Joel Dinda's photos with the keyword: leelanau

I've been playing with DxO's OpticsPro photo processing software all afternoon. Thought I'd share a few examples. Another photo from the same vacation, again testing the OpticsPro's ClearView feature. It seems to work, even on a JPG original.

Since we couldn't walk the beaches, we visited wineries. Probably the weekend's highlight was a visit with Andy McFarlane , who contributed two of these....

This photo shows the old Grand Traverse Light--it's peeking through the trees on the left--and the ugly steel construction which made it obsolete in 1972. Leelanau State Park includes these lights and a nearby campground; several miles away the park has a small wilderness area we can also recommend. There's a good museum in the lighthouse, and there's often a variety of birds in the trees.

The "official" trail from the Pyramid Point trailhead is a bit under three miles and includes a side-path to the top of the bluff; that's where yesterday's photo was taken. Further down the trail we found this alternative route up the back of the dune; quite steep, and perhaps a hundred foot climb. Takes you to a different point on the bluff, and a view of Good Harbor Bay. Besides the steep path, this particular spot is delightful because it plainly demonstrates that dunes are impermanent, as the hill atop Pyramid Point is obviously migrating, and taking a bite out of the woods behind the sandpile.

Suttons Bay, Michigan.

Artists, tourists, Native Americans, fruit farmers, and a few really rich folks. This row of storefronts is probably my favorite place to spend an afternoon shopping. Used to be that Suttons Bay largely closed up shop on Labor Day, and was pretty much deserted until spring. It's now active through the winter. Likely that says something about the Traverse Bay area's changing demographics.

Light and shadows on the trail. What we did for Joan's birthday....

Lake Michigan, right at the tip of Michigan's "little finger" (or just south of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse).