The photographer described this awesome shot as, “Stormy weather and rough seas at Roker Lighthouse.” Photo #1 by © Gail Johnson
Grand Haven Lighthouse. The photographer described, “In this picture is the outer and inner light. The outer light is 36′ tall and the inner light is 51′ tall. I was able to venture out safely about 150′ with out getting washed into the water. Twice I got a bath from the waist down. As the remnants of the record low pressure moved on this past weekend the waves on Lake Michigan were pretty rough. When we got the beach in the early afternoon winds were topping out at 50 mph making for some huge waves breaking on the end of the pier by the outer light. Some of the breaks were reaching 40′ tall.” Photo #2 by © Luke Hertzfeld
Blizzard Rams New England. 1978 Pulitzer Prize, Feature Photography, Staff Photographers of Boston Herald American. The lighthouse is 114 feet high, which means that foam is spraying 100 feet into the air, propelled upward by a raging sea that sinks ships and floods towns up and down the coast.
It is Feb. 8, 1978. A blizzard has rammed New England, shutting down roads, businesses and schools. Snow buries everything. Nothing moves. Kevin Cole, chief photographer at The Boston Herald American, is stuck in Plymouth, Mass. “The snow was over the house. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Determined to cover the storm, Cole heads for the Hyannis airport. “I found this place called Discover Flying School. The wind was blowing. The pilot said ‘You’re crazy, nobody’s going up.'”
Before long, they are airborne. “It was this little, tiny plane. We took off. The whole coastline was gone, houses in the water, houses floating, waves crashing inside them. About two miles out, I saw Minot Light.”
In the raging wind, they circle the lighthouse. The pilot tells Cole, “We can’t stay out here any longer.’ Just as he started to turn, I saw a huge wave. That’s when I got that shot, and that’s the same time I threw up.”
Other Herald American photographers fan out around the region, photographing the blizzard’s destruction: Villages buried in freezing flood waters, commuters trapped in snow-covered cars. The newspaper publishes a special section, which chronicles the worst New England storm in 200 years—54 dead, 10,000 homeless and evacuated. Photo #3 by Staff Photographers of Boston Herald American via cliff
The hard life of the lighthouse. Photo #4 by Juan José Aza
Monster waves: Rough weather for lighthouse keepers. Photo #5 by Mariners Weather Log/NOAA
Aftermath of the Winter Storm: The photographer described this photo as, “30 foot tall outer light of the St. Joseph, Michigan after a severe winter storm. Waves on Lake Michigan were said to be over 20 feet high, which pounded the lighthouse and covered it in ice feet thick in places. Workers were just finishing up a paint job when the storm hit. The scaffold was demolished and is also covered in a thick layer of ice.”
“The walk to the lighthouse was treacherous- the pier is also covered in a layer of ice. Most of the way was slow going, but the walk next to the inner light was the most difficult. There is only a path about 20 inches wide with the lighthouse to your left, and the frigid lake to your right. I managed to carefully negotiate the path and make it out to the outer light. In hindsight, I’m lucky I didn’t go for an unexpected winter swim.” Photo #6 by Tom Gill
Ice Drapery: Ice formed on the St. Joseph, Michigan lighthouse and catwalk during a winter storm that churned up Lake Michigan and created 20 foot waves. The ice apparently broke the “hand rail” cables on the catwalk, and they are now drooping down with tons of ice. Photo #7 by Tom Gill
The Oswego Lighthouse is awash with waves during a November 2003 storm with 80 mph winds. Photo #8 by © 2003 Jon R. Vermilye via http://www.byways.org
Porthcawl Harbor Storm. Photo #9 by Nick Russill
South Haven Pier. Gale force winds pound the South Haven, Michigan lighthouse and pier during a two day storm. Gusts of over 50 miles per hour created 16 to 20 foot waves in open water. Photo #10 by Tom Gill
Furious Lake Michigan Petoskey – waves and ice. Photo #11 by Charles Dawley
Winds 30-40, gusts to 55, mid lake waves at 17-22 ft, very impressive storm. This was taken from the beach at Frankfort Michigan. The lighthouse in the photo is 76 ft tall. Photo #12 by Jim Sorbie
Gale force winds throughout the day churned up Lake Michigan and created high waves along the South Haven, Michigan shore. The lighthouse tower is 35 feet tall (from the pier) another six feet to the water – making that splash around 50 feet tall. Photo #13 by Nwardez
The photographer and friend were sprayed while capturing photos of waves. Photo #14 by Olga (__o[IT]__)
“Big Water” – Ludington North Breakwater Light. The North Breakwater Light is 57 feet tall and the Lake Michigan waves were going much higher! Photo #15 by James Marvin Phelps
Artic Blast – Ludington South Breakwater Light. Photo #16 by James Marvin Phelps
Liquid Thunder – Waves Crashing into Grand Marais Harbor Light. Photo #17 by James Marvin Phelps
Battered Grand Haven Pier Light. Photo #18 by James Marvin Phelps
Wollongong Lighthouse & Waves. Photo #19 by Steven (The Waterboy)
Petoskey Winter Storm. Photo #20 by Charles Dawley
Wind, waves and water. Beautiful but pounding at the coastline and the lighthouse. Photo #21 by Earl Wilkerson
Bajamar in the Canary Islands of Spain. Photo #22 by Olga DÃez
Gale force winds throughout the day churned up Lake Michigan and created high waves along the South Haven, Michigan shore. The lighthouse tower is 35 feet tall (from the pier) another six feet to the water – making that splash around 50 feet tall. Photo #23 by Tom Gill
Hide and Seek … Today’s puzzle – try to find the pier hidden in this picture. Hint: the glimpse of the lighthouse may be a clue. Photo #24 by Mrs Logic
Rough Weather. Photo #25 by Pablo López
Perfect Timing – Petoskey Breakwall. Photo taken during a windy cold day in October. The waves were amazing! Photo #26 by Charles Dawley
Smell the salt? Fishing boat coming in during a storm, winds a 130 km/h (80 mph). Photo #27 by Nico (maessive)
Okay, not waves attacking in a power struggle against man-made lighthouses, but this shot was creepy cool. The photographer called it Sea Point Storm and wrote, “Pity that this came out blurred, but I was running at the time. Foam monster attacking the public.” Photo #28 by mallix
Waves striking seawall give appearance of geysers erupting. New England coast – 1938. Photo #29 by NOAA / National Weather Service
Winter Rage Grand Haven Pier Light. Photo #30 by James Marvin Phelps
1969 – Storm surge from Hurricane Carol lashes Rhode Island Yacht Club. Photo #31 by Providence Journal Co. / NOAA / NWS
Lunchtime at the Lighthouse Frankfort Michigan lighthouse. When there’s a strong wind out of the southwest, dramatic things happen!. Photo #32 by Jim (jimflix!)
Forget lighthouses, this time the killer waves are attacking homes! Old Lyme, Connecticut in 1954 – Hurricane Carol destroyed hundreds of summer cottages and homes Huge waves bound into beach front homes. Photo #33 by American Red Cross / NOAA / NWS
Sheboygan Lighthouse (NOAA Station SGNW3). Photo #34 by University of Wisconsin
Typhoon-generated waves striking a breakwater in Japan – Historic NWS Collection. Photo #35 by NOAA / NWS / NASA
When the lake goes fishing. Photo #36 by Jim (jimflix!)
Big Sea! Photo #37 by Tony (midlander1231)
Winter Fury at Ludington North Breakwater Light. Photo #38 by James Marvin Phelps
Giant Crashing Wave still can’t touch the lighthouse. Photo #39 by Borf The Dog
Visit Michigan in the winter? Brrr! Photo #41 by Michigan Travel Bureau via EPA
Frankfort Breaker…Lake Michigan. Photo #42 by Tina (~Jetta Girl~)
Gale force winds at South Haven, Michigan attract visitors to the lighthouse and pier, along with surfers and intrepid kayakers. Photo #42 by Tom Gill
THE POWER OF THE STORM! Mouro Lighthouse, Spain. The ferocious waves exceeded the height of 37.5 meters (123 feet)! The foam breaks down and is “floating” on the wind. Photo #43 by © Rafael G. Riancho
Amazing what kind of weather lighthouses have to endure. Equally amazing are the lighthouse keepers that are brave enough to live there!
Great work here – you found some great pictures
There are sometimes that I am glad I am not a Lighthouse Keeper!
I grew up in Grand Haven where many of these photos were taken – come visit us – it is great
oh they are very magnificent,,but i think i stay on dry land,,lol
I knew a “jill” in Grand Haven. She had an apartment over the Snug Harbor and her aunt and uncle had a restaurant on the main street.
As a lighthouse keeper for the Cape May Lighthouse,I am glad that our lighthouse is not on Lake Michigan. Our lighthouse is still a functional lighthouse (maintained by the US Coast Guard) We are there for safety and tourist guides.
PERRY BUCKLEY:
IN 1964-65 I WAS STATIONED AT US COAST GUARD GROUP CAPE MAY MOORINGS AS A ENGINEMEN. ONE OF MY JOBS WAS TO MAINTAIN THE GENERATOR / BATTERY’S AND CHANGE THE LAMPS INSIDE THE FRESNEL LAMP CAGE AT CAPE MAY POINT LIGHT. SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY.
Perry,
I was stationed on Five Fathom L/V and TAD Hereford Inlet LBS in 1960. You had to know Chief LP O’Neill. I’m now one of the Assistant Keepers At Boston Lighthouse ( Second Order Fresnel lens ).
Good Luck,
Ed.
I should have sent my reply to Michael Heffernan But what do you expect from a BM3.
Michael,
I was stationed on Five Fathom L/V and TAD Hereford Inlet LBS in 1960. You had to know Chief LP O’Neill. I’m now one of the assistant keepers at Boston Lighthouse . (Second Order Fresnel Lens)
Good Luck,
Ed.
I visited Cape May a year ago last spring. It is a lovely area. I live on Lake Huron and we have lots of lighthouses (Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, close to where I live, was the first lighthouse built in MI). Come visit us sometime!
I grew up in East Detroit (9 mile off Gratiot). There is so much that I never realized about the area. I’d love to go back and just enjoy some of the history.
My family, and 3 other Coast Guard families, used to live in the St. Johns Lighthouse (Not the same as St. Johns River Lighthouse) in Mayport FL. The tower is sort of square instead of round like most lighthouses. There was nothing but the lighthouse, our attached housing, jungle, beach and the jetties there when I lived there in the early ’50s. I have lots of pictures and stories about our time stationed there. I think the light was automated in the late 60s and I don’t know if it is used at all anymore. There wass a Navy Base around it when my mom went to see it a few years back. I always wished I could go back there and fix it up to live in.
Have you thought about contacting Lighthouse Digest about using your pictures and stories? They are always looking for people who have either worked for or lived at a lighthouse. Your photos would be of equal interest!
Sherrie
Thanks for letting the Cape May County Amateur Radio Club set up at the lighthouse each August. We talk to other lighthouses around the world using our ham radios and temporary antennas.
Growning up in Menominee, MI I was sorry not to see a photo of the light house at the mouth of the Menoninee River on Green Bay. During the winter the Menominee Light House looks like all of the above pictures.
I also grew up in Menominee! I also remember the ice on the Menominee Light House and the ice buildups along the shores.
Great video-enjoyed every second. Thank you for giving your time and talent. I lived in Duluth
Minnesota when I was a child where there is a lighthouse on lake Superior. I was always very
interested in who and why anyone would live there! Thanks again. Sharon
The photo of the EYC (Edgewood Yacht Club) in Cranston, Rhode Island was not taken in 1969. Hurricane Carol was in 1954. I lived near the EYC in 1969 and we did not have any hurricanes then.
Thank you for sharing. I love Lighthouses – the Ocean.
Great work.
My last year in the Coast Guard (1960) I was assignigned to the Electronic Repair shop in South Portland Maine. I visited some these light houses in good weather to fix thier electronics. I have nothing but admiration for these guys that stuck it out on these outposts. They can look back on it as an admiral consignment and I’m really proud of their service. Dave Neweell ET1 USCG.
I,m late commenting on these pictures but I love Lighthouses.
I have seen a lot of the Lighthouses on Lake Michigan and Superior.
Would love to see more
Jim
That first picture is absolutely incredible! But those ice ones are equally amazing!
…. a fantastic collection of storm photographs !!
[…] of cheesemaking in the Swiss Alps – Great gallery of the underwater world by the Discover Channel – Waves vs Lighthouses, the eternal battle wages on – 101 Unusual, Impressive and illegal pieces of defaced […]
I lived in the Frankfort area and often would drive down to the lake to watch the waves and see them bounce against the lighthouse! Awsome with the ice forming around it!
I was born and raised in Frankfort and I and my friends would go out to light house and stand and wait for a wave to hit pier and then run as fast as we can to get behind light before the wave would wash us off in to the water. The Coast Guard had to chase us off all the time. Man those were the good old days.
Winnie Stover? any relation to Woody and Besty? If so go Blue
They are really nice people 🙂 and we have a place in Frankfort if your ever in town…
Crikey!!!!! If you get a wave up to your knees here in Melbourne thats a big wave, I always wanted to be a lighthouse keeper but after seening those pictures & the video, I think i’ll give it a miss, besides it’s too rough to go fishing. cheers Ron
The pics are eirrie (?) & beautiful, however, I’d rather be under a coconut tree drinking Pina Coladas.
Amaizing, especially the Mi lighthouses, somthered with ice. The one in Spain…Awsome. In rewatching the available video footage, I realize the awsome power of the sea…what a trashing they take….and then freeze. My hats off to the photographeres!
[…] For some great still photos of lighthouses under assault, check this out. […]
Awesome!!!!!
Great collection, well done! Hope that sometime an old friend Pete Blackwell will see this, he told me (and hundreds of others) what a great life a light keeper can be, so tried to get a job on the Maatsuyker Light off the South Coast of Tasmania, and that place is wild, believe me, I fished it, but when I phoned, they laughted and said, you must be a friend of Petes, he has EVERYONE phone! So that was that.And now they are automated. Again, great collection, many thanks.
AWESOME!!!!!
Amazing and Beautiful…rough storms , yet the Lighthouses stand strong. Reminds me of the song: The Lighthouse…For God is our Lighthouse our Strong tower!
Amen
Fury of Mother Nature! Nice shots!
It is well to say, only God through Christ, our lord and savior, will settle the mysteries of what
we and all do not know of, in his own time, and in his own way. It may not or maybe in your time.
Now that is a very profound statement! So true!!!
What am awesome illustration of who are Mightey God is! He is our Rock! Upon this Rock, Christ Jesus, He has built His church. No storm we endure will shake Him.
Amen!!
Oops! That was supposed to be OUR God!
Almost unbelievable. Hope all those lighthouses are still there.
