A bit of history goes to the scrappers

While rubbernecking aboard a Soo Locks sightseeing boat today, I spotted on the shore an old favorite of rail buffs: the ancient railroad car ferry Arthur K. Atkinson.

Rather than sailing proudly across Lake Michigan with a load of 20 to 30 boxcars, however, the Atkinson has at last ended her days below the locks on the U.S. side of the St. Mary's River, where she is being scrapped.

The Atkinson, like her sisters, was built so that Midwestern railroads could bypass the yards in Chicago, heavily congested even at the turn of the 20th century. Instead of taking days and even weeks to snake their way around the southern tip of Lake Michigan, cars with time-sensitive loads could be sailed across the lake in four to seven hours.

The Atkinson was launched in 1916 as the Ann Arbor Railroad No. 6 (railroads at the time numbered their ships as they did their locomotives), 384 feet long and 3,241 tons displacement. In 1958 her steam power plant was replaced with diesel engines and No. 6 was renamed the Atkinson to honor an old president of the Wabash Railroad.

She continued sailing until 1982, when the labor-intensive effort to beat the Chicago bottleneck at last became too expensive, and car ferries quickly were laid up everywhere. For a brief time in the 1990s there were plans to resurrect the Atkinson as a casino ship, but they fell through.

Now only one Great Lakes railroad car ferry remains in service: the coal-fired 1950s-era Badger, converted decades ago to an automobile carrier, which still transports tourists between Ludington, Michigan, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in the summer.

So it goes.

The Atkinson's massive stern gate was lifted to allow railroad cars to be switched into her hold, and lowered to prevent following seas from flooding the ship.

All photos were taken with a Pentax K-5 and SMC Pentax-DA 55-300mm at varying shutter speeds and apertures. Click on the photos for larger versions.

Windmill Train

Ever seen a windmill train? We did for the first time yesterday during our automobile trip around Lake Superior. While driving along the Trans-Canadian Highway between Ripple and Coldwell, Ontario, we pulled into a wayside just above the Little Pic River Gorge, where the Canadian Pacific Ry. main line curves around a cliff just above Lake Superior and across a bridge below.

A young man listening to a scanner in a parked automobile waved and said, "The train's coming!"

It was, he said, carrying nineteen complete wind turbine assemblies from Colorado to Maine. "It's got to go the long way around to the north through Canada because clearances farther south in the U.S. are too tight for the long rotor blades," he added.

Naturally I unlimbered my camera and long lens and got ready.

Within minutes CP 8871 East rounded the curve, a General Electric ES44AC in the lead, and put on a show of one of the most unusual cargo loads I've ever seen.




















The train trundles across the Little Pic River bridge, bringing the round rotor hubs into view.















Long rotor blades and generator housings follow the rotor hubs.

There is enough play in the supports at both ends of each rotor to allow the cars to negotiate a curve.
 
















Several miles farther east, on the road at the entrance to Neys Provincial Park, we stopped for a closeup view of the train. Here come the rotor hubs on bulkhead flatcars.















Next come several flatcars bearing generator housings.

Each rotor blade spans most of two extra-long flatcars.

The photos at the Little Pic gorge were taken with a Pentax K20D and a SMC Pentax-DA 55-300mm, and those at the Neys Provincial Park with a Pentax K-5 and a Sigma DC 17-70mm at varying focal lengths and apertures.

Tinsmith's wares

TINSMITH'S WARES, FORT WILLIAM HISTORICAL PARK, THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, JUNE 23, 2011 

Pentax K-5
Sigma DC 17-70 at 34mm
1/125 sec. f11
ISO 3200

It took both a very high ISO and a small aperture to keep the subjects sharp throughout their field of view, but the camera-and-lens combination seemed to handle things well. The tinsmithy is one of the working exhibits at the 1815-era reproduction of Fort William, a tourist favorite in the southwestern Ontario area.

Rock of Ages Light

ROCK OF AGES LIGHT, ISLE ROYALE, MICHIGAN, JUNE 22, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 70mm
1/640 sec. f8
ISO 160

This turn-of-the-20th-century lighthouse, built on a rock three miles west of Isle Royale in Lake Superior, guards the western approaches to the island. I took the shot from a tour boat based in Grand Portage, Minn., that travels during the summer to Wendigo, a National Parks settlement on the western tip of Isle Royale.

