Tag: Great Lakes Project

Lake Superior – Two Winters

April 5, 2016
Great Lakes ProjectLake SuperiorNight sky time-lapseQuiet Light PublishingRichard Mack PhotographyThe Sweetwater Seastime-lapseWinter Landscape Photography

Two winters, drastically different weather. In March, 2013 on Lake Superior, it was below 0°F. The lake was shrouded in ice and snow. The same week in 2016 the ice had all but left the lake, and little snow remained in the forests.

This past March I spent a week travelling around Lake Superior. It happened to be the exact same week I had been up there in 2013. The big difference was in 2013 we had a very cold winter in the Midwest and the Great Lakes were 90% frozen over. This year was a very mild winter with less than 14% of ice coverage on the Great Lakes. I had wanted to get back up to areas I had not been too in 2013, so even with a mild winter I headed north to shoot for The Sweetwater Seas – A Documentary About North America’s Great Lakes. We have put together a short film from the trip which compares the two winters.

Enjoy!

Richard

For more on The Sweetwater Seas – A Documentary About North America’s Great Lakes just use the link – The Sweetwater Seas

Blizzard Conditions on the Great Lakes

February 4, 2015
Great Lakes ProjectLake MichiganLake MichiganLighthouse BeachRichard Mack PhotographyWinter photography

Lighthouse Beach Blizzard 20150202-0001

True winter weather has hit the Chicago area finally this winter. It made me take up the camera to get some video for The Sweetwater Seas documentary I ma filming currently for both TV and a book. While I try and prepare myself for the conditions I did forget to bring along my pair of ski goggles which would have made it much easier! The wind was howling so load and fast it was difficult to keep going. I would stop for a few minutes to film and when I turned around my footprints had vanished beneath the snow. No trace of me walking out there – a true Leave No Trace afternoon. Above is a still image from the day but you can see a few of the video clips I have put together by using the link below.

http://www.mackphoto.com/Creative/video-LighthouseBeachBlizzard.php

You can also see an updated folder of still images from the Great Lakes Project The Sweetwater Seas on my website at  http://www.mackphoto.com/Creative/greatlakes.php

And see the trailer for The Sweetwater Seas on my website under the Video tab: http://www.mackphoto.com/Creative/video-Sweetwater_Seas.php

Enjoy!

Richard

Changes in the Great Lakes Water Levels

October 17, 2014
Great Lakes ProjectLake MichiganLighthouse BeachRichard Mack PhotographyThe Sweetwater SeasThe Sweetwater Seas
Lighthouse Beach Moonrise, Lake Michigan
November 2012

Over the last few years if you live along Lake Michigan or Lake Huron you’ve probably noticed a big swing in the water levels and therefore the size of the beaches. Why both of these lakes? They are the same body of water only separated by the Mackinaw Straights. And while the other lakes have also been higher than they have been since 1998 they are at different elevations from Lake Michigan and Huron.

Here is a graphic view of the changes in Lake Michigan & Huron’s water level as see at Lighthouse Beach in Evanston, Illinois. These lakes have reached their highest levels since 1998 but are still 3” lower than the average in August. In the past year and a half the lakes have gone from their low level in January 2013 to the high level in August. These images show a pretty good range in the levels using the old pier as the visual barometer.

October 2014
October 2014

As I have shot at this pier since 2003 as part of my personal work and more often as part of the Great Lakes Project The Sweetwater Seas, I have been interested in the ebb and flow of the water levels and the amount of beach I could see. As you can see there was a difference from the low in November 2012 and May 2013 (around the lowest period) where the sand stretched out about 20 feet more. The images also show you the way the water covers or doesn’t cover the old piers pilings as well. In nature nothing stays the same for very long.

Why has there been so much fluctuation? Because over the past 18 months we had a winter where close to 95% of all the surfaces on the Great Lakes were frozen over. Therefore the evaporation could not take place over the winter. And as we all know, this summer has been cooler and wetter than average. Making for a net gain in the amount of water in the Great Lakes Watershed.

Lake Michigan Water Levels

Enjoy,

Richard

The statistics came from the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

All Images ©2014 Richard Mack.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

June 21, 2014
Fine Art PrintsGreat Lakes ProjectLake MichiganNational ParksPhotographyQuiet Light PublishingRichard MackRichard Mack PhotographyRichard Mack's BlogSleeping Bear DunesThe Sweetwater Seas

Last week I had the pleasure of working in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with George Elder as part of our Great Lakes Project The Sweetwater Seas a documentary on all five of the Great Lakes and their beauty and environmental issues and how we use these lakes.

We went to Sleeping Bear because it is not one of the most beautiful places on the Great Lakes it is one of two dunes which lay on bedrock so they have become tall and do not naturally sink back into the lakes. The other is the Au Sable Dunes on Lake Superior. We also went to shoot the story about of the US Fish & Wildlife and National Park Service has worked together to bring the Piping Plover back from near extinction to a growing group of birds. These tiny shorebirds nest right on the beach and continue to come back to the same areas they were born in. At one time they were down to about 7 pairs and are currently up to around 70 pairs. We were fortunate to have Vince Cavalieri and Sue Jennings work with us. While we thought we might be able to see some parents sitting on their eggs they had all hatched the few days before we got there. But we were able to photograph and videotape hatchlings only a few days old along with their parents running along the beach. They are quick little birds so it took a lot to keep them in the frame! Especially as I was using a Canon 500mm lens, sometimes with a 2x convertor to make it 1000mm!

The dunes themselves gave us a look at the beauty found in Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Sunsets along the north shore of Michigan were stunning with clouds and fog giving us stunning views and clouds to capture on film and a background to show how people enjoy these places.

To see more of the still images I shot you can use this link: www.mackphoto.com/BlogImages/SleepingBear Fine Art Prints will be available soon in the Quiet Light Publishing shop!

Cheers,

Richard