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"Photostock 2008" - The 3rd Annual Northern Michigan Photographer's Gathering

OK... I know I shouldn't, but I'm getting way too excited about this. I'm driving up Thursday after work, so I'll see everybody Friday morning. I'm thinking that maybe I should put some wheels on my um... "camera case". (OK, it's a toolbox, but it's the most convenient way of transporting 3 MF set-ups and accessories. )

Cheers,
 
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Hello All!

Well I am getting pretty excited about next week. It is coming fast and final preparations are underway.

The schedule is now available for download HERE in PDF format. Both Smieglitz and I will be there Monday and Tuesday the 23rd and 24th for the wet plate workshop, so the gate will be open on Wednesday morning for those of you that will be arriving early.

If you've registered for the event, you will also be receiving the final newsletter sometime today. It too will have a link to the schedule so that you can make your plans accordingly.

One final thing is the planned trip to Mackinac Island that will take place on Thursday the 26th. I will be asking for an RSVP for this in the newsletter so that I have an idea of how many are interested. I was not able to get a group discount for any less than 20 people, so unfortunately we will have to pay the full price of $25.00 for a round trip boat ride. More about this in the newsletter.

If you would like to attend the gathering but have not registered, you can do so HERE.

If you're coming, have a safe drive and we'll see you there!

Bill

PS. Still 1 space available in the wet plate with Joe workshop if anyone is interested in making a full week of it.
 
If anyone needs to make lensboards or other accessories while in cross village, my dad's shop has every tool needed. Bring your lumber!
I'll be hitting the road late tonight to beat the desert heat. See you all there.
vinny
 
I'm really looking forward to the week. I'm not all that interested in the Mackinac Island myself and will be looking for more natural scenes. I'm in love with the UP and am thinking of heading there wednesday and maybe thursday and would be happy to do an informal trip with people, (being back in time for dinner at the legs inn on wed.) I'll be working with a couple of cirkuts, maybe a alvista if I can get some film cut and spooled, my roundshots,and a 5x7 home portrait graflex. Anybody who wants to know more about cirkuts can let me know and maybe we can do some shooting together, and I'll go over the process.
Jamie Young
 

Jamie: I am going up to Grand Marais on the east end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Sunday night/Monday morning, and staying up there until Wednesday when I plan to head down to Bill's On the way back I want to explore around Seney NWR a bit. If you're in the area give me a call at 616-836-6570 and maybe we can meet up somewhere. Although cell phone service is pretty spotty in the UP. John Powers and Cody Gross were thinking about being in that area as well.
Dan
 
FirePhoto said:
I am going up to Grand Marais on the east end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Sunday night/Monday morning...
Click to expand...
Dan, Be sure to go west into the park. Sable Falls is nearby as well as the Log Slide. Futher west Twelve Mile Beach and Hurricane River campgrounds offer good access to shoreline. If you're in a hiking mood, go even further west and take the trail in to Mosquito River Beach, or better yet... do the trail that takes you into Chapel Beach, then follow the shoreline on top of the cliffs around Grand Portage Point. Then west to Mosquito and back out. I've done it in a good, full day trip and it is not too bad... 7-10 miles.

Awesome.

Have a great time and watch your step up on those cliffs!
 
FWIW, I'll have the (there was a url link here which no longer exists). I get just one shot with it. Hopefully, we'll have a group shot session. I almost feel like Jim Brandenburg doing his one-shot-per-day project, only, this is a one-shot-in-5-days project. My first vacation in 2 years. I don't need this kind of pressure.

Marc
 
FirePhoto said:
Jamie: maybe we can meet up somewhere. Although cell phone service is pretty spotty in the UP. John Powers and Cody Gross were thinking about being in that area as well.
Dan
Click to expand...

Update, unfortunately Cody's employer thought he would be more useful in Dallas the whole week.

I am game for Wed and/or Thurs, but as mentioned in the PM I am limited by age and 7x17 camera weight to 50 yards from the car or 2 miles using the baby jogger on hard trails. Sand and stairs are a show stopper. I gather there is a lot of both out there.

John Powers
 
I'm hoping to do two days in the UP, and can do one with car shooting, and another with some hiking. Seney NWR has some good car spots and a road near Tahquamenon Falls also has some views I would like to check out. The falls has some potential as well
 


That is good. I'll just do the car shooting day. Wed or Thurs is fine. I can go back to O'Neal Lake the other day, see what has changed from last year and possibly take any new folks who want to check it out.

http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/miners.shtml Miner's Falls looked interesting. Not only does it look great in this picture but there is a hard surface, 6/10th of a mile, trail to this view. The page has links to other falls in the area. The problem is that if you go to that spot your picture looks like every one else's shot of Miner's Falls.

Anyone who is going to be there Wed or Thursday and not going to Mackinaw Island chime in if you are interested.

John Powers
 

Bill: my main interest up there are the shipwreck bones, the stranded pier, and I just learned about Kingston Plains, which I certainly intend to check out. Thanks for the heads up on the other places, I'll look at some of them as well. See you Wednesday afternoon.
Dan
 
I'm looking to trek up to the UP at least 1 day. It's a tough choice because the activities sound fantastic. I'm sure I can coordinate with people once we all get there. I have a jeep cherokee which will carry 5 people and plenty of equipment, or I can ride and chip in gas money. I'm definitely in for Mackinac Island on Thurs so Thurs I can't really get my UP on, Fri or Sat I'm game.
 
jp80874 said:
Miner's Falls looked interesting. Not only does it look great in this picture but there is a hard surface, 6/10th of a mile, trail to this view.
Click to expand...
Hi John, Miner's are a great falls, but be warned they are in a tight spot and don't get the best light much of the day. You can see this in the photo at the link you posted. Not that they aren't worth it, but that view you see is about the only one you'll get. There are a lot of falls in the area though. Munising Falls are very nice as well, but there is now a boardwalk that goes around the back that is hard to get out of your shot. For those of you going to Munising, consider the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour. Spectacular.
 

