Saturday Night in Grand Haven

This past weekend, I took a short trip to the west coast of Michigan. There’s been more lake ice this year than last year, and this was my second trip north to photograph ice and lighthouses. With warmer days coming, I figured this might be my last chance to get some winter photos of some of my favorite places.

My first night was in South Haven, where a good sunset eluded me. I took a few photos, but they weren’t great and perhaps not worth sharing. The following day, we headed an hour north to Grand Haven. The day was mostly cloudy, and as I peered out the hotel window at the thick gray clouds, it didn’t look like much of a sunset was in the offing. However, it’s always best to set up and try, because you never know what will happen.

As we drove toward the lighthouse, I saw a thin band of clear sky below the cloud deck, and it was already turning orange from the setting sun. Arriving at the park around the lighthouse, I put on my ice spikes and walked out onto the ice shelf. A mass of thick ice about 10 feet thick provided a safe and stable place to set up. Ahead was some open water, floating ice, and an ice shelf attached to the pier. As the sun descended to the horizon, the sky exploded into a series of reds, pinks and purples with the dwindling sunlight lighting up the bottom of the clouds and scattering through the atmosphere. The relatively calm night allowed reflections of the lighthouse and fog house. Here’s the photo:

This was one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve seen in the last few years. It burned bright and very fast, and was gone in no time.

I’ve been remiss about posting lately. Since my last post, I’ve been to California twice, as well as twice to Michigan. As much as I love taking photos, I don’t always like writing about the process, so my dedication to this blog wanes from time to time. In addition, I’ve shifted focus to more film photography, with mixed results — sometimes I don’t feel like the photos I have are worth sharing. At any rate, hopefully this post will be the beginning of more consistent postings!

Related posts:

Winter in Grand Haven Sunset Silhouettes in South Haven Winter Sunset in South Haven Winter in South Haven