Wait a Day...

If you know the Great Lakes, and many say any place, the weather can change on a moment’s notice. On February 13-14 this year here in Chicago we had a snowstorm that dropped 20” from the sky. Along with that we had winds coming out of the north and right down Lake Michigan which blew the ice into shore. I went down to the shoreline of Lake Michigan on the 17th to see the conditions of the lake, expecting ice up against the shoreline, yet it had already moved out about 2 miles offshore. Still we had the ice built up high along the shore and the open water behind it so I made both some still and video shots of the lake. The next day I went back to the same spots and because the winds had shifted yet again the ice had moved back into the shoreline right up to the pack ice. An interesting perspective on the changes which come within 24 hours along the Great Lakes. And below are a few of the still images made for the book on the Great Lakes.

Enjoy,

Richard

New Sweetwater Seas Fine Art Posters

Our partner for print sales Quiet Light Publishing added 11 new Fine Art Posters from artist Richard Mack this week to the collection The Sweetwater Seas in our shop. These poster are available in two sizes, 24″x36″ for $75.00 and 18″x24″ for $49.99 plus taxes and shipping. These are printed on fine art paper to the exacting standards of Richard and make great gifts for you or someone you know! There are over 30 Fine Art Poster in The Sweetwater Seas Collection.

Check them all out at Quiet Light Publishing shop.

Enjoy!

Lighthouse Beach Sunrise Time-lapse

Sometimes you realize you just need to go and do something. The other morning I awoke at 5am and realized it was time to get down to the beach and try out the Timelapse+ intervalometer on a night to day time-lapse and see if it worked. I’ve had this piece of equipment for awhile and had trouble getting it to connect witht my Canon 5D Mark IV. I tested it several times and it has been working so time to get out and try a real time-lapse! Besides it is November in Chicago and almost 60 degrees at 5am - clearly one of the last mornings to try it while still not freezing cold out there!

After getting the camera and equipment together I was on the beach just before 6am, slightly later than I wanted. I started the time-lapse and stood back and just watched the waves, clouds and sun while still below the horizon light up the sky. I also used the app The Photographers Ephemeris which helps you determine the angles of the sun, moon and stars for a particular location and date. I use it to double check where the sun will pop out on the horizon.

While the time-lapse is continuing for 56 minutes I walked a bit of the beach, used another camera to shoot some of the waves and different shots I saw, but mostly watched the sunrise and the serenity of the clouds and sun as it danced higher into the sky. Not a bad morning.

Hope you enjoy this 40 second time-lapse!

Cheers, Richard Mack

Grosse Point Lighthouse Documentary

While we are still filming and editing the documentary The Sweetwater Seas – North America’s Great Lakes, we were asked by the Lighthouse Park District in Evanston to produce a short introductory film about the Grosse Point Lighthouse.

Because we live in Evanston and grew up on Lighthouse Beach, we were delighted to take on this project and help people know this amazing National Landmark. In these times of Covid-19, the Grosse Point Lighthouse has been closed to visitors, as is the case with all lighthouses on the Great Lakes. This film will inform people about the history of the lighthouse, show you portions of its interior and aerial views that not even the visitors get to enjoy.

Don Terras, the Director of Lighthouse Park District, gives us a great history of why it was built at Grosse Point, what the lighthouse keepers did and more.

Because we are just one mile from the landmark, Grosse Point Lighthouse and its adjacent beach has been one of the locations we have used extensively for filming, from shooting the weather in every season, sunsets, moonrises and more, to testing equipment.

We hope you enjoy this short film about the Grosse Point Lighthouse.

Cheers,

Richard & John

Tahquamenon Falls State Park

While I have traveled far and wide to film the Great Lakes for our documentary The Sweetwater Seas: North America’s Great Lakes, I had not been to Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I’ve seen lot of great shots of the falls along with drone footage. When Mary and I decided to head somewhere in the Lance Camper RV we looked for a place neither of us had been and landed on Tahquamenon Falls!

The park is the second largest state park in Michigan, and most of the 50,000 acres are wilderness and not accessible. Which is great for the moose which have been reintroduced to the area, but not necessarily for seeing them! The hiking trails are very well kept, and the lower falls is accessible to wheelchairs. There is a 5-mile trail between the lower falls and upper falls. The lower falls are much smaller yet there are several as the water makes its way downstream to Lake Superior. We hiked the trail between the falls one afternoon for about a mile before rain and darkness turned us around. The trail down low by the river was muddy but once you moved upriver and on the bluffs it was dry and beautiful.