Black Swan

BLACK SWAN (CYGNUS ATRATUS), LAKE SUPERIOR ZOO, DULUTH, MINNESOTA, JUNE 18, 2012

Pentax K20D
Sigma DC 17-70 at 70mm
1/1500 sec. f4.5
ISO 800

The black swan, a native of Australia, isn't just a movie role for Natalie Portman but also is a popular fixture in zoos and aviaries the world over. In Britain escaped swans have established breeding populations in the wild. Deborah Abbott captured this one at the Duluth Zoo. It's one of the few specimens there easily visible—and photographable—in the open. As far as we know, the swan survived the epic Duluth flood of June 18-19 that killed at least 14 animals at the zoo.

Snowy Owl

SNOWY OWL (BUBO SCANDIARUS), LAKE SUPERIOR ZOO, DULUTH, MICHIGAN, JUNE 18, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC-DA 55-300 at 210mm
1/750 sec. f5.8
ISO 1100

This may be the last photograph ever taken of the Snowy Owl at the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth. It was among 14 animals reported drowned in the massive flood that engulfed the city on the night of June 18-19. Reportedly two-thirds of the zoo, built in a valley and on a hillside next to a creek, was under water.

Eagle No. 3

BALD EAGLE, LAKE SUPERIOR ZOO, DULUTH, MINNESOTA, JUNE 18, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/750 sec. f5.8
ISO 3200

Getting a good closeup portrait of an eagle in the wild is a tough proposition, unless you've got either a 1,000-mm. telephoto or the patience of Job and the stalking skills of an Iroquois. Having none of those, I got this one shooting through wire mesh at an outdoor aviary at the zoo in Duluth. The result seems OK to me.

Wild Turkey

WILD TURKEY (MELEAGRIS GALLOPARO), LAKE SUPERIOR ZOO, DULUTH, MINNESOTA, JUNE 18, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/750 sec. f5.8
ISO 1600

It's hard to believe that a bird this ugly has a reputation, especially among hunters, for being smart and wily. A few years ago one of its number launched itself across a Michigan highway at my car, taking out the driver side mirror and turning into instant roadkill. I opened the lens to its maximum aperture at 300mm to blur the edges of the heavy wire mesh that separated me from the turkey at the Lake Superior zoo.

Grizzly

GRIZZLY (URSUS ARCTOS HORRIBILIS), LAKE SUPERIOR ZOO, DULUTH, MINNESOTA, JUNE 18, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 230mm
1/750 sec. f8
ISO 2200

Only ten feet separated me from this enormous grizzly when I snapped his portrait, but an inch of plate glass kept us honest. The celebrated Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth is old-fashioned, with bars and heavy wire mesh separating most of the wildlife from visitors and making photography difficult, but a little patience at some exhibits yields good results.

Small Postman

SMALL POSTMAN BUTTERFLY (HELICONIUS ERATO), CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, JUNE 15, 2012

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 200mm
1/350 sec. f8
ISO 400

The special "Butterflies and Blooms" exhibit at the Botanic Garden features more than 500 gorgeous insects, many rarely seen around Chicago, flitting about under a 2,800-square-foot white mesh tent. Many of them will alight on your hand or knee and hold steady for a little study. I used my eight-year-old but still very capable 6-megapixel early Pentax DSLR and kit zoom lens on this jaunt to one of my favorite places.

Flotilla in line astern

CANADA GEESE, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, JUNE 9, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/500 sec. f8
ISO 200

Another shot of a family of geese offshore on the Porkies' Union Bay, this time swimming in a line-astern formation like an 18th century squadron of frigates bracketed by ships of the line. I have no idea if geese actually arrange themselves this way against predators, but it's nice to think so.

Goslings No. 2

CANADA GOOSE AND GOSLINGS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, JUNE 7, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/1000 sec. f13
ISO 1600

I was driving along the road into the Porkies the other evening when I spotted this clutch of geese on the beach at Union Bay. It's always a good idea to take a camera and long zoom even on short car trips; one never knows what one might encounter.

Eagle No. 2

BALD EAGLE, ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, MAY 18, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/1000 sec. f11
ISO 800

Same eagle, same white pine as the one posted May 18—and taken a few moments earlier. This composition emphasizes the expanse of green to the left setting off the subject, rather than the vista of blue to the right in the May 18 photograph. I Photoshopped out a pine limb to the left of the bird in order to open up more room for the framing.

