Marquette Never Disappoints Me

Four pines, Presque Isle

I was away for a few days in Marquette, Michigan, where my daughter and daughter-in-law live.  It was a short visit, but still I managed to come away with some nice images that I am happy with.  Although I am not a native Michigander, I have lived here since 1981.  I grew up in the Adirondack region of New York, so the Upper Peninsula is very home-like to me, except that Lake Superior and Lake Michigan- Lake Huron surround much of the UP.  Also, much of the UP is pretty flat, and the old, granitic hills in the UP cannot compare with the Adirondacks.  However, it's the combined effect of the Great Lakes and the land that make the UP something wonderful, and Marquette sits at the edge of Lake Superior.  Presque Isle Park is a gem, offering fantastic views of the lake and the surrounding hills.   I never get tired of driving out to the park and doing photography.  No two days are alike.  I feel empowered by the beauty of nature there, alive, and invigorated, and yet, the grandeur can make me feel insignificant.    The drive back home to Ann Arbor is always somewhat melancholy, as I immediately miss being there.  I have been going to Marquette County  since the early 1980s, and the place has a hold on my heart.   Maybe one of these days Adrienne and I will move there and make it our home.  It's sure hard to say no.

the view from Marquette Mountain

morning clouds and waves at Presque Isle

Grainy as Knotty Pine

Back in June, I shot a LOT of film while at Photostock in Harbor Springs.  Usually I am pretty serious about the camera and film combinations, and Photostock often affords me the opportunity to try out some things in a serious way, and to also go off in the other direction--  as in shooting something that will probably completely suck, or be surprisingly amazing.   This time, I used a roll of Kodak Ektachrome 400 that expired in 1999, and was of uncertain provenance.  I shot it in my Lomo La Sardina, which of course, gave me little chance for a good exposure.  Slide film in a simple camera is usually asking for trouble. Expired high-ISO Ektachrome in a La Sardina is just pissing in the wind.

With low expectations, I opened the box of developed and mounted slides.  My fears were founded. The images were badly overexposed on film that had lost some latitude to begin with.  In bright sun, the camera is about 1/100th sec at f8.  So, it was already about 5 stops overexposed.  I finally scanned them in last night and opened the images in Paint Shop Pro.  Some post-processing to tame the highlights and bring out the details at least gave me something.  A little fine-tuning and I have some typical Lomo-esque shots -- which is what I guess I was asking for.  The grain is really something, I'll say.

Anyhow, I'll let the photos speak for themselves...