Sunshine

Sunshine, photo by tiny al

Crocuses are pretty much the distilled essence of Spring for me. What says “spring” to you?

Check this out bigger and in Al’s Flowers slideshow.

More flowers on Michigan in Pictures.

Michigan Wine Month: Vineyards and the Bay

Vineyards and the Bay, photo by mono1980.

Although the vineyards don’t look like this right now, April is Michigan Wine Month, a time to celebrate the vines & wines of Michigan. You can chekc out all kinds of Michigan wine information and events including the SUPER HUGE Michigan Wine Month Giveaway from Michigan By the Bottle!

Check this out bigger and in Josh’s Wine Tasting Traverse slideshow.

Check out the vineyard slideshow from the Absolute Michigan group and also vineyards on Michigan in Pictures!

1830s Sloop Discovered off Saugatuck

Stern of Mystery Ship, photo by Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates

Through Absolute Michigan we found out about a cool discovery off South Haven by Holland-based Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates in collaboration with nationally acclaimed author Clive Cussler and his sonar operator Ralph Wilbanks of the National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA).

MSRA’s historians have verified that the vessel’s construction and design is consistent with ships built in the 1820s and 1830s, making it perhaps one of the oldest vessels discovered in the southern basin of Lake Michigan. The vessel sits upright and is in surprisingly good condition considering it was built nearly 200 years ago. Exact identification will be difficult as these small, early sloops were rarely documented and most had wrecked or been scrapped before photography became available. MSRA will continue to research and explore the wreck during the 2011 season.

Underwater video of this new discovery will be shown at the annual “Mysteries and Histories Beneath the Inland Seas” evening event on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 7:00 pm at Holland’s historic Knickerbocker Theatre.

We have all the details (including a video and sonar showing the ship) on Absolute Michigan and you can learn about and register for the conference at the MSRA web site!

Check this photo out bigger and see it and a couple more in their slideshow.

Bullets & Torpedos, Seger & Sheen

Bob Seger 281, photo by John Rothwell and Fox Charlie Sheen, photo by Wade Bryant

Michigan had two superstar performances on Saturday.

By all accounts Bob Seger’s show in Grand Rapids was by far the more successful. You can click over to mLive for a review of show and highlights of Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band rocking Van Andel Arena that included a special guest performance by Kid Rock. Michigan-born Seger is on a nationwide tour that will come back home to finish May 17-21 with 3 shows at the Palace of Auburn Hills – details on his web site.

The second was Charlie Sheen’s My Violent Torpedo of Truth, which was violently panned by reviewers and the audience. Wade writes:

The show’s failure has been overblown by a lot of people and the media. My wife and I went out of curiosity. The tickets sold so quickly that within 2 minutes of them going on sale there were no adjacent seats available so we sat 13 rows apart. The crowd was mostly a young party audience. My wife figured they were expecting a big wild Charlie Sheen bash and that’s not what it was. Charlie came with good, if not slightly delusional intentions of gaining grassroots support for his strange ways. The people around me were quite respectful and seemed to enjoy the show. The people near my wife were booing, fighting and getting kicked out of the theater. It was an entertaining evening.

Wade has a shot from Sheen’s show that you can see bigger and you can check out several more shots of Bob Seger in Grand Rapids from John!

spirit of detroit redux

spirit of detroit redux | detroit, michigan, photo by s o u t h e n

Michigan in Pictures has more about the Spirit of Detroit by Marshall Fredericks and you can take a step inside the lobby of the Guardian Building.

You can see Ryan’s photo bigger, in his Detroit slideshow or purchase it right here!

jurrasic station

jurrasic station, photo by hardyc

You never know what you might find when urban exploring these days. More photographic fun today on Absolute Michigan.

Make sure to check this out big as a brontosaur and see some of Chris’s other work in his creative – modified slideshow!