: Reflection Restored

Reflection Restored by Christopher Mowers on 500px.com

 

I must continue to post pictures that are impressionistic. My last couple posts have been too realistic!

This one was taken at Island Lake Recreation Area, east of Brighton, Michigan. Island Lake is part of the Michigan State Park system, which is renowned for the quality of its parks and the skill with which they are administered.

Island lake has great opportunities for hiking, biking and boating. It also connects with Kensington Metropark, one of the gems in the HCMA Metropark System.

About the Photo:
As far as photo impressionism goes, this one is pretty simple. It is a single exposure of the reflection of trees on Spring Mill Pond, rotated 180 degrees. I did do some fairly heavy color adjustments, but that’s really about it. Nature did this one for me rather than Photoshop

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens.

Date Taken:
March 4, 2016

Thank you for reading. You can see my best work on 500px and can also find pictures of the “trying my hardest to be good at this” type on Flickr or Pixoto.

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