Dan,

One of my favorite UP haunts is the Kingston Plains. It's kinda spooky with all sorts of tree stumps in circles and crunchy lichen all over the place. If you head through it north, there is (was) a nice white birch forest up around 12 Mile Beach IIRC.

I'd like to check out the area that was subjected to the large fire west of Tahquamenon Falls last year.

I've never really travelled in the far eastern UP east of I-75. Anything worthwhile to see there?

I'm starting to pack the (there was a url link here which no longer exists) and will be heading north sometime Saturday. I may stay in Wilderness Park Saturday night so if you see the RV parked there (Michigan license plate "TINTYPE"), pop in and say hey.

Joe
 
John P
Miner's Falls, while it is not far to walk there are a lot of stairs and, if I remember right, you have posted having trouble with equipment on stairs. As Bill mentioned it is a tight spot to shoot with probably poor lighting conditions. Also, depending on the water flow etc. you may need a mist cover for your camera.

Pictured Rocks is one of my favorite places and I would be more than happy to help, guide, whatever.

See you all Wed. afternoon.
Jim
 
I also think Miners falls isn't the easiest place to shoot. Sand point has some interesting shoreline around the point going east. Miners beach is good too, but more crowded. The boat tour is great. Chapel beach is a hike with heavy equipment. Wide lenses work well here. The beach just past au sable light house going east is nice but a hike. I'm interested in seeing the area that was burned out last year as well, farther east.
 
smieglitz said:
I'd like to check out the area that was subjected to the large fire west of Tahquamenon Falls last year.
Click to expand...
I was through here several times last year and saw the fires. By the end of the season it had grown back so green that it almost looked as if nothing happened. It was a lot of marshland that burned and it seemed to recover quickly. Not at all the blackened landscape you would expect.
 
I spent a couple of early mornings and late evenings at Sand Point in Pictured Rocks Nat. Lakeshore near Munising last summer, with some members of the midwest LF group. As Jamie says, it's a very interesting area. I had a great time there last year, and made some successful prints from the trip. I'd love to go back there but it's kind of far from Bill's place, and since I'm coming up on Wednesday, it will probably have to wait for a later trip.

The beach near the Hurricane River campground that Bill mentioned is also very interesting, a very rocky shoreline. I'd like to go back there sometime.

For next week, I'm interested in excursions to the UP, such as the burned out area near Paradise. Whitefish Point, north of Paradise, is very nice at sunset (probably at sunrise, too, I haven't been there then). I haven't decided about Mackinac Island yet. I haven't explored the UP east of I75 - it's relatively close to Bill's place, does anyone have any comments about that area?

Mark
 
Thanks all for the warnings about Miner's Falls. My pick on the internet reminds me of my newly single hiking buddy who is meeting women on the internet for the first time. Nobody mentions the warts in their posts. What a surprise.

You who have been to the UP pick the location. My one trip to the UP was last gathering. Thanks Jim. Yes, anything further than 50 yards and I am pushing the 7x17 in a big wheeled baby jogger. Stairs, sand and rock trails bring me to a stop. The other wart of course is 68 years old.

John Powers
 
I went on a boat trip out of Munising to view Pictured Rocks two summers ago. Local advice was to take the tour in the evening, 5pm or later for better light on the cliff faces. I shot Pro 160s with 35mm rangefinders and 35, 40, and 75mm lenses handheld from the boat and had good luck. The 75 got my favorite shots. Sit starboard on the outbound trip if you can and port on the run back. You might have better luck getting a window seat on the lower level than a side seat on the upper deck. That would also help with steadier handheld shots on a windy day. My wife liked the results well enough to hang a few in her office and my mom asked for copies to paint from. For LFers, bring your speed graphic and use the wire finder frame.

I was advised by locals to stay away from the cruise out of Munising that views wrecks.

If you go up to Whitefish Point, some of the buildings are nice, but it can get very busy. Once you walk off to the west of the point along the beach a couple of hundred yards, you're essentially alone. There are lots of nice tree skeletons with large root systems washed up on that beach and a great variety of colors in the pebbles and rocks along the waterline.

Tahquamenon Falls was a bit crowded for my photographic taste. You have to work hard and be patient to shoot without human occupants.

Have fun. Wish I could be there.

Lee
 
From Weather.com for Bill's address, Harbor Springs, MI 49740

Tue Jun 24
Mostly Sunny
73° High
57°
20% Chance of rain

Wed Jun 25
AM Showers
74° High
59°
30% Chance of rain

Thu Jun 26
Mostly Cloudy
77° High
61°
10% Chance of rain

Fri Jun 27
Scattered T-Storms
75° High
59°
40% Chance of rain

Sat Jun 28
T-Showers
71° High
56°
40% Chance of rain

Sun Jun 29
Mostly Sunny
71° High
59°
10% Chance of rain

John Powers
 
jp80874 said:
From Weather.com for Bill's address, Harbor Springs, MI 49740
Click to expand...
Well, it was a beautiful, foggy morning and is now lifting to blue skies. The thrush are singing away and we're ready to roll. Workshop starts in an hour... we'll warm the place up for everyone!

See you ... here!
 
Just got back from a week in the Outer Banks, NC, and to now have this to look forward to - WOW!

See you all on Wednesday morning! Me and Andy Moxom are driving over Tuesday night, starting from Minneapolis at midnight.

- Thomas
 
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