Sunrise and sunset 6/6/12

SUNRISE AND SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 6, 2012

TOP: Pentax K20D
Sigma DC 17-70 at 17mm
1/250 sec. f8
ISO 400

The moment the bottom of the sun's circle emerges from the horizon seems the best time of day to capture a sunrise with a wide-angle lens. The blue sweep of the high sky sets off the slash of red-orange below the low clouds.

BOTTOM: Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/500 sec. f13
ISO 800

It was very considerate of those geese to "photobomb" the composition, wasn't it? Suddenly a merely pretty sunset photographed with a long zoom lens takes on considerably more interest. Click on either photo for a desktop-sized version.

Newborn

WHITETAIL DOE AND FAWN, ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, JUNE 6, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/180 sec. f8
ISO 1600

We had just got up from dinner when our hostess spotted this doe and its brand-new fawn as they emerged from a copse behind their house outside Ontonagon. I rested the telephoto lens on their deck railing and shot away. This is the best of the 64 frames I took while the deer ambled across the woodsy stage.

Lady Hummer

FEMALE RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (ARCHILOCHUS COLUBRIS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 5, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/180 sec. f8 with on-board flash
ISO 200

Perhaps the female of the species, like most, is less gaudy than the male, but her back feathers nevertheless display a beautiful emerald green when the light is right. This one is part of a cloud of hummers that visit us at our cabin on Lake Superior all day long.

Daybreak 6/5/12

SUNRISE ON LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 5, 2012

Pentax K-5
Sigma DC 17-70 at 17mm
1/350 sec. f6.7
ISO 1600

Looks like a helluva storm is about to extinguish the sun, doesn't it? An hour later the clouds had largely cleared. Every morning at this time of year on Lake Superior, cloud formations present a different, and usually spectacular, staging for sunrise. Click on the photo for a desktop-sized version.

Redwing

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (AGELAIUS PHOENICUS), ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, JUNE 3, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/500 sec. f8
ISO 400

I was out in the boonies south of Lake Superior after great blue herons and spotted this blackbird in a swamp by the roadside. The high morning sunlight was just right to bring out the vivid shoulder epaulets in all their glory.

Late evening 6/2/12

EVENING SKY ON LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 2, 2012

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 DC at 17mm
1/250 f9.5
ISO 100

Now that June has arrived on the shore of Lake Superior in Upper Michigan, the western skies in the evening are growing photographically interesting, with shapely cloud formations separating the reddening horizon from the intense blue above. Click on the photo for a large version.

Great Horned Owl

GREAT HORNED OWL (BUBO VIRGINIANUS), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 26, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 210mm
1/180 f9.5 with on-board flash
ISO 1600

Here's another in Joe Rogers' traveling troupe of rescued raptors. This species preys on animals as large as house cats and is so feared by other feathered creatures that pilots put plastic great horned owls in their hangars to scare away birds that might defecate on their airplanes.

Squab on the hoof

EASTERN MOURNING DOVE (ZENAIDA MACROURA CAROLINENSIS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 31, 2012

Pentax K20D
Sigma 135-400 APO DG at 400mm
1/350 sec. f11
ISO 400

Some 20 million doves—our leading game bird—are harvested in the United States each year for sport and meat (it was once served in restaurants as squab, but "utility" domestic pigeons are most often used for that dish). The dove population remains at more than 350 million, thanks to the species's prolific reproduction rate. One pair of doves can raise up to six broods a year.

Merlin

PRAIRIE MERLIN (FALCO COLUMBARIUS RICHARDSONI), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 30, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/1000 sec. f11
ISO 1600

If I have not misidentified it, this Prairie Merlin, a small and very quick falcon, was sitting high in a dead tree near a creek at the roadside close by our cabin on Lake Superior when I drove past. It appears to be a female. It used to be called the "pigeon hawk" in these parts.

Tiger Swallowtail

TIGER SWALLOWTAIL (PTERORUS GLAUCUS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 28, 2012


Pentax K-5
Tamron SP AF DI 90mm f2.8 macro
Various shutter speeds; f13
ISO 1600

This pretty butterfly came calling to a colorful plant on our backyard deck and patiently performed several poses for his audience. This was gratifying, for in my experience butterflies in the wild flit about too rapidly to allow a photographer to compose a decent picture.