This past weekend I took a trip with my grandpa out west to take photos of the beautiful lighthouses strewn across Lake Michigan’s shore. This trip has been an idea for awhile, ever since snow started to fall back in October. We've been checking in on the lighthouse cameras to see if they were frozen over every so often. And as soon as ice began to form on the shores we started getting ready. We ended up leaving around 9 AM on Saturday (we were running late because I took a long shower) and drove for 3 hours to our first location;
Muskegon Pierhead Lighthouses
ISO 100 175mm f/8.0 1/320sec Canon 5D MK III
Of course, I've lived in Michigan my whole life, so the cold doesnt really bother me. But with the wind blowing in from the frigid shores of Lake Michigan it was hard to ignore the temperature. The stunning scene somewhat distracted me from the cold. Really my photos don't capture the full beauty of the shore, the gently lapping waves and birds soaring overhead is lost through my lens. But even still I'm delighted with my photos from this pier.
ISO 500 265mm f/18 1/250sec Canon 5D MK III w/ 1.4X & PL Filter
I debated editing out the people walking along the pier for this photo, I decided against it. The main reason being my personal reluctance to use generative AI in my photography. I feel it diminishes the value of my art. Also, there is a certain charm to the people along the pier gawking at the lighthouse, reaching out to touch it and admiring its beauty. After about an hour of shooting in Muskegon we decided to get lunch and quickly drive to our second location so we could make it to Holland for sunset.
Grand Haven Lighthouses
ISO 800 280mm f/13 1/400sec Canon 5D MK III w/ PL
The lake at Grand Haven was extremely frozen over, hills of ice were flowing beyond the horizon and piled high along the shore. In fact, I couldn't tell where the beach ended and where the ice began. Well, except for the ice that was gently waving beneath my feet. I heard creaking as I was walking and looked out to see that the patch of ice I was walking along was splitting into smaller fragments as the lake slowly rippled the ice. Walking out there was worth it though, the photo above was taken from the furthest point that I walked; the edge of where ice met the vast water of Lake Michigan.
ISO 800 185mm f/9.0 1/640sec Canon 5D MK III w/ PL
Holland, Big Red
ISO 1250 120mm f/8.0 1/50sec Canon 5D MK III w/ Tripod
This photo of Big Red is my favorite from the whole trip, and possibly the most technically difficult photo I took. This photo was taken at sunrise, so I had very little light to work with in order to properly expose the photo. I had to make up for this small amount of light by putting my camera on a tripod to stabilize the image, allowing me to use a lower shutter speed than I normally would be able to hand holding. The beautiful sky in this image is mostly the effect of editing, in reality the sky had a hint of purple in a sea of gray. But when I imported the image into lightroom and started messing with color values the purple began to show itself. Eventually I decided to fully lean into the purple sunrise, using masking to dramatize the sky’s color.
ISO 800 85mm f/7.1 1/200sec Canon 5D MK III
Even though we made it to Holland for sunset, we stayed the night and the photos I took of Big Red during sunrise were much stronger. During sunset the sun was laying directly behind the lighthouse, creating a silhouette effect with Big Red against the bright sky. Meanwhile, sunrise is the complete opposite, casting a flattering warm light on the left side of Big Red that highlights the gorgeous architecture and strong reds in its wood. After an hour and a half of shooting in -5° weather, I was ready to get in a warm car and drive to our next lighthouse;
South Haven Lighthouse
ISO 400 190mm f/22 1/320sec Canon 5D MK III w/ PL
I had planned to walk the pier to get a close shot of the icicles along the lighthouse’s gallery deck, but a kind old lady warned me that there was a $1000 fine for walking the pier. Sure enough, as I approached the pier police tape blocked my entry and a sign was hastily laid in the snow. As I was leaving I warned a young couple about the fine. Only 2 minutes later I turned back to see them walking down the pier. I somewhat regret not going down the pier for the shot, but also I'm pretty sure I saw a coast guard truck enter the parking lot so it was probably the right decision. Either way, the photos that I got of the lighthouse turned out very well. I probably spent the least time at this lighthouse, only shooting for 45 minutes to an hour before leaving for our final lighthouses.
St. Joseph Lighthouses
ISO 400 70mm f20 1/640sec Canon 5D MK III
St. Joseph was the final pier that we hit along our trip. As you can see these lighthouses by far were the most frozen. The lake was also frozen over much more than any other location, nearly reaching the end of the pier, and often inching over the top of the pier in height. I just love the way that the icicles are dripping down from the coords leading up to the lighthouse. Sadly I missed the moment that a flock of birds fluttered up behind the lighthouse, but I still love these photos.
ISO 400 160mm f18 1/640sec Canon 5D MK III
If some of the photos interest you, and you would like to support me as an artist consider looking through my gallery of this trip under the "events" tab. High resolution digital copies with a collection of aspect ratios (2x3, 8x10, 16x9 [for computer wallpapers]) are available for $2 along with physical prints!