Ludington State Park

December 1, 2018
Aerial PhotographyCanonchanging lightDJI MavicdroneenvironmentEquipmenteveningGreat Lakes ProjectLake MichiganLake MichiganLandscapesnature photographyRichard Mack PhotographyRichard Mack's BlogseeingSunriseThe Sweetwater SeasThe Sweetwater Seaswater

Last September I rolled into Ludington State Park for a one-night stay on my way back from filming in Traverse City. I had never visited this park before, so I spent the evening walking the dunes and looking for images. To my surprise, while the campground was almost full, no one else was out wandering the dunes – much to my pleasure. Having the place to yourself gives you time to wander and take in the place and space you are in. It was interesting to find areas without any footprints in many places. It was a peaceful evening filled with images everywhere.

In the morning, while folks were still not out on the dunes yet, I flew a drone over the area before heading back home. Enjoy.

Cheers,
Richard

Line 5 Flotilla Protest

September 25, 2018
Aerial PhotographyCanonDJI MavicdroneenvironmentEquipmentGreat Lakes ProjectLake HuronLake MichiganLine 5Richard MackRichard Mack PhotographyRichard Mack's BlogThe Sweetwater SeasThe Sweetwater Seaswater

Line 5 Flotilla Protest from Richard Mack Photography, Ltd on Vimeo.

On September 1, 2018 I was up in Mackinaw City, Michigan for the Flotilla Protest to shut down Line 5, a 65-year-old oil pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac. And that is what The Flotilla – a protest by the Tribes of northern Michigan to promote the issues surrounding Line 5 was all about. Keeping our waters safe. It started with a blessing of the waters and then the flotilla protest with Native American’s and others joining in to show their support for shutting Line 5 down. It was organized by all the tribal leaders, tribal nations, and water warriors across the Great Lakes region in the 4th Paddle Out Protest to decommission Line 5. Especially the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.

Why you may ask should it be shut down? Line 5 is owned by Enbridge, a Canadian company, which is the 3rd largest pipeline company in the world. In fact, they have several pipelines which go around the Great Lakes, instead of Line 5, which is the only pipeline which goes through the waters of the Great Lakes. And at 65 years old we know it is not in good shape – we’ve seen it. It was laid on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac in 1953. Now the coatings are decaying, the currents have shifted the sands beneath the pipeline leaving gaps unsupported for 300 feet. The law says they should be every 75 feet. They have already put in 147 supports and need another 48. The currents are stronger that the flow of water over Niagara Falls. Enbridge also pushes 50% more oil through the line than it was originally designed for. It is not a question if it will break, it is when – before or after a rupture of the line? With 500,000 gallons of oil flowing every hour through the line it will within hours destroy the waters of both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It is time to shut it down!

It was great to see the support. The issue of Line 5 is a part of the documentary we are working on The Sweetwater Seas – North America’s Great Lakes. The rain held off during the event and it was great to be able to be there.

Enjoy,

Richard

#WaterIsLife #shutdownline5 #thesweetwaterseas #greatlakes #lakemichigan #lakehuron

Ludington State Park

September 13, 2018
CanonDJI MavicdroneenvironmentGreat Lakes ProjectLake MichiganLake MichiganLandscapesRichard MackRichard Mack PhotographyThe Sweetwater SeasThe Sweetwater Seas

Ludington State Park from Richard Mack Photography, Ltd on Vimeo.

Last Thursday I rolled into Ludington State Park for a one-night stay on my way back from filming in Traverse City. I had never visited this park before, so I spent the evening walking the dunes and looking for images. To my surprise, while the campground was almost full, no one else was out wandering the dunes – much to my pleasure. Having the place to yourself gives you time to wander and take in the place and space you are in. It was interesting to find areas without any footprints in many places. It was a peaceful evening filled with images everywhere.

In the morning, while folks were still not out on the dunes yet, I flew a drone over the area before heading back home.

#thesweetwaterseas #GreatLakes #LakeMichigan #LudingtonStatePark #MichiganDNR #DJIMavic #Canon

The Sweetwater Seas Fine Art Posters

May 9, 2018
Black & White PhotographsCanadaenvironmentFine Art Printsfineart printsGalleryGreat Lakes ProjectLake MichiganLake MichiganLake SuperiorLighthouse BeachLighthouse Beach PierNational Parksnational parksnature photographyPrintsProvincial ParksRichard MackRichard Mack PhotographyRichard Mack's BlogThe Sweetwater SeasThe Sweetwater SeasThe Sweetwater Seaswaterwater

I am proud to be partnering with Quiet Light Publishing and The Sweetwater Seas documentary team to offer these Fine Art Posters from our film on all five of the Great Lakes. We currently have 24 Fine Art Posters for sale on the Quiet Light Publishing storefront. They are available in two sizes – 24″x36″ and 20″x24″. Each is printed on Fine Art Archival paper to our exacting standards. You can see and purchase any of them using this link: The Sweetwater Seas Fine Art Posters.