Fall On Campus: A Wider Angle

Fall On Campus: Guiding Lights

This is a continuation of the Fall On Campus series, using the same camera and film. Again, these pictures are a year old, and I feel that I've come a long way since I took these, and my pictures don't need nearly as much help in terms of straightening and cropping as these did.

Fall On Campus

Well, I'm a year late with these pictures. I took them last year, right about this time of year, but I never really managed to get them up on any site. I tried several themes in this roll, so I'll divide the posts up along those lines. All of these were taken with a Nikon N75 with a 28-80mm lens and Kodak 400 speed film.

October Break, Part II

Part of my time over October Break was spent next to a small lake. I'm used to slightly larger bodies of water, but it was nice to see it again. We had a fire going in the evening, and I hadn't realized how much I missed the smell of woodsmoke. As the sun set, I started playing with the longer shutter times on my A95, with the help of a small table top tripod. It was a whole new realm for me, but I think it turned out nicely.

October Break

We had a 4 day weekend this past weekend, which gave me an opportunity to play around with my digital camera, a Cannon A95, a little more. I'm mostly pleased, although I could have wished for a slightly steadier hand, and a little better lighting.

Fall in Indiana

Of all the seasons, fall is probably my favorite. I like the mix of bright, vibrant reds and oranges with the dull, fading greens, and the dusty browns. A little under a week ago, I looked out of my dorm window, and saw this tree, the first tree on campus to change color. Fall is easing it's way into our town, and the temperatures are finally dropping. I don't think I'm the only one breathing a sigh of relief.

Scenic Views

These are scenic views taken from various vantage points around the Alpena and Mackinaw area. Most of them have been my computer background at one time or another.

Around The Old Light

This is just a collection of things you can see around the property of the Old Presque Isle light. It's a fun place to spend a few hours if you ever get a chance.

A Closer Look

So far, I've been giving you a more general look at each of the sites, the big picture. However, I generally prefer to work on the scale of a few inches rather than a scale of a few hundred feet. These pictures are a little closer to that method.

The Big Mac, And Other Assorted Goodies

We also made a run up to the Mackinac Bridge, to take a few pictures, and get some fresh pasties. Pasties seem to be somewhat unique to Northern Michigan, so I'll give a brief explanation. Back in the 1800s and the early 1900s, when copper mining was still a large industry in the UP, the miners had to carry their lunch with them. Heating it in the cold, dark mines was mostly out of the question, and they couldn't lug around large lunch pails. The solution was a meal that was almost entirely self contained, called a pasty. It's a flaky, pastry shell wrapped around meat, potatoes, carrots, turnips, and a few other ingriedients, and baked. The miners would then stick it inside the front of their coveralls to keep it relatively warm and dry.

The Forty Mile Light

This is a light that we "discovered" this year. My mom and I were driving back from Mackinaw while my Dad was diving, and we saw the sign for this lighthouse. We dropped in to see it, and We were pleasantly surprised by the light, although it was a little more crowded than I would have liked. Aparently I look fairly professional when I carry my tripod and SLR, because I was asked a couple times to take people's pictures for them. I don't mind, it's just never happened before. I don't have many pictures for this lighthouse, mainly because there were a limited number of good views of the light, and because the remainder of the roll on my N75 has not been developed. These pictures are from my Cannon A95.

The New Presque Isle Light

The New Preque Isle light, completed in 1871, is a more imposing structure when compared to the Old Presque Isle light. It is certainly larger, and more ornate. However, I don't feel the same attachment to it as I do to the Old Light, despite the fact that I've visited it as often. It's certainly a photogenic light, and according to this site, the design has been copied at a number of different sites around the area. As with the Old Light, it's best to get to the site early in the morning, both to avoid other tourists, and to get the best lighting on the lighthouse. These pictures were taken with my Nikon N75, and using Kodak 800 speed film. Some of my later pictures on the same trip were shot using Fuji Film of the same speed, and the color clarity and overall sharpness are drastically increased. This is just one instance of this happening, but I'm going to be paying attention to that much more in the future.

The Old Presque Isle Light

This lighthouse was built in 1840, and saw service until around 1866, when an inspection revealed that the keeper's quarters were in such bad shape that they required a complete rebuild. Rather than rebuild the quarters, a new light was proposed in a different location with better visibility. When I used to visit this light as a young kid, the museum and light were kept by a large man with a big black bushy beard and his wife. I have several memories of the couple, and the man especially, and the museum. On one visit, the man let me operate a large brass and wood hand pumped fog horn.







Several years later, on one visit, we learned that the man had passed away, and his wife had an interesting story for us. Throughout their marriage, whenever the wife left the house after dark, her husband would leave the front light on in their house for her return. A few days after his funeral, his wife had to leave the house after dark to run some errands. When she returned home, there was a light burning at the top of the lighthouse. She quickly ran up the stairs of the lighthouse, but when she reached the top, there was no light on, and the bulb was cold. She went down the stairs, made sure the switch was off, and locked the door. The following day, she recieved a visit from the Coast Guard. The light coming on was a navigational hazard, as it could confuse boat captains, and cause a wreck. The Coast Guard men went up to the top of the light, and removed the lightbulb from the lamp. The following evening, the wife again went out after dark, to visit some friends who had offered to cook her dinner. When she came from dinner, she found a light burning at the top of the light again. Again, she ran up stairs, and found that not only was there no light on, there was no light bulb in the light. Puzzled, she walked downstairs, and closed and locked the door. The following day, the Coast Guard again visited her, and this time cut the power line running to the light house, and padlocked the door. That very same night, she was again invited to visit a friend's house for dinner. When she returned after dark, there was a light burning at the top of the light house for the third time. She knew the power was cut, and she knew the door was padlocked, but she walked to the door, and checked the lock. It was intact, and had not been tampered with. It was then that she remembered that her husband had promised her that whenever she returned to the house after dark, he would leave a light on for her.

This is the only ghost story that I really believe 100%, although there are hundreds in the Great Lakes that I don't rule out entirely. I think part of my belief comes from the fact that I knew both the husband and the wife, and that I've been visiting this light for almost my entire life. In any case, enjoy the pictures!





If you follow this link, you'll find a history of the old Light. Near the bottom of the page, it mentions the recent history of the light, including the couple I was talking about in the ghost story, although the story itself is not told.