Photographing Lighthouses in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

LYH - CLT - GRR

Airports are some of my favorite places for photography. There’s so many interesting people, light, and architecture sometimes. This trip was no different. These are some of my favorites while flying from Lynchburg to Charlotte and then finally to Grand Rapids.

Once I got to Grand Rapids, Chase picked me up from the airport and we went straight to his favorite coffee shop, Madcap Coffee. That evening Chase and his wife had a wedding to attend so I had the evening to myself. I walked through the neighborhood to get myself dinner and snagged a few images along the way.

Point Betsie lighthouse - fishtown

I went to church with Chase and his wife in the morning and then afterwards, armed with only my Fuji X100VI, Chase and I hit the road for our first real travel day to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Our first stop was Point Betsie Lighthouse. We explored the area and I got my shoe soaked trying to get a stone to skip. Off to a great start. lol

After Point Betsie we checked out Fishtown and the surrounding marina. We had incredible light that evening but it was a bit hazy still from the Canadian wildfires.

north bar lake - empire bluffs - grand traverse lighthouse

After grabbing coffee this morning we headed for North Bar Lake and found a giant metal t-rex on the side of the road that was for sale for $85K. Kinda wild. We stopped of course, got some photos, and continued on to North Bar Lake which, after Chase ran after some seagulls we then made the hike up to the Empire Bluffs Overlook. It was a short hike but super pretty and still a bit hazy.

We grabbed lunch and then made our way to the Grand Traverse Lighthouse for the evening. It was one of my favorites but I wish we could have photographed it at sunset. We stayed until 5pm when the property closed and the sun was setting at 9:30pm. So, sunset photos weren’t really an option. Without sneaking onto the property at least. After getting our fill there we found another oddity. A giant statue of a woman named Olean. Yeah, I have no idea. lol That night we grabbed ice cream because you can’t go to Michigan and not get some ice cream.

charlevoix lighthouse - old mackinac point lighthouse - point iroquois lighthouse -

This day was packed. We hit Charlevoix Lighthouse in the pouring rain but not before checking out a super tiny chapel and a mushroom house. You heard me. We checked out the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Mackinac Bridge. The weather was pretty gray but we got a few images nevertheless.

We drove north from there to Point Iroquois Lighthouse which was hecka windy. Probably the windiest conditions I’ve ever shot in. After getting pelted by sand we went to the Soo Locks which was pretty cool! I had seen a much smaller version in upstate New York before.

Of course we needed a place to stay so naturally we got a room at the Super 8. The exterior was incredible. The interior smelled like a toilet. It was actually pretty rough. lol After getting settled into our room and then wanting to get the heck outta there quickly we walked across the street back to the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and got some of my favorite images of the trip. The sun finally peaked out and the light was oh so good.

Mackinac island

This was our last full day of exploration so we spent that time on Mackinac Island. There’s a video about that day coming soon to my YouTube channel but in the meantime here’s a peak at some of the images I took that day.

phabies concert - grand rapids art museum

This was my last day in Michigan before flying back home to Virginia. Some of Chase and his wife’s friends were playing a show outside of the Grand Rapids Art Museum which was super cool.