They are, at least the Michigan ones are! Born and stayed 44 years and have always been in awe of the Great Lakes and all that they are. Most people don’t know that Michigan has more shore line than California, but what I like is that nothing in those Great Lakes oceans want to eat me! And no salt! I’ve been out in the middle of them and jumped off of boats to swim without any fear. Howver, I’ve been out fishing in Saginaw Bay when a surprise storm comes up and feared that I may not make it back in because of the size of the waves. But, it’s beautiful! I left because of the winters and I’m sure you can see why from some of these pictures.
Michigan also has more lightouses than Maine (almost twice as many)! And in Michigan, you’re never more than five miles from a body of water. However, July, I grew up seeing pictures of the moray eels that came in with the freighters, and I have to say they’re pretty scary to look at.
Dear Tina, You are so right Lake Michigan and Superior are more then the Altantic ocean!!! Never been there in a bad storm, and thats ok with me, but moray eels hanging from the railing, thats something to talk about!!
a great collection from some very brave photographers
Fantastic. My favorites are #’s 6, 21 & 43.
These shots are fantastic. I give a lot of credit to those who put up with the weather conditions to get them. And just for the record, you couldn’t pay me enough to be a lighthouse keeper.
you could me and I want to be one, just don’t know how to go about it!! East Coast preferably, but would love Michigan!
I witness these storms in person, the lighthouse in Ludington, Mich, awesome,furious,highwinds, beautifull.
The Power of God thru Mother Nature is evident for all to see and believe!
I always thought the lighthouses were sort of romantic and thought it would be cool to be a keeper and live in one. NOT NO MORE! Wow! I grew up Chicago and didn’t realize the lake could be as rough as the ocean! It truely is amazing what water can do when creating a force. I no longer wish for lighthouse keeping! lol will stay in the suburbs. But will now have a whole new respect for the water gods!
The Lakes can be more terrible than the oceans. Having come from a long line of Lake captains, I’ve heard many stories passed on and remember many incidents of losing large freighters. The effect is the same as dropping a stone in to a small container. The swells can only go so far then they run back, butting into each other.causing a shorter & fiercer chop. In a larger container, they can run out farther and weaken. Make sense? I was sorry not to see any shots from Charlevoix, but those from Petoskey were awesome. Great job!!
I lived in Michigan for 3 years while former husband was in the Coast Guard. Lighthouses are still essential but are generally not occupied. Technology has made it easier to operate them by remote control, though someone still has to go clean and change the lights periodically. Hats off to the old lighthousekeepers and their families because they endured some WILD weather!!
Yes, pretty much all lighthouses no longer need the traditional lightkeeper. However, it’s interesting to note that on that fateful November night in 1975 when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down off the coast of Whitfish Point, the electricty in the area had gone out and for some unknown reason the generator at the lighthouse didn’t kick in. Most assuredly an on-site keeper would have got a light going. (In fairness, the absence of a light wasn’t why the ship went down, but it certainly would have given the men hope to be able to see it.)
How amazing these pictures and video is. i’ve never seen anything like it. brovo for posting it.
I agree!!!
Spending my summers At Augres Mich. I had lots of opportunity to go out on the local fishing tour boat. (Joe’s modern cabins) Twice the captain of the boat pulled up to the Gravelly Sholes light house and I and a friend got on the ladder and climbed to the house. I think of that now and realize I could have been killed had I fallen, but I will never forget being up there. This was in June, so the conditions were beautiful.I cannot imagine what it would be like out there in December!I might mention that the captain running the boat was 19 0r 20, and I was about 14.
WOW!!! those are some big waves!
God aint Mother Nature Great
Really enjoyed looking at these amazing images.Thanks for sharing.
WOW! Beautiful photography of lighthouses in stormy weather. Super!
These are sensational. I always think of lighthouses as being very romantic. They ARE very heroic! Wonderful collection of pictures.
These sceanes are beautiful and unbelievable, making known that the lighthouses are there to warn of conditions. God is there to protect us.
love the video, but the music detracts from it. photos are great!
Easy fix. Turn down the speakers. I too, found the music distracting.
My speakers aren’t working right now and I thought the music probably would’ve added to the intensity of the video. Thanks for letting me know that I wasn’t missing much!
Impressive waves and beautiful photos!
Great locations for prisons for inmates to experience the cleansing power of nature.
Yeaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!
Hummm…never thought of that…but great idea!
Unbelievable !! I’m a Michigan/Indiana girl, but I didn’t know Lake Michigan could cause that much havoc though I witnessed a storm coming directly at us one Dec. morning on Grand Traverse Bay that covered the house up on the cliff. Even now I am a
Lighthouse keeper at New Dungeness Lightstation, Sequim, WA.
You are a Lighthouse Keeper? How amazing…I would really love to communicate with you.
Lighthouse keeper at New Dungeness Lightstation, Sequim, WA.
Reply
Lighthouse keeper at New Dungeness Lightstation, Sequim, WA:
I am a member of the Ashtabula Lighthouse Preservation and Restoration Society in Ashtabula Ohio. we are a non profit group of volunteers who are raising money and awarness to help restore the Ashtabula lighthouse and open it as a museum. We have found a handful of actual lightkeepers of the Ashtabula lighthouse who tended the light during the 50’s to 1960’s era. We love to hear them talk of the history of the light and duties of the lightkeeper. If you are able to make it to Ashtabula Ohio (north east ohio on Lake Erie) our group would be interesting in meeting with you and hearing your memories as a light keeper. Thanks Amy
One of the most spectacular videos I have ever seen. As many have said they had always thought of Lighthouses as romantic & beautiful, but there is no way after viewing that I would ever stay in one. I do plan on riding my Harley touring the Pacific Coast Highway & the Lighthouses from Point Reyes in California to Washington State within the next month or two when it’s far more serene & calm, but still as beautiful. The video definitely reminds me also of the song by Ronnie Hinson “The Lighthouse” & what it stands for in the Christian world. GOD is truly the rock on which to build & will weather any storm.
That has been my dream to tour lighthouses on the back of a Harley and you can stay in some as well, that would be the ultimate…currently without driver… 🙁
Spectacular photographs. I’ve always liked to be on a shore when there is a bad storm. I sometimes forget how powerful storms can be but would have liked to be where the photographers were when taking these pictures. Then, I’d like to hurry back to the warmth of Florida where the storms produce lots of wind and water but no ice. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing photos!!! Amazing photographers!!!!! Another example of the respect we must have for the sea!!!!
BEAUTIFUL!!! GORGEOUS! Life is a work of art in all it’s nature. Wild water is a live animal. A creature you cannot tame or train. In all it’s glory…it is like a web of secrets awaiting your presents to be amazed at. An ever changing canvas of art! Ok I’m done now!
I couldn’t have said it better! Yes, nature is ever changing and amazing! Only God could do that!
I just kept saying Wow!
Beautiful, powerful, and freaky Mother Nature.
Most people do not realize the size of Lake Michigan, 1 mile wide and 300 miles long. That is a very large area and is subject to ocean type of weather as you see.
During the war I was stationed on a lighthouse in Maryland for a year and even though we had rough waters there was never anything like what you have just seen.
I think you meant to type 100 miles wide, correct?
I do believe he meant 100 miles wide. I lived in Michigan my first 30 years of life and have been to the South Bend, St Joe and Frankfort piers. I have some incredible photos standing on Lake Michigan in the winter underneath 20 feet high frozen waves. AWESOME!!!! Now I’m a Florida girl. Much warmer, but not nearly as beautiful.
Now I did the same…..I meant South Haven , not South Bend. LOL
Red – Did you say 20 feet high FROZEN waves? Wow, I’d love to see that! I once saw a picture in National Geographic magazine of Niagra Falls when it was completely frozen over. Imagine the power of the water going over the edge in a freeze-frame. This has happened only once or twice in its history. I was absolutely mesmerized! I’m from San Diego and we have a lighthouse here at Point Loma, near Mission Bay. The sunsets are spectacular, especially right before the sun “dips” into the Pacific Ocean and the sky is shades of pink, orange, and lavender. Whichever way you experience it, nature truly is an awesome thing to behold.
actualy i went on a photogaph journey in 1988 and took photos of the Frankfort Harbor from the top of about a 30 foot ice build up in the harbor.i was on the edge and it was scary,10 below zero hard west wind. i have the photos to prove it.i did everything in B/W the photos are dramatic.
Mother nature at work, absoluteley awesome, especially for me..I live in TEXAS!!
Sheila – I’m a native Texan, now living in Southern California. The best of both worlds!
I was in Old Lyme in 1954 when Carol destroyed the cottages and our family’s restaurant was flooded.
I will also take a pass on living in the lighthouse. Also the fishing boat in Photo 27. But these shots are absolutely stunning, particularly from the comfort of my home.
[…] Lighthouses By Kenosha Yacht Club, on August 29th, 2011 Ed Werner forwarded some great photos of lighthouses getting pummeled by waves.  Enjoy. Social Celebrate Tall Ships, Tues. Aug. 30th thru Sun. Sept. 11th […]
Wonder-full! (Except for #21, which is Photoshopped or otherwise manipulated and should be removed.)
When I saw #21, I thought that it looked like a painting. It is beautiful though. Could that effect be achieved by using colored filters on the camera lense? I’m not a photographer so I don’t know.
Outstanding photos. Being a retired Air traffic controller, I question the wisdom of the pilot
flying is such weather? Everyone says, wasn’t that job stressful. I wouldn’t trade it for the
lighthouse keepers job. Great video.
I was in St. Joseph Aug 27 and saw these Lighthouses. The weather was a little rough that day.
We talk about deaths from hurricanes, tornados but I’ve never seen anything about lighthouse keepers dying during a storm. Hopefully, with todays predictions they get out, but what happened in the old days when there was no weather satellite? And those crazy pilots…don’t fly over my house thank you.
There is a memorial at the Pt Aux Barques lighthouse for the brave people who lost their lives trying to save others.
Lake Superior, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan gets waves as large as on the ocean. The Edmond Fitzgerald was taken down by a 35′ monster wave. That size wave is huge, especially on an inland lake.
Unfortunately, many people have not seen the mighty Lake Superior! The other great lakes are beautiful, however…Lake Superior is the best!
Spoken from a “troll”, but an honorary “Yooper”. I vacation in the UP every summer and members of my family go more often for hunting, fishing and to see the colors or just to be in “God’s country”.
For those of you that do not know what a troll or a yooper is…in Michigan…a troll lives under the bridge (meaning the Macinaw bridge that links the lower with the upper part of Michigan). A yooper lives above the bridge.
I’ve always romanticized lighthouses. When I was younger I wanted to live in pne. After looking at the pics…no thanks. I never even thought about extreme weather and the problems caused. I can’t imagine what it sounded like in the lighthouse. And how did one get out with the extreme ice surrounding it…did they wait for spring? All in all, these are fantastic photos and I especially liked the video. Mother nature’s wrath is not one you play around with…
We live in Ludington and i wouldn’t trade it for anything….
They all look like they’ve been there a long time …marvelous engineering…and beautiful too!
A good way to ride, and enjoy a beautiful rout. I live in Washington, and have driven up the cost from California, loved the drive . A Harley is a much better way to go. You should stop at the red wood forest, while your up this way.
It was a little diferent when I went through, we didn,t even spill the coffee.
Must have been there on a calm day in the summer.
I lived in Mystic, Conn. which is right next to Old Lyme but my family moved away the year before th photo was taken on this email. Brought back lovely memories but the way things are with the weather now I wouldn’t want to live on ANY coast….and that’s a shame, isn’t it?
Great photos.I served for 15 years on the lighthouses on the west coast of Ireland.I saw beauty in the storms as well as in the calm weather.I miss the life of a lighthouse keeper
hello – how do I get information on becoming a lighthouse keeper?
thanks
“A ship on the beach is a lighthouse to the seaâ€
When I was 13 (43 years ago)I stood at the base of the 35′ South Haven light house as waves from the N.W. went over the top of it. When the water wraps around the light house it leaves a 3′ vee void dry spot. The danger is being washed off getting their & back. Without the catwalk supports to hold on to I would not be here to write this. The years following I remember many who died from being washed off!, Luck was on my side that day.
… and we Coasties dearly love people like you who purposely put yourselves in harms way. We really enjoy leaving a warm, safe, base and having the wonderful excitement of spending hours in small boats in that weather looking for your body – in the slim hope that we will find and recover you while you are still breathing. Thanks much. (;<
Great pictures. We live on Saginaw Bay and enjoy the lake and the waves. Port Austin has a lighthouse that gets battered at times too.
Wow! Those are incredible! I always thought Lake Superior was the monster lake. Lake Michigan is no slouch! I can’t help but think of the power that God has put into nature along with the glorious beauty. Those lighthouses have been built on solid rock foundations and not in arrogance. They have withstood many storms. It’s a good reminder for us to build our lives on the solid foundation of Christ! Gorgeous pictures and video (although I also question the common sense of the photographers)!
Very nice pictures. Living where I do, between 2 inland seas, we sometimes get a chance to see how ferocious the weather can be.
Great pictures. I live on the West Coast, with many lighthouses and some storms, but, I’ve never seen anything like this… (AMAZING PHOTOS.)
So that’s how Lighthouses take a bath!
These are some of the most wonderous pictures I’ve seen. You have to praise the photographers for their courage to face mother nature at her worst to record her at her worst. Great job and beauty at her best.
I very much agree! I wish I could be so brave!
Thank you all for sharing these most awesome photographs with all of us.
YES!!! They are awesome. I enjoy them very much!
It really makes one wonder, how beauty is so given in these pictures, yet the one who takes them?
should never be criticized. Thank you, for shareing such a true gift.
No they should not be criticized. They should be commended for their love of nature and to be brave enough to use their God given talent to capture these photo’s!
I grew up in Michigan and mainly went North to Port Austin area to Lake Huron or to Lake Michigan in the summers, but all the lakes can be rough in winter. These pictures made me homesick for that beautiful state, and in awe of its natural beauty. If place forms some of our nature, then I thank God I was raised there.
You get a good dose of humility in a Michigan winter. I noted that Lake Superior was not photographed in this series. Superior is the definition of cold and power.
Yes, you are right…Lake Superior is the “giant” of the great lakes!
As a retired Navy Man who has gone through two(2) Typhoons, these photos are amazing and make you realize that Mother nature has, what I call-THE POWER. Thank you very much, these pictures make me want to go back to sea.
Jim – My dad was a Navy captain. He joined the Navy when he was just 17 years old and loved the ocean. He fought in the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf wars. He served on destroyers and aircraft carriers. Then, about 15 years ago, he got orders from the Navy to work at the Pentagon for a couple of years. To anybody else this would be an honor but, like yourself, dad loved being at sea. He just couldn’t envision himself sitting in an office pushing papers, so he decided to retire early. He now lives comfortably on a ranch in Texas but I know he sometimes misses his days at sea.
Sounds like my son-in-law who is Navy Top Gun, now attending war college in RI, then wants to work at the Pentegon – he’s has served in Iraq and lived in Japan for 3 years…my daughter and my 3 grandbabies are real troopers…I know he misses flying but personally for their sake, I’m glad he’s home with his family. My heart breaks when those little kids are the ones who are at home waiting for their parents to return from not one, but sometimes 4 tours? Will never understand this!! Sorry… Kudo’s to your dad who has served…
CREEPY…NO WONDER WATER SCARES ME…i BELIEVE i DROWNED IN A PAST LIFE..I WON’T EVEN GO OUT ON MY HUBBIES BASS BOAT…My grandfather was a lighthouse keeper in Maine…Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse was one of them…No water for me…your pic’s scared me, yet I will admit they were stunning to see.
I grew up in Petoskey which is on Little Traverse Bay. I remember each January we would have a huge storm and wake up the next morning and the bay would be frozen over. As kids we used to spend the next several weeks going out onto the ice and looking for ice caves which had been formed. We used a small hatchet to chop down the icicles in the caves and just had a good ole time!!! In March, the warm winds would break up the ice and the caves would disappear just as fast as they came. Great memories brought back by seeing the Petoskey pictures above!!!
Amazing photos and video. Makes a person wonder if any of these lighthouses ever get demolished during these terrific storms………….they would have to be built extremely well with a tremendous foundation and structure.
Living on the New England coast much of my life, I have seen some incredible storms..and damage…but, these pictures are awesome…there isn’t anything as powerful as the ocean in stormy weather…Thank you for these pictures.
What is the background music? It fits the pictures beautifully.
As much as we always complain about MI winter, I wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world! I wouldn’t mind traveling and seeing other places, but MI is my home forever! Fabulous pics and oh, how, so true some of the other sentiments I read about them from others.
These are truly the most amazing photographs I have ever seen. We as souls must remain strong, no matter the storm and stay staing, with God’s Help,to give the light to others as they are given difficulties to face,,,,,,,,,,Namaste
Like so many others before, we were awe struck. As one of the other commentors stated, these photos and video are scarry-cool. It again reminds us where our place is in this universe and grateful that the One in charge is truly Omnipotent. We are so glad He is a loving God.
You…said it all!
I love to watch mother nature and her power. I was on the shore of Lake Superior the night that the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. The waves were landing in the parking lot a hundred feet away after hitting the rocks on the lake shore and spraying up in the air. No wonder to me why the ‘Fitz’ went down that night, surprized that there weren’t more lives lost on that day. I have lived here in Munising, Mi. all of my life and love the big lake in all her glory, sometimes as smooth as glass and other times when she raises her ornery head and howls. May God have mercy for those who are in trouble on the sea / lakes. No wonder why they are referred to as ‘The Great Lakes’, especially Superior.
I would love to hear your story of that stormy night. I’ve stayed at AuTrain Lake for many years and have a dear friend that grew up in Munsing. Perhaps, by chance we will meet sometime on an August day. Wouldn’t that be awesome!
Awesome!! Thank you.
I live in Grand Marais and anytime there is a storm there will be at least 5 cars down by the pier watching the waves attack the light. Great way to get your car washed.
Grand Marais, MI is such a lovely place where I spent many vactions and I remember that lighthouse so well!Beautiful Pictures!
These pictures are beautiful. We love light houses. Being from Maine we love these type of breath taken oictures. Thanks for sharing.
I grew up in St. Joseph, MI and remember watching some of these storms I ice covered lighthouse brought back may memories.
‘In the beginning God’
(if you want more ….)
‘In the beginning God …. created’
I, as a child 1n late 1920s & 30s, visited Ponce De Leon, FL Lighthouse almost every weekend
and have loved lighthouses ever sense.
Several winters I visited the north shore of Chicago and remember both Chicago Harbor Lighthouse on the breakwater and Grosse Point Light in Evanston. But, what these ice coated photos reminds me
of my three plus years on the USS Peterson, DE-152 during World War II in the North Atlantic,
having to chip ICE off our ships superstructure after an Ice Storm between Iceland and Greenland in 1942 or 43.
Keep the pictures coming.
The pictures are amazing and beautiful. I’ve always liked light houses but will never, ever live in one!
Magnificent! I lived near Lake Michigan for 16 years and never once was there to capture the beauty of the light houses and piers during the winter season. How beautiful! Thank you!
I’ve lived in Superior, Sheboygan, and Milwaukee. I’ve witnessed a lot of these same pictures, and I am always in awe when I see the power of the Great Lakes! We do a lot of travelling around the great lakes, along the North Shore of Minnesota, the Southern shore along Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, and the Western shore of Lake Michigan. We’ve visited just about every lighthouse along these shores and it amazes me that people used to actually live in these places. We just got back from Munising and Grand Marais, MI and it was beautiful! Seeing these lighthouses in the winter makes me want to visit as many as possible, as I’ve only view a few of these during the winter months. Thanks for sharing these awesome pictures!
As a structural engineer, I have to take my hat off to the folks who design and built those lighthouses capable of resisting forces like that!
A long time ago I saw some pictures of how at least one stone lighthouse (I believe in Great Britain) was constructed in the 1800’s and was still standing strong at the printing. The piece also chronicled the light’s predecessors which were destroyed by storms. Considering how much energy it took to build the present structure, it must have been awfully important to have a lighthouse at that location! This example was shaped like a smooth tapered round cone that diminished in diameter in concave curves. The stonework was incredible for its smooth, continually curved face and for the interlocking joinery of every one of its individual blocks, seeming to defy what seemed possible for stone to be! It fit together literally like a jigsaw puzzle that has resisted the shear and torque of waves shown towering twice the light’s height. I am going to see if I can find those pictures. How lighthouses are constructed is a fascinating field!
On a broader note, sometimes lighthouses are, in my opinion as a designer, some of the most beautiful structures ever built by people. Sometimes the builders and the structures they built were generous in their aesthetic spirit as though inspired by the importance and compassion of the work they did and by the majesty of the elements they understood and watched for us. And in many ways, their labors and works seemed designed to frame the grace, strength and sense of purpose of the light-keepers.
These images are superlative in showing the epitome of our dynamic relationship with beauty, terror and strength that are the ‘calm within the storm’. Lighthouses symbolize constancy and it’s no coincidence that they are often identified with the guiding light that has been the compass of our spirituality. Thanks for sharing an incredible diversity of the interplay between us and the rest of Creation!
the love the ses and did not know you loved house on s light house. Take care and talk with you again doon.
Lighthouse Keeper Wanted. Inquire Within.
This shows why I chose to live in a desert!
Wonderful photos !! Did you know that Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state? More shoreline, too – Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and Lake Superior on the UP (Upper Peninsula.) My husband and I are lighthouse hunters and have seen most of the US lighthouses in the pictures – especially the MI ones. We owe them and the lighthouse keepers of today and yesteryear a big debt for the work they do and what they have endured to keep the light shining!
I surely agree with you!
I grew up in Northern Upper Michigan…on the shores of Lake Superior. Most people have no idea how wild a storm on the Great Lakes can be. It is just as terrifying as an ocean storm. Lake Superior is not called “The Graveyard of Ships” for nothing. And, our winters were nothing to sneeze at either!!!!
boy, talk about being at the right place at the right time. I’ve forwarded this on to my largest list. Great photographs.
My family and I spent a few days staying at the Selkirk Lighthouse in Pulaski New York on Lake Ontario. It was built around the time of the Civil War. No storms during our stay. There was a narrow passage to the top that my Daughter still remembers climbing. If you want to live the experience I think it is still available to rent for a week or weekend.
Fantastic images of why I love them so much…thanks for the video too.
What a great collection of lighthouse pictures. I began collecting lighthouses,many of which decorate the Cancer Center at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in Pomona,California, years ago. I was brought up in the summer on Lake Michigan seeing Pte. Betsie lighthouse near Frankfort,Mich. and not far from the Old Mission Lighthouse near Traverse City. Pictures of those fabulous and historical places are on many walls of our home here in California. I have a big poster in the master bedroom that declares Michigan has 36 lighthouses, more than any state in the USA! Thanks, Nancy Magnusson,Claremont, Cal.
Hi, Back in 1952 I was in the U.S. Coast Guard,stationed at a Light House on Lake Michigan, it was called Indiana Harbor Light Station. It was for the ore freighters that were bringing ore to the largest steel mill in America. I have tried to get a picture of this place for many years now, with no results. The Coast Guard Historical Light House Society, have no record of this light house ever being there. My discharge papers state that I was indeed stationed at this light house. Do you have any pictures of this light house?
Did you ever find photo’s of your light house? If not let me know I am sure I can get you one. It is an Art Deco style light house and steel I believe. It was beautiful.
Spectacular images…….
Are they available to produce in a calendar or framing prints ?
I would like to know also!
I grew up in two different Lighthouses in Florida, Egmont Key (Tampa Bay) and Gasparilla Light Station (Boca Grande Island). We went through Hurricanes but nothing to compare with the wave action shown in the pictures…pretty Awesome. I loved Lighthouse living and have many wonderful memories to this day. Thanks for posting these beautiful pictures for all to see.
The Light Keepers daughter…Dian (McKeithen) Miller
This reminds me of when I used to be a light-house keeper. I just did dusting and swept the floors, no heavy lifting, and no windows.
Really enjoyed the pics, especially the lighthouses I have seen in person (in milder weather). Thanks.
Photos are truly awesome. Growing up in Soo, Mi and St. Clair Mi. I was a 3rd generation sailor in the family of Five Captains and one Chief Engineer. My unk, Captain C J Autterson,(Google)met the brute force of two storms on Lake Superior with the 1918 sinking of the Chester A. Congdon, and the 1938 loss of 44 cars off the decks of the Steamer John P. Geistman that becamed entombed in ice from monstrous waves near the Keweenaw Rock of Ages Lighthouse at Isle Royale. The above account with the amazing photography, tells the world what lifesaving tools and aids to navigation lighthouses and their keepers were all about. Before computers, radar, and radio direction finders, lighthouses were truly God’s gift to the Mariners of the world – nad still serve well!!!
Boating on Lake Michigan brought us to many of these lights.
Beautiful scenery in the summer, awesome from the shore in
winter. Thanks for thememories.
It was my privilige to live in the Point Betsie Frankfort Michigan lighthouse for three years as the wife of the Coast Guard lighthouse keeper. The storms and the beautiful scenes in both winter and summer were awesome. I also lived in the lighthouses at Point Sur and San Luis Obispo in Californis. Now I do some duty as a docent at Point Betsie, Frankfort Michigan and welcome all to visit there!
Were we nuts to put up with that for $7000 a year ?
$7000 a year??? How long ago was that? All I can say is that it must have been a long time ago…or you were nuts…or really enjoyed the adventure! Hats off to you!!! As much as I love Lake Superior and lighthouses…I don’t think I could endure what I have just viewed in these photo’s! They are just beautiful to view…but I would not want to be there.
Not THAT long ago. I well remember my salary as an ensign and a recent graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (1966) at $127/month.
amazing pictures i live near ottawa can. i had no idea some of the great lakes had such tremendous storms october 2 2011
Those were great shots. Make’s me want to paint some of them. We land lovers can’t imagine the anger of that body of water. Nor could most, imagine to anger of the dust storms we incounter in the west. It a marvel to say the least. God creates beauty in every form–though distructive it is to marvel at.
Thank you for the presentation.
Yes, it does want one to paint them and you should! I get inspired just in the summer months around the great lakes and especially Lk.Superior! I always end up drawing or painting something of nature and the lighthouses and water.
Don’t think about it…do it! Do it know before you loose that great feeling. It will soon pass away until you see something that triggers that artist in you again.
Simply beautiful !!
My complements to our Creator!!! Not only do the heavens declare the glory of God, but so does the power in the storms!!
Great pictures I lived in FL. during the 50’s and 60’s and saw a few storms myself and they are no fun ??
Lee
Beautiful, Amazing and scary photos, Michigan is one of the most awesome, beautiful places I have ever seen. Damn pity their local government can’t do more to entice people to visit. The people are just as welcoming and friendly.
Thanks we’re vastly underated.
Thanks, most of us do love to share our friendliness and beauty of Michigan…well, at least those that are not glued to the city! You would not believe how many people living in the cities of Michigan have never seen it’s beauty! So sad! Glad you enjoyed. Come back. You certainly will be welcomed!
My husband and I went on our lighthouse tour f the Eastern side of Michigan a few weekendds ago and were so amazed of the lack of signs in the cities to show where the lighthouses are. I know some are privately owned, but what about the ones that aren’t. I have no problem making a donation to visit one, and think this is an opportunity that should not be passed up, by just posting better signage!
The power of the seas “Frightening”
I’ve lived in Michigan all my life. Storms on the Great Lakes can be far deadlier than those on the oceans because of the size of the lakes.
Awesome and makes you realise just how small and fragile we are.
Taking the video must have been frightening and exciting! Great results.
Marlene
I love the sea ,grew up with the sea ,seen big waves , but this footage is wonderfully powerful .
Just beautiful, I know where these places are at in Mich.
Me too! 🙂
c’est impressionnant de voir toutes ces vagues mais ce n’est rien à coté des vagues qui m’ont le plus marqué, c’est la maree qui a submergée toutes les regions du Japon en balayant tout sur son passage, c’est atroce , avez-vous vu les reportages ? on ne peut pas oublié quant on l’a vue,
Wow! Wow! Wow! Never underestimate the power of wind and water. Awesome. I lived in MI during the late 70’s and experienced some monster blizzards. I remember seeing frozen waves on the shore of Lake Michigan. Too bad I didn’t take pictures. Those icy pictures remind me of the bitter cold of those winters. Hats off to the photographers!
We lived along Lake Michigan for 16 years. My husband would take our sons to the lake and tell them that it was the ocean. Of the lake was more impressive than our visits to Wildwood, NJ. The lake storms could be horrendous. Wonderful pictures.
[…] Superior, Michigan, during autumn. While these waves may be big, they are in no way close to the ferocious waves attacking lighthouses during powerful storms. Photo #32 by […]
[…] Superior, Michigan, during autumn. While these waves may be big, they are in no way close to the ferocious waves attacking lighthouses during powerful storms. Photo #32 by […]
wow
The beautiful ferocity and creative destruction of Mother Nature is a stark reminder of God’s control over man. Awesome photo’s!
Loved all the pictures. Spent many hours on the pier in South Haven and love every picture I see of the lighthouse. You should see the Ice Burgs along the shore in winter, we use to play on them, If our Mother knew, we would have been grounded for the winter. That was in the 50’s.
[…] Superior, Michigan, during autumn. While these waves may be big, they are in no way close to the ferocious waves attacking lighthouses during powerful storms. Photo #32 by […]
THIS IS AMAZING
THAT WAS GREAT ! TOOTIE WAS JUST UP THERE THIS OCTOBER,BUT JUST REGULAR WAVES AND VERY NICE,HOT..
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Grand Haven!!!
Honey, I am going out to dig some clams for lunch. Well….. maybe not!
fantastic photo. they really took me back in time—I was a light house keeper while serving in the us coast guard. (1954-58 )
I spent one year at RACINE REEF LIGHT, racine, wisconsin. 1958, or was it 1957 ? It has since been replaced by automation
calvin stewart ex. BM3/c uscg
Awesome pictures but–where was Manistee Light house
I was stationed at Manistee Coast Guard Station in 1963, 1964, & 1965. It was known as Manistee Moorings at the time. I have/had one picture of a wave breaking over the light. I’ll see if I still have it.
I went from there to North Manitou Shoals Light Station for the 1966 season. Saw the biggest storm I have ever seen there. Unfortunately no pictures. The light is about 10 mlies out from Leland. No island, just built on a cement “crib”. We were too busy trying to survive to take pictures, the waves broke down the sea door and we were being flooded. I’ll never forget that day. They told us by radio there was nothing they could do to help us that we were on our own. Not a good feeling.
You werenever alone for you made it by the grace of God/ thankful you were able to write the story
Awesome pictures but–where was Manistee Light house
Light house keepers deserve “storm pay”
LOL. John, I totally agree!
How awesome is Lake Michigan. I live in Petoskey and have seen some amazing waves on the pier. These pics are spectacular!
We were in Grand Haven this year. Waves are amazing. We even bought one of those small surf boards because EVERYONE was surfing. If you love lighthouses and you love Michigan, there is actually a book I have seen, not sure where, but it’s called Lighthouses of Michigan. We have SOOOO many and they are all historical.
Have a great day!
I have that book. Believe it’s still in print. I grew up in northern Michigan and have seen all the Michigan lights shown here. Beautiful pictures, and awesome! Anyone who has spent time crewing on the freighters of the Great Lakes will tell you Lake Superior and Lake Michigan can be more treacherous than the North Atlantic. The storms come up very fast.
Lived in St. Joseph in the 1950’s – in winter, saw the frozen waves pile up in huge Arctic-like ice floes 30 to 50 feet high along the shoreline. Totally awesome! Walking out either of the piers to the lighthouse and range light was scarey even with small waves washing against it.
As supervisor of Grand Haven S. pierhead lt,{#41 & others} in early 1960’s I walked out the catwalk to take the watch morning after storm and ice coating like #41 but more ice like (#6), Foster J. Trainor who I was releiveing, had to through an axe out that upper window so I could chop the ice off to get the door open so I could get in and he could go home.
In early 1970’s as Officer in Charge CGSATA Grand Haven( Light house automated Nov 1969) after winter storm found 1/4″ plate glass storm pane (window of light room) had been broken and a cake of ice 2ft wide and 16 in thick had been thrown thru window by wave action.
Great photos. I retired from the Coast Guard several years ago, but during my active service we serviced many lighthouses, transferred water and fuel to Robins Reef in NY Harbor, the Race and Execution Rocks in Long Is. Sound several times, signed the book at New London Ledge Light in CT serviced all the lights on Block Is. and Naragansett Bay RI and many in the Vinyard and Nantucket area. I finally ended up in Grand Haven and as OinC of the ANT, we serviced from Michigan City Indiana to Point Petsey in Frankford, Michigan. I currently am involved in the preservation of the Grand Haven Entrance and Inner Lights as a member of the Grand Haven Lighthouse Conservancy. Visit us on Facebook…….
I think that the photo # 31 is the Edgewood Yacht club, not the Rhode Island yacht Club. Both are / were on Narragansett bay only about a mile from each other. The EYC burned down a couple of years back. A shame to withstand all the hurricanes and succumb to fire.
fantastic pictures, how insignificant man is compared to nature.
These are fantastic pictures, have you made this into a calendar?
WOW….amazing
The beauty of Gods creation. There is so much beauty in this world, if we could only see it all!!
I stayed on White Shoals light about 1950 Carl Walters was the keeper at that time, it you know or was there drop a line. Bunny Walters
Our family cottage of 50 years was located South of Grand Haven on Lake MI. The Grand Haven Light house on the South Pier is my favorite and one of the most photographed in the world. These pics show the beauty of this magnificent structure, and God’s storms testing it’s endurance. President Ford was believed to have a framed photo of it in the White House. The photographers should be acclaimed for their fearlessness for documenting all these wonderful light house pictures showing the fury of Lake Michigan storms.
These are really wonderful photographs. Thank you for sharing them with the world. I’ve not yet visited Michigan and had the opportunity to photograph any of the lighthouses there, but it is something I’m planning to do so I can post photos of the lighthouses there to my blog. When Irene was coming up the coast, I went out and did some photographs and a couple of videos at two of the lighthouses near me here in Maine. Thaks again for sharing the great photos with all of us.
Have a great day.
Roy aka Mr Lighthouse Entusiast
Fabulous photos!! The Great Lakes can really churn up some waves!! It is beautiful to behold, but not much fun to ride on (in a boat)! Fortunately, most of the real bad storms come after boating season is over in Michigan. Michael from Brighton, MI
[…] this has an uncanny similarity to frozen shorelines as seen when killer waves attack lighthouses, this is Dead Sea salt instead of ice. Photo #26 by […]
[…] this has an uncanny similarity to frozen shorelines as seen when killer waves attack lighthouses, this is Dead Sea salt instead of ice. Photo #26 by […]
Great pics. It’s no wonder so many are of MI lights. We have more lighthouses than any other state with so much shoreline on the Great Lakes…..Jim Gotch
[…] What you see in the gallery below are four photos from the webpage Power of the Storm: 44 Ferocious Waves Attacking Lighthouses […]
These lighthouse pictures were awesome. I didn’t see any on the second oldest lighthouse in Michigan…..The Ft Gratiot lighthouse. Thanks for sending them. Fred/Diane
Greatest pictures I have ever seen.
My congratulation to the hero photographers.
these pics were just out of sight super…..i have done a lot of traveling around the world early in life and i always had a light house need to find out about them but just went and looked and read but these pics and the brave photographers are out beyond the best…..i have been in lot of light house around europe and florida but i am going to michigan and maine and do some diligence….and you guys that lived in them ….jeez….another life experience that i have not thought about…..thanks for all of you and the pics……
A great collection of photography, especially the video. Having produced the book, “Michigan lighthouses, An Aerial Photographic Perspective”, (www.michiganlighthouse.com), I have a keen appreciation of the work involved. Unfortunately, from the air and in my Cessna 172 airplane I don’t have a very good opportunity to take pictures of lighthouses with thunderous waves. My particular interest and niche is to do the offshore Michigan lighthouses during the winter and spring breakup with the infinitely varied background floating and reefed ice. In winds that create waves like in those pictures I am getting thrashed about inside the airplane with the camera banging me in the forehead and sometimes striking the window frame of the airplane. I once dropped the $1500 viewfinder from my Bronica GS-1 to the bottom of Lake Michigan off the South end of South Fox island during a very turbulent flight in November a couple of years ago. The nearest picture with any wave action is the one in the book of Point Betsy. And in that case the winds were blowing me back into the lighthouse and across the water at probably 80 mph or more, despite my efforts to maintain a slow 55 mile an hour airspeed. The helicopter, with it’s overhead, churning, gyroscopic blade, offers a high level of stability for gaining such delightful photography and video. Kudos to those involved. jlw
MICHIGAN ! My home state!
One never knows just exactly what each winter will bring.
Some are tame as a lamb with little snow and moderate temps.
Some are seemingly never-ending and nowhere to pile all the
excess snow!!!
Ah, but life on the lakes!
Fantastic pix — hats off to the brave photographers!
GO BLUE !
What fantastic and talented photographers !
And, needless to say, what courageous photographers.
However, I can feel what satisfaction they get when
they get a picture like these. Congratulations to
all of you, and thank you for sharing your pictures
with us.
Helen
Absolutely fabulous! Hope all of you are members of the Lighthouse Society of America to help preserve these amazing treasures!
Fantastic pictures. The power of the storms. Makes one wonder how the light towers are attached with such power to the bases they are perched on.
Ahoy, Mates: As a [large format,5×7} photographer for over 60 years, I have the utmost praise for these photographs. Now the rest of my story. In 1963-64, I was in personally in charge of a group to save, preserve and open Atlantic city’s historic [1857] lighthouse built by George Gordon Meade, of Civil War fame. We succeeded and it is still there and open seasonally. I first met a woman who turned out for the t December 31 opening celebration [It happen at midnight in 15 degree temperatures at the start of New Jersey’s Tercentnary Year marking the start of the Year. To leave this story to your imagination, ONE year later on 12/31/64 I :”lured” her back on a date to the lighthouse, and proposed to her on the first platform. We were married in 1965, and remained happily for 38 years until Cancer claimed her life in 2004. The lighthhouse was by this time located two blocks in land from the ocean [except for rare hurricanes and floods] . Absecon light, named for the island upon \which it and Atlantic City NJ is located, is 167 feet tall with 2228 steps leading to the lantern. But these photographs are magnificent! You may print my name, I am proud Jack E. Boucher, Silver Spring, MD, of this story!
Friends…….I just had to look at all these photographs again. The quality, courage and tenacity of the photographers is incredible.
The images remind me of the famed lighthouse Eddystone off the English coastline. I thought it was a great photograph. but these are nothing short of spellbinding. Jack E. Boucher, again…..
All are great photo’s except that #21 is actually a painting and not a real photo but pretty just the same!!!!
I grew up on Lake Ontario (Rochester, NY) and had no idea that Lake Michigan had such horrific
storms. These pics are awesome!
This an awesome series of how wild & dangerous the Great Lakes can get. A beautiful and spectular captures well done with great details.
The power of God is mighty.
You have done a breath taking job here.
Thank you for sharing them with the public.
I have lived in West side of Michigan all my life and have seen many of these Lighthouses. Never had the experience of visiting the inside of one but plan to search which ones are available to visit inside. Have seen many of the lighthouses (both winter & summer) on the west side of Michigan.
They are magnificent.
I would like to take a vacation to visit all of Michigan lighthouse – better get started – I’m 84 now.
Thanks for renewing my enthusiasm.
Can you imagine what it must have been like for the keepers a hundred years or so ago – battling those waves to keep the lights lit?
Many died in those endeavors.
“Awsome!!” You really captured the power and fury of water in a storm. I was amazed to see how high the waves actually rose. This is the first time I have seen 132 foot waves in action. Congratulations on a great job.
What a wonderful collection. There are no words to describe the beauty and ferocity seen here. Thank you so much for sharing them with us and thanks to my Michigan USN buddy for bringing them to my attention. My shipmates and I have experienced the storms of the North Atlantic and Mediterranean on a tin can, DD867. As awesome and frightening as they were, I had no idea those of “The Lakes” could be just as severe. Mother Nature has a way of reminding us how utterly powerless we can be at times.
Again, thank you so much.
Jim Cox
My husband and I went to Michigan and took the Circle Tour of Lighthouses in the summer.
It is a trip worthwhile taking.
Who is the lumphead who inserted the soundtrack when all you want to hear is the crashing surf??
People don’t live in Lighthouses. Sorry to wreck your Fantasy Fear.
Many of the Great Lakes lighthouses were indeed manned. A worthwhile trip documenting life in a lighthouse is available at the lighthouse at the northern most tip of Grand Traverse Bay, MI.
I am speechless . . . the courage to keep these houses and the courage to record their courage. Many of us enjoy the the reminder (I am reveling in it, this day) that our fellow human beings have the courage to rise above their real fear, to achieve something beyond it. I must disagree with the person who says people do not live in these houses. We all live in the places where we keep what we treasure. Cynthia C. Davis
As a young lieutenant in the Coast Guard, stationed at the Base in Seattle, I had the opportunity to visit the families living at the Patos Island, Washington lighthouse to do an audit. The history surrounding that island was fascinating, and the vistas amazing. They had logbooks dating back to whenever; I remember reading about the sailing vessels smuggling Chinese, trying to get to Seattle and just prior to being overtaken by Coast Guard cutters, the coolies were bound hand and foot and thrown overboard to “get rid of the evidence”. Their bodies washed up on Patos, as well as other islands in the Straits of Juan de Fuca; the lighthouse keepers and their families found the remains and buried them. I remember the island as beautiful, but very lonely; to my recollection it took about 6 hours to get there via patrol boat. I think the lighthouse was scheduled for total automation in a couple of years; but that was around 1973. Though no one actually lived in that lighthouse, their quarters were very close by. These photos are inspiring from so many standpoints – the stark beauty, and the fear that comes with the knowledge that man has no control over your immediate surroundings.
Oh yes we do!!! I just spent 17 days at Battery Point Lighthouse as an emergency keeper. We have keepers living IN THE LIGHTHOUSE all year. Come check us out.
I would still like to be a Lighthouse Keeper
You CAN be a volunteer Lighthouse Keeper in Michigan at one of 3 lighthouses….Big Sable Point Lighthouse (in Ludington State Park – where you live and work in the lighthouse for 2 weeks!!), Little Sable Point Lighthouse or the Ludington Pier Lighthouse. Google splka.com for information on an experience you will never forget!
You may join us at SPLKA.org. We have 3 lighthouses you can volunteer during April through Oct. Big Sable Point at the end of the State Park in Ludington. The North Breakwater at the end of the pier in Ludington and one on the shore of Lake MI by Silver Lake State Park. We have been Lighthouse volunteers for 11 years and have truly enjoyed every minute of our time serving. I remember our 1st year in 2001 as volunteers at Big Sable Point, a storm was coming across from WI and we hurried to the top of the tower to watch it, and it was amazing, for the storm was like a curtain on a stage with dark clouds, thunder and lightning and beside the curtain there was sun. I kept telling myself; don’t be afraid this tower has been here since 1867. Come and join us. I will warn you, it becomes additive, you serve and actually live in the Big Sable Lighthouse with wonderful facilities and awesome views from every room and especially from your bedroom and kitchen. The sunsets are breathless! It is so intriguing to imago what life was like in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. What devotion these keepers had to tend the light. Please go to SPLKA.org and check us out.
In Jan 1, 2001 @ 1:00 my wife and I were married at the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse in Newport,Oregon. Beautiful day. No rain, ocean was like glass against the North Jetty. We were married in the family room next to the fireplace. Historical Society that runs the place said that not to many people get the chance to use the lighthouse for weddings. Love that lighthouse.
The pictures are truly magnificent. I have a deep respect for the people that live or have lived in these light houses! The power of the ocean is amazing. Thank you for this insight.
Where can I get my own light house/ Will relocate !
The pics are truly amazing, and the memories that people have shared is equally amazing. Here’s mine: While crossing Lake Michigan on the Badger, the ferry between Ludington, MI, and Manitowoc, WI, I (many years ago, and on an ordinary day with ordinary waves) remarked to my dad, “There’s a lot of water out here!”, to which he replied, “Yup, and that’s just the top of it!”
What respect we must have for the water, the fierceness of storms, and what delight we can take in the One who created it all. Our God is an awesome God….!
These pictures are fabulous. I lived in Detroit and Port Huron for 27 years and still consider the lake shore lines and beaches to be the most beautiful in the world. I never saw the vicious storms while I was there, but it is not hard to believe when one sees the waves when there is only a small storm.
I grew up in Michigan. I lived on Lake Michigan in Muskegon, Mