For those who want to see/photograph along the Lake Michigan shore during the GR event.
St Joe & South Haven
Within a reasonable drive of Holland if you wnat to base there are St Joe and South Haven to the South. St Joe is about 50 miles south of Holland. You can photograph from both the park to the south of the river as well as Tiscornia park on the north. Getting to the park on the south is a bit easier than getting to Tiscornia park. The sun is setting pretty much off the end of the pier this week when you're standing on the north pier. The shot posted below was taken last week from the south pier.
South Haven can be photographed from about three different locations. The beach to the south, the pier to the north, or up on the bluff with a longer telephoto. The shot of the wave below was taken from up on the bluff.
Holland
Big Red in Holland can easily be photographed from the state park on the north side of the channel but getting to the south shore to photograph can be a major pain courtesy of the local residents who think the lighthouse is their's exclusively. The view from the south at dawn can be spectacular and is worth what can be an appreciable walk if you can't get to the lighthouse parking spaces provided by the DNR (this is courtesy of the gated guardhouse courtesy of the residents who don't want you there.)
Grand Haven
Going north you get to photograph Grand Haven easily from both the south and north. This time of year, at sunset, shooting from the south is the better choice due to the angle of the sun when it sets. GH is an easy drive from GR.
The shot below was taken from the South Beach in September.
Muskegon and White River
Going further north you get the two lights at Muskegon then White River. From Holland to Muskegon is about 35 miles. If memory serves, White River is probably 15-20 min north of Muskegon depending on how fast you drive.
Little Sable
Little Sable, which will be opened for climbing for the first time this year, is a healthy ride further up the coast. Probably 30 min on US 31 and another 15-20 min on side roads getting out to the lighthouse from US 31. For those not familiar with the area the Michigan Gazetteer if you can copy the appropriate pages is worth having handy when you're driving to the lights. I'll try to remember to bring mine along if folks want to xerox appropriate pages.
The shot of Little Sable was taken from the beach to the south of hte lighthouse looking north. Good silhouette shots can be had at sunset from the parking lot.
Luddington and Big Sable
The pier light at Luddington is about 60 miles or an hour north of Holland. After you get beyond GH and Muskegon, the speed limit is 70 and a nice drive. The turn off to go out to Little Sable is at Shelby as you come up from the south or at Hart if you plan to stop on the way going back south. The Ludding pier light is easy to get to and to photograph. Big Sable is in the state park and is 1 1/2 miles of walking to get out to it. There is a road out to the lighthouse but it is only opened for the docents to get out to the lighthouse or by special arrangement.
The shot of Big Sable was taken in an ephemeral pool one day last fall on the walk out to the lighthouse. I made it with a 65# camera backpack and 12# tripod that I can't recommend...
For people wanting to photograph, there are a number of photos of each of these lights - with the exceptionof Muskegon, which I haven't gotten around to building a gallery for - on my website. The following link will take you directly to the gallery selection page - click the individual photos for the gallery for that light.
http://www.coastalbeacons.com/greatlakesgallery/michigan/michigan_mod_gallery.html Gary