This short film gives you a good idea of the park, the falls and the wetland areas and lakes inside the park. As most photographers know, when travelling with others you may not linger in an area as long as you would have if travelling alone. I also only carried my iPhone for shots on some of the trails. Otherwise it was my Canon 5D Mark IV and a tripod. Now the one thing I failed to do when I went to the lower falls the first time I left the heavy neutral density filters in my big bag instead of putting them into the small bag I carry on the trail. A mistake I made so long exposures we not as long as I wanted. And while filming the Moon over the lower falls I shot the video in 4K with the 16mm lens to get the widest shot, but should have thought about shooting in HD as it widens the shot even more although not as good as in 4K. Next time I realize the shot needs the width of the 16mm as seen in stills I will shoot it both ways.

You learn a few things every time you go out and shoot no matter how long you’ve been doing it! Enjoy the video and still images! 

Peace, Richard

#thesweetwaterseas #puremichigan #tahquamenonfalls #greatlakes #lakesuperior #upperpeninsula #michigan #puremitten #waterfalls #canon5dIV #droneviews #mavicpro #visualambassadors #awesomeearth #freshwater #naturephotography #nature #michiganstateparks #rivers

In Honor of Earth Day's 50th Anniversary

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day here is short film about the Great Lakes. The challenges they faced 50 years ago and where they are today. Thank you to all who work on the issues facing the lakes!

We also wanted to honor those who have helped us while filming this documentary, these are the folks working on the issues facing the Great Lakes. We look forward to being able to get back out there and continuing the story of the Great Lakes!

And yes you can help us further this documentary by donating on our website below! 

#thesweetwaterseas #GreatLakes #freshwater #EarthDay #EarthDay50 #nature #documentary #environment  

Water Is Life - Our Nat Geo Wild to Inspire Entry

In January we entered this short film into the Nat Geo Wild to Inspire Short Film Festival. The requirements were that for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this year  it be about someone or something that inspires people about the environment. We could think of no one better than the one who inspired us when we first started filming the documentary The Sweetwater Seas, Frank Ettawageshik. The film had to be under 3 minutes – yes a very short film! Below is how we described the film.

“WATER IS LIFE”

(Nibi aawan bimaadziwin in Anishinaabemowin)

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, "Water Is Life" profiles Frank Ettawageshik, a former tribal chairman for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians and current executive director of the United Tribes of Michigan. Using imagery of the Great Lakes that Ettawageshik has spent a lifetime revering and protecting, "Water Is Life" calls viewers to follow his lead and become involved, and it ends with his faith that the youth of today are as willing and able as those who marched in April, 1970, to work tirelessly for the health and sustainability of our environment.

Winter Storm creates big waves on Lake Michigan

On Saturday January 11, 2020, the Midwest experienced a large winter storm system across the area which created unusually large waves of 15-25 feet in the southwestern portion of Lake Michigan. With the Great Lakes within inches of their highest levels in history it brought destruction to several areas, homes and businesses along the lakeshore. In the Chicago area, and in particular Evanston where I live, all seven beaches disappeared under these huge waves. Homes along the Chicago Northshore lost their beach fronts as well. Personally, I have never seen waves this high on Lake Michigan, at least on the western side. In this video, shot at Gilson Park in Wilmette, the dunes usually have 20-30 feet of beach between the shoreline and the dunes. The roots of the grasses were the only thing left in many places. The trees which used to stand a few feet from the edge of the dunes were now right at the edge and in danger of falling into the lake.

The sound of the waves was deafening, although the wind overtook our microphone no matter what we did to dampen its effect. The ground also had a vibration from the pounding of the waves.

At another beach just south of Gilson, Lighthouse Beach in Evanston, usually has 50-100 feet of sand which had been obliterated by the waves all the way up to the dunes at Lighthouse Beach. By the next day the storms had cleared and Lake Michigan had calmed down, returning the beach to its size before the storm.

Lighthouse Beach during storm January 11, 2020

Lighthouse Beach after the storm passes January 12, 2020

The size of the beaches everywhere in the Great Lakes have shrunk to their smallest sizes in the years since the lowest levels were recorded in 2013, just seven years ago. The lake levels do rise and fall over generations, but not this fast. The storms have also become bigger and more powerful in the last ten years – due to global warming and climate change. We will be covering the threats to the Great Lakes and the Midwest in our documentary.

Enjoy,

Richard Mack & John Manos

#thesweetwaterseas #GreatLakes #LakeMichigan #Storms #waves #weather #Illinois #nature #documentary

Grosse Point Lightstation

This short video is from a shoot we did early morning last week to fill in some footage for a section of The Sweetwater Seas - North America’s Great Lakes documentary. In this section we will talk about traveling around the Great Lakes, and as this footage captures, some of the lighthouses along the Great Lakes.

It was a cold morning after an unusual snowstorm on Halloween. The cold - around 25 degrees - and the early morning light made views of the top of the lighthouse very interesting with the frost on the glass. We also shot from the ground of the lighthouse and the waves. The sand was frozen already so our footsteps barely registered in the sand. The waves we beautiful in the morning light and we shot some slow motion clips of the waves as they rolled in.

Enjoy,

Richard Mack