The Wandering Photographer

The Windows of Port Oneida

 Port Oneida Rural Historic District is an abandonded farm community within the boundaries of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The Lakeshore is in the process of restoring some of the buildings and preserving the ruins of others. It is a great place to photograph.

You can read another post of mine about Port Oneida.

In this post I want to show you some of the images of windows I shot one day while wandering around the District. I alway like to take pictures of details on structures as well as overall shots. The shot at the top of this post shows a nice overall shot of a field and the Miller barn in the district. The shots below focus in on windows on the district's barns and homes.

The first three images are details from the Miller Barn.

 

 

The following image is a shot of detail from the front of the Eckhert farm house. As you can see it needs a paintjob. :)

The next one is obviousl;y in even wosre shape. each year when we return this building is closer and closer to falling down completely.

I love how the the stark texture of these images invoke different feelings in the viewer. It's something that you just don't quite get from a distance shot.

As you can see from the above images, detail views of the subject can often give a better sense of place than the object as a whole. Next time you are taking images of a place, by all means get the overall shot but don't forget to walk in close and see it from a different perspective.

© 2012 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Dunes and Beaches of the Sleeping Bear

Some of the worlds most beautiful beaches and dunes can be found along the Eastern coast of upper Lake Michigan in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The park was designated a National Lakeshore in 1970 and administration was assigned to the National Park Service.

From the NPS website:

"The Park was established to preserve the 'outstanding natural features, including forests, beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenomena...for the benefit, inspiration, education, recreation, and enjoyment of the public.' "

The Park includes thirty-five miles of Lake Michigan Coast almost exclusively made up of ancient dunes and wonderful beaches. The park also encompasses a number of historic sites, including the Port Oneida Rural District and a nineteenth century US Lifesaving Station at Glen Haven.

The dunes are named after the "Legend of the Sleeping Bear" and the park took its name from the legend as well.

The heart of the park however are the dunes. Here is a few more views from various points along the shore.

It is no wonder that "Dr. Beach" named the beaches of Sleeping Bear Dunes as the best beaches on the Great Lakes.

Hope you enjoyed his look at one of Michigan's wonders.

© 2011 Tim Marks

Barns and Farms: Port Onieda Rural Historical District

In the mid 19th century a number of sturdy immigrant families settled and built farms along lake Michigan near Pyramid Point. By 1862 the people had built a dock and named their small settlement Port Onieda after one of the first ships to visit the village, the SS Onieda. By 1908 all of the original farms, except one, in Port Onieda had been abandoned. New families arrived and the village thrived until World War II. Today only a few families live in the immediate area.

Today the village is being restored as one of two historical districts by the National Park Service, in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I had the chance to spend an afternoon driving around the village and photographing some of the wonderful farm ruins and relics. I hope you enjoy the results.

The outhouse on the Carsten Burfiend Farm c. 1893

 

Here is a close up of closure hardware on one of the Burfiend farm out buildings

 

A small shed on the Martin Basch Farm c.1880s

 

A detail from the Miller Barn c. 1855. the Miller Barn is also shown in the picture at the top of this post.

 

This one is the detail of a shed on the Echart Farm built about 1862.

 

Detail of the old farm house on the Eckhert property. Obviously this one needs work.

 

This historical site is well worth the visit. I could easily spend hours here making images of an interesting past that was an important part of the Northern Michigan experience.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes are located in Benzie and Leelanau counties in Northern Michigan. the National lakeshore is a treasure of natural beauty and historic discovery. Visit them on the web at www.nps.gov/slbe/index.htm

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Glen Haven Michigan: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

One of the jewels of Northern Michigan is the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, part of the U.S. national park system. The lakeshore encompasses the natural beauty of sweeping sand dunes and wooded forests as well as abandoned villages turned into museums. One of those abandoned towns is Glen Haven.

Glen Haven was settled in 1851 when C. C. McCarty built a saw mill and inn on the Lake Michigan beach near Glen Arbor, MI. By 1878 Glen Haven had become a harbor for steam ships to replenish their supply of wood fuel. D. H. Day continued development of the community and by 1920 Day had established a fruit canning company near the beach.

The Cannery building is now a boathouse museum with a number of interesting vessels on display. With the extension of the railroad to Glen Haven the shipping dock went unused and closed in 1931.

Glen Haven continued to be a tourist destination until the 1970s when the National Park service bought up what was left in the village. The inn Closed in 1972. NPS has restored a number of the buildings as museums and tourists continue to visit especially in the summer.

The General store has been restored and serves as an exhibit and visitor's center. Other buildings that have been restored include the blacksmith's shop.

All of the vintage hardware in the restored buildings is made on site in this working blacksmith's shop. During the summer visitors can watch skilled smiths and apprentices make hooks, hinges and other iron products for restoration use.

Glen haven gives all the opportunity to learn about the life of loggers, sailors and tradesman in Northern Michigan. Insights about fishing, farming and tourism are ours for the asking.

