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

Happy Holidays!

December 25, 2014
GeneralLake Superiorphotography at night
Happy Holidays from Richard Mack Photography!

Happy Holidays from Richard Mack Photography!

Make the Holiday’s Happy!

December 12, 2014
BooksGalleryGreat Smoky Mountains Booknature photographyQuiet Light PublishingRichard MackRichard Mack PhotographySmoky Mountains BookThe Lewis & Clark Trail American LandscapesThe Lewis and Clark Trail American Landscapestravel

Need to get some late shopping done? Well how about ordering a signed copy of one of my books – great gifts! You can choose from my first book The Lewis & Clark Trail American Landscapes which chronicles the journey of the Corps of Discovery like you were with them. The images were done at the same time of year the expedition past by these places and words for the journals of Merriweather Lewis and William Clark alongside many of the images describing what you are seeing. There is also a Limited Edition version of the book which includes three fine art prints!

 

http://shop.quietlightpublishing.com/the-lewis-clark-american-landscapes/

L&C Book Shadow

You can also purchase my second book Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Thirty Years of American Landscapes which looks at parts of our most visited National Park from a perspective those in the park have said is the best they have seen. http://shop.quietlightpublishing.com/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-thirty-years-of-american-landscapes-by-richard-mack/

GSMNP Book Shadow

You can get autographed copies using the link to Quiet Light Publishing’s online shop. You can also purchase both books together at a specially priced savings. Prints, Note Cards and Folio’s of small fine art prints are also available!

GSMNP_Folio_color

Quiet Light Publishing online shop: http://shop.quietlightpublishing.com/

Happy Holiday’s!

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.