Stephen, It's quite well known throughout Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio - in fact, it's become a bit of a tourist Mecca in the past few years, and thus overcrowded. It's located on the Leelanau Peninsula, which corresponds to the "little finger" of the Michigan mitten. As you comment, it is a fabulously beautiful area. In fact, most of the eastern shore of Lake Michigan (or west side of Michigan) is sandy beach, dunes with grasses, river mouths, etc. Take a look at Mark's lighthouses to get an idea. The shores are littered with the wrecks of sailing ships of the mid-19th century, and which are constantly being uncovered, then covered again by the sands. Last fall, while hiking along the shore of the Nordhaus Wilderness Area south of Sleeping Bear, I came across the aft end of an old schooner, with the centerboard almost intact. I took a few shots, though the mid-day light was pretty grim. The eco-system of the dune areas, which is very fragile, is conducive to many kinds of plant and animal life, and is a great place for nature photography. Also, near Sleeping Bear is an old fishing town called Leland, and which spawned this interesting site:
http://www.lelandreport.com/ A lesser known area than Sleeping Bear is the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore area, which is all the more remarkable as it is just upwind of the Gary, Indiana steel mills. And a Nuclear plant. There are numerous State Parks and forest areas along the Michigan coastline, many are designated wilderness areas. Ditto the Upper Peninsula, which also has one of the largest Wildlife Refuges in the county. Sorry for the travelogue, but you've stumbled upon what I think is one of the most beautiful and photogenic areas anywhere. I expect Mark will say much the same. -----Original Message----- From: Stephen Moore [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: February 23, 2004 12:30 PM To: Pentax List Subject: OT: Sleeping Bear lakeshore While browsing a local remainder/closeout store (Ollie's) over the weekend, I came across a fascinating landscape photo book: _Views from the Sleeping Bear: Photographs of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore_, by Thomas Kachadurian. The ISBN is 1886947376; got it for four bucks as a remainder. What a spectacularly scenic (and apparently little-known) part of the USA! Knocked my socks off... The photographer used mostly Mamiya medium format with a 50mm lens, with a few shots on a Wista 4x5 and a Canon 35mm. He uses Velvia and occasionally is a bit heavy-ish on the polarizer -- which some here would find anathema -- But it serves the subject, and the photographer obviously loves the place. Mark Cassino (and other Upper-Midwestern PDMLers), do you know this place? Have you ever shot there? Best regards, Stephen Moore