Source material from the National Park Service web site

© 2009 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Photo Friday: What a Difference a Day Makes, Signal Hill, St. John's Newfoundland

Boy, what a difference a day makes.  After a 2000 mile drive, including five hours on a ferry and a good night’s sleep, we awakened to a fog shrouded St. John’s, Newfoundland.  We decided to go ahead and do some sightseeing anyway.  We made our way up to Signal Hill and its iconic Cabot Tower at the entranced to the harbor.

Nikon D1x, Tamron 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 30mm, ISO 125, 1/250 @ f/9

Here is a view of Cabot Tower hidden by the fog.  We spent some time inside the tower talking to the Parks Canada rangers and learning about the hill and tower.  It was here in 1901 that Guglielmo Marconi received the first ever transatlantic wireless transmission (the Morse code for the letter S sent continuously).  

When we departed from the tower and returned to our car, we found a man holding a television camera marked with the logo of the Canadian Broadcast Company (CBC).  It seems that he noticed Dominique’s bright yellow Pontiac Aztek with the Michigan License plates and wanted to interview us.  He asked if, after driving so far, we were disappointed about the weather.  Of course, we told him that we were having a great time and that we knew that Newfoundland weather was unpredictable and changeable (we’re used to that here in Michigan).

Nikon D1x, Tamron 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/160 @ f/14

The weather did change and the next day we went back and re-toured the historical site.  We had a chuckle with the ranger when he told us he had seen us the night before on the news.  Unfortunately we hadn’t gotten a chance to see the news that night and missed our TV debut.

Thanks to Debbie of Delicious Baby for organizing Photo Friday and spreading such wonderful images across the Web.

© 2009 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Newfoundland Whale & Puffin Tour

One of the things that many visitors to Newfoundland do is to take some kind of Whale and Puffin watching boat cruise.  In that way we are no different.  You can always see the whales from the beaches and cliffs along the coast, and you can get fairly close to puffins in a few places (Cape Bonivista is one) but a cruise adds the fun of the boat ride to the wildlife viewing.

Nikon D1x, Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR @80mm, ISO 200, 1/640 @ f/9

So we signed up for the Gatheralls Whale/Puffin Cruise out of Bays Bulls, NL.  The cruise goes out to the Witless Bay Ecological Preserve for a, fairly, close up view of the puffins and many sightings of humpback whales while en route.

Nikon D1x, Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR @400mm, ISO 200, 1/1000 @ f/5.6

There are three species of puffins.  The birds shown here are Atlantic Puffins and can be found in abundance near Maine, Newfoundland & Labrador and Iceland (they are actually considered a delicacy in Iceland). 

Nikon D1x, Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR @400mm, ISO 200, 1/640 @ f/5.6

As they flew around our boat I couldn’t help but thinking they looked like Black & white footballs (the American kind) with wings.  I have no idea how those small, rapidly moving, wings can hold up those fat little bodies.

Nikon D1x, Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR @165mm, ISO 200, 1/640 @ f/9

One the way out to the puffin’s island we encountered numerous Humpback Whales and I was able to get a few pretty good images.  You get a glimpse of the whale’s back as it begins to surface.

Nikon D1x, Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR @135mm, ISO 200, 1/350 @ f/9

As it begins to dive up comes the tale and the “classic whale image” is yours for the making.  We did get the opportunity to see one of the most spectacular whale watching experiences, a full breech.  The whale leaps into the air and falls back to the water with a massive belly flop.  Unfortunately while the experience was exhilarating, it was far too distant for any good pictures.  Maybe next time!

You can see some of my other Canada posts here.

© 2009 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Photographing History: Fort Sumter

The state of South Carolina officially seceded and joined the Confederacy on December 26, 1860.   Subsequently South Carolina demanded that the United States evacuate Fort Sumter, located near the entrance to Charleston Harbor.  Those demands were ignored and an attempt to resupply the fort in January was repulsed by the Confederates. 

In April, the U.S. again began an attempt to resupply.  Confederate forces in Charleston again demanded the fort’s surrender and again the demand was refused.  On April 12, 1861 Confederate artillery in Charleston laid siege on the fort.  The bombardment lasted for at least 34 straight hours and finally led to the surrender of the fort to the Confederate forces.  Thus began hostilities in the war that would change America forever.

Today, when you visit the fort you see period artillery, a display of flags that have flown over the fort and what remains of the fort walls.  As you can see from the above photo, sea shells were incorporated into walls to add reinforcement.

This is the view for the fort today overlooking modern Charleston Harbor with the excursion boat and the, very modern, Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in the distance.

General William T. Sherman forced the Confederates to abandon Charleston in February 1865 and Federal troops again occupied the fort.  After the war the, largely destroyed, fort was mostly unused.  A small garrison manned the fort during World War I and again during World War II.  After the war the fort eventually became a U.S. National Monument.  Today the fort is administered by the National Park Service and is open to visitors.  The story of the fort is important and the site is well worth a visit.

© Tim Marks all rights reserved  

Photographs of Isle Royale National Park

Nikon D200,  ISO 100,  Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 @ 86mm,  1/800 @ f/7

Isle Royale National Park, in the northwest corner of Lake Superior, is one of the least visited and most interesting of our national parks.  Visitors to the park must arrive either by boat from Michigan or Minnesota or by float plane from either state.  Once on the island opportunities for hiking, camping, kayaking and photography abound. 

Nikon D200,  ISO 100,  Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 @ 35mm,  1/320 @ f/9

For our 2006 trip we departed Copper Harbor, MI on the Isle Royale Queen IV.  The Queen is a 100 foot, steel hulled diesel powered passenger vessel that regularly travels at full capacity, so reservations are required.  The trip is generally quite comfortable even in moderate seas.

Nikon D200,  ISO 100,  Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 @ 52mm,  1/160 @ f/7

Upon arriving on the island we checked into our cabin at the Rock Harbor Lodge.  The lodge is the only non-camping accommodations available on the island.  Accommodations available include 60 lodge rooms and 20 duplex housekeeping cabins.  We chose a cabin overlooking Tobin Harbor, an easy quarter mile walk from the dock.  As you can see from the image above the sunsets over Tobin Harbor are magnificent. 

Nikon D200,  ISO 100,  Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 @ 18mm,  1/350 @ f/7

Most of our time in the park was spent hiking along the numerous short trails emanating from the Rock Harbor area.  This image is at the end of one such trail.  Wildlife we saw along the way included pileated woodpeckers and jackrabbits.  The wildlife we did not get to see were wolves (rarely seen) and moose (commonly seen but we didn’t get lucky). 

Nikon D200,  ISO 100,  Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 @ 25mm,  1/640 @ f/5.6

Paddling Tobin Harbor is another activity we undertook.  A half day rental of a canoe (I know the boat in the picture is not a canoe) was included in our cabin rental and we took advantage of it.  The paddle up the harbor and back was easy and relaxing.  We saw only a couple of other paddlers on our excursion, though we did get to watch the floatplane depart.

Nikon D200,  ISO 100,  Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 @ 25mm,  1/350 @ f/7

On what was supposed to be our morning of our departure we packed up our stuff and headed down to the dock.  The sign on the dock announced that the Queen would not be coming that day because of high seas caused by a violent thunderstorm the night before.  We had watched the storm from the comfort of our cozy cabin.  The weather had cleared but the waves on the often treacherous Lake Superior were still above 10 feet, so no boat would be coming that day. We had to extend our stay in the cabin and got a bonus day on the island.  A chance for one more hike.

If you have a chance to spend some time on Isle Royale National Park take it, you won’t be disappointed.

© Tim Marks all rights reserved

Photographing the Kennecott National Historical Landmark

Last week’s Photo Friday showcased the view from the porch of the Kennicott Glacier Lodge.  Just down the way from the lodge is the intriguing Kennecott National Historical Landmark.  This assemblage of old mill buildings, built by the Kennecott Mines Co., is now a part of the Wrangell St-Elias National Park.

The oxide red painted buildings form a photo friendly landscape in which a photographer can revel for days.  Opened about 1911 the mine produced copper ore valued at in excess of $200 million by the time it closed in 1938.

The National Park Service is currently working to restore the mine buildings and develop a National Landmark that will educate the public about the history and culture of Alaskan industry.

The buildings are an opportunity to produce photographs that both express that storied history and make an artistic statement about industrial evolution.  Are these structures a scar on the wilderness?  Are they a testament to industrial might?  Well maybe they are a little bit of both. 

Whichever way you fall on that question, the structures are undeniably a photo opportunity that is not to be missed.  The deep red color, deteriorating condition and the unintentional symmetry of the buildings’ design make this site a photographer’s paradise. 

All of the photos were taken using a Nikon N90s camera on Fujichrome Provia 100F slide film.  Exposure information was unrecorded but the camera was likely set on aperture priority automation as that is the way I often shoot.

A note on the spelling discrepancy:  The official name of the glacier is spelled Kennicott.  The mining company, to this day, spells their name Kennecott.  The NPS states that the founder of the mine, Stephen Birch spelled it Kennycott.  Confused? Me too.

© Tim Marks all rights reserved

Photo Friday: Room with a View

Some hotels have fancy restaurants, olympic size pools, and well equipped fitness centers.  Some have a view.  Such is the case at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge in McCarthy, AK. 

The lodge overlooks the old mill buildings from the now defunct Kennicott copper mine.  In the distance, spread out around you, is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  Wrangell-St Elias is the largest national park in the U.S. and offers opportunities for hiking, fishing, and mountaineering.  The Old mill buildings offer wonderful photographic opportunities. 

In the end the best thing about this fabulous lodge is the view from the front porch.

Thanks to Debbie of Delicious Baby for organizing Photo Friday and spreading such wonderful images across the Web.

Visit here Monday for a look at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

© Tim Marks 2009 all right reserved