Category: Richard Mack’s Blog

Friday the 13th and a Full Moon!

June 13, 2014
Big Thoughts PondExpectationsGreat Lakes ProjectLake MichiganLake MichiganLighthouse Beach PierRichard Mack's Blog

Well decisions, decision on this Friday the 13th. There is a full moon this evening…I should have shot it last night as all photographers know, but couldn’t. So now what? Shoot it tonight? Maybe. Or well I laze around and just hang with friends? Hmmm… I will be shooting the next two weeks in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan and then up at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior. And I’ve been to Lighthouse beach often when the full moon rises…. Ahh the thought process here at Big Thoughts Pond this Friday afternoon… stay tuned!

Lake Michigan Morning

May 31, 2014
Great Lakes ProjectLake MichiganRichard Mack PhotographyRichard Mack's BlogThe Sweetwater Seas

This morning George Elder and I set off to shoot more for our Great Lakes Project – The Sweetwater Seas. We set off to document the fishermen at sunrise down along Montrose Beach and Promontory Pointe. There are always folks dipping a line in the water well before sunrise along that stretch of the lake. George talked to one fisherman who had a lot to say about the fishing over the years and the invasive species such as the Goby which he had caught a few of this morning. Those do not get throw back in the water but on shore and the pigeons come along and eat them. We wandered down to North Avenue Beach to capture people running, biking and playing along the beach. We ran into a group of young kids in what appeared to be a football workout on the beach with coaches. Plenty of bicyclists, runners and walkers. And then the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer passed by, by the thousands. And we both ran into folks we knew, including a friend of George’s who is in charge of the Avon Walks. These images are some of the still shots I took. I shoot both still and video but concentrate on stills as George is the expert filmmaker. Another great morning even though you have to get up before 4am!

To see more images go ahead and click on this link: www.mackphoto.com/BlogImages/LMM

Cheers,

Richard

 

The Pond – Friday May 23

May 23, 2014
Big Thoughts PondRichard MackRichard Mack PhotographyRichard Mack's Blog

Well it has actually been two weeks since posting last from Big Thoughts Pond, I guess writing every Friday didn’t work so far! Well in the last week we’ve realized change in plans is inevitable! Diverse weather, fun changes every day with family in town for a week of sightseeing in Chicago – something you generally don’t do if you live here ironically.

 

Cubs vs Yankees and the storms!

And fun it was – we saw the cubs beat the Yankees and their pitcher had never been beaten by a Major League team yet and had a 42-0 record between here and Japan…what a night of storms, lightning and a sting for those Yankee fan’s…one of them with us…sorry Ted! And change is change…Cubs lost in 13 the next day…

And of course today is the 62nd birthday of Smoky Bear!

Some interesting things on the Great Lakes from posts about algae blooms and micro plastics in the water to the Sweetwater Seas project keeping moving forward… new logo by Rich Nickel, plans for shoots over the next few weeks and forward we move…and now for some real fun as John Manos, the writer on The Sweetwater Seas plays with his Cuban band at Montrose Beach tonight! And then a meteor shower.

Enjoy Memorial Day weekend! And thanks to all our veterans who have made given us so much to let us live in this country.

Cheers,

Richard

Friday Afternoons at Big Thoughts Pond – May 9, 2014

May 9, 2014
Big Thoughts PondRichard Mack PhotographyRichard Mack's Blog

Big Thoughts Pond

This is the first edition of what I hope becomes a Friday afternoon tradition – a few thoughts about the past week. I guess we shall see how faithful I am to this particular mission!

This past week we worked with Publicis Life Brands in NYC for a client of theirs. Always fun to work with folks from a distance! I also did a lot more research on the Great Lakes Project, The Sweetwater Seas, and planned to go to Sleeping Bear Dunes in June to shoot the Piping Plover who are down to 59 breeding pairs in the Midwest, with only 5000 birds worldwide. The nest at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore in the spring/summer months and are being protected by the National Park Service and US Fish & Wildlife arm of the DNR. A great story about how we can make a difference in protecting our lakes and the species who live along them. I learned though that there are no campground spots available until late August 2014! And I thought I could just run up there and find a place to camp…working on an alternative!

And in my small environment the pond, known as Big Thoughts Pond is back up and running this year and stocked with new goldfish! All were lost over the winter, some 20 years old. Start of a new time…

Cheers,

Richard