My Favorite Places: The Huron River

Just outside of Ann Arbor is a stretch of the Huron River that captivates me every time I visit. With regular seasonal changes and water level fluctuations it is always an amazing area to photograph. There are three parks that I visit with regularity when I explore this area; Hudson Mills, Dexter-Huron, and my favorite Delhi Metropark. It is in large part because of these parks that the Huron River is one of My Favorite Places.

Hudson Mills Metropark is easy to access and lies just nine miles to the west of US 23 via N. Territorial Road. There is plenty to do at this 1,500 acre park including hiking, biking and disc golf but that's of course not why I go! When I enter the park I immediately head to the bank of the Huron River and grab the camera. There is very easy access to the Huron River by simply heading west on the service drive and taking another right turn to a small parking lot near the shore of the river. Large boulders and beautiful surrounding forest make photographing this part of the Huron River quite enjoyable. While it is a very popular park I seldom run into many people in this area of the park.

From Hudson Mills I generally head to Dexter-Huron Metropark which is only 6 miles via Huron River Drive. At 122 acres this park is substantially smaller than Hudson Mills and of the three parks Dexter-Huron is the one that I visit the least. It is a nice park and there are some good hikes and views to be had but I just always seem to come out with fewer quality images versus the other two parks. Besides creating photographs, this park offers a couple good hiking trails and from what I hear some decent fly fishing!! If you're photographing this area, and you have some extra time, definitely stop by this park to create some photos!

Just three miles from Dexter-Huron Metropark is my favorite of these three parks, Delhi Metropark. It is by far the smallest of these parks at just 53 acres in size. Though small in land size it makes up for it in photographic opportunity. When you arrive at this park, again from beautiful Huron River Drive, you will cross the unique one-way Delhi Bridge over the river. As you're crossing the bridge take a quick glance to your right and you will see why this park is an incredible place to photograph. It is just north of this bridge that the beautiful Huron River hits some rapids. Yes, they're subtle compared to some rivers in the U.P. but when the water level is just right they are simply fantastic to view and fantastic to photograph. If you ever decide to photograph this part of the river you have to do yourself the favor of shooting from both sides. That means that you'll want to walk across the bridge and head down into the forest along the banks of the river(again north of the bridge) where you can find a small trail that leads you along the river. Take your time and watch the light because it reflects beautifully off the river. 

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The beautiful Huron River flows just north of the Delhi Bridge.

The Best Day Of My Photographic Life

Fall at Presque Isle River. Porcupine Mountains State Park. October 2014.

Fall at Presque Isle River. Porcupine Mountains State Park. October 2014.

Photographers have good days and bad days, just like everyone else. We also have great days and terrible days. The terrible days make us want to throw our equipment off the Mighty Mac and never click the shutter again. No photographer(as far as I know) has ever done this and that's because the highs we get from the great days hugely outweigh the lows from the terrible days. A few months ago I had the best photographic day of my life! This one day will keep me from ever tossing my equipment off that bridge!

When my desire to photograph came back with a vengeance a few years ago I knew eventually I would want to get back to the Upper Peninsula and create some images. I put it off for a while deciding to "re-hone" my skills closer to home first. I ventured to the U.P. a few years ago and fell in love with the abundance of beautiful scenery. That was 2006 and was so long ago that I was still using a film camera(actually I switched to digital shortly after that trip as the lab I was using lost 4 of my 12 rolls of film from that trip). I went back again in 2008 and found it just as amazing! Anyway, a trip to the U.P. was long overdo. 

South Boundary Road. Porcupine Mountains State Park.

South Boundary Road. Porcupine Mountains State Park.

So I started planning. I decided mid October might be a good time to go. There would hopefully still be some fall color and the tourists would hopefully have thinned out by then. I booked my hotel(s), started checking the maps and anxiously awaited for the day to arrive. Finally, departure day - October 15th. I would spend this day on the road traveling 10+ hours to get to the Porcupine Mountains, spend one day there and then travel to Marquette. The travel day started off great with dry roads and blue skies with the occasional white puffy cloud. But as I traveled farther north the blue sky gave way to overcast, misty weather. It would remain this way for the rest of the travel day. I finally arrived in the Porkies in the middle of the night(I was delayed by scenic overlooks and pasties). I went right to bed and hoped that when I awoke in the morning the weather would be a little nicer. My alarm went off around 5:45 in the morning and I was so excited that I didn't even hit the snooze button! I grabbed a cup of joe and headed to South Boundary Road(a beautiful site by itself) which would lead me deeper into the Porcupine Mountains and eventually take me to the Presque Isle Scenic Site. Being as early as it was the sun was not up when I headed out but as it got lighter I could tell that the gray, misty skies had cleared and it looked like I was in for some good lighting conditions. 

“I was seeing photographs before even framing them in the camera’s viewfinder, my head was clearer than at any other point in my life that I could remember and I seemingly floated along the river’s edge for a couple hours going scene to scene and clicking the shutter. ”
Sun shines through the forest at Presque Isle Scenic Site.

Sun shines through the forest at Presque Isle Scenic Site.

When I finally arrived and started the short trek to the river's edge I was certainly not disappointed. The light was great, the river was gorgeous and the October temperature wasn't even that bad. After a few clicks of the shutter I knew it was going to be a good day! I had a feeling come over me that I've had from time to time when shooting in the past but this was stronger. I was seeing photographs before even framing them in the camera's viewfinder, my head was clearer than at any other point in my life that I could remember and I seemingly floated along the river's edge for a couple hours going scene to scene and clicking the shutter. I felt like with every click I was creating a fantastic photograph. I was hoping, unrealistically obviously, that this wouldn't end. Finally and sadly, the sun rose to a point where the light was no longer great for photographing. My U.P. high was wearing off and I was coming back to reality. I got back in the car and travelled to the next destination I had pinned on my map. I would travel to L'Anse to see Canyon Falls and Powerhouse Falls and eventually head to Marquette for the 2nd night's stay. Powerhouse Falls and the Falls River didn't make my "high" return but it was a beautiful and unique place nonetheless. The weather, at this point, was starting to turn again into that gray misty mess I was hoping wouldn't return. It let up just enough when I arrived at Canyon Falls to allow me to photograph for about an hour before the skies started getting too dark to photograph any longer. My day, sadly, had come to an end. But boy what a day it was! The weather turned so bad the next day that I headed home early but there was no way I could be disappointed. I had the best photographic day* of my life just 24 hours prior!

 

*all images in this post, including the slideshow below, are from October 16th, 2014 - the best day of my photographic life.

All images from this post can be found in "Color Imaging" Gallery at www.outdoorimaging.net

There is now a special 4 pack of notecards available on the "Specials" Page at www.outdoorimaging.net containing 4 of my favorite images from this trip.

There is now a special 4 pack of notecards available on the "Specials" Page at www.outdoorimaging.net containing 4 of my favorite images from this trip.

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Source: www.outdoorimaging.net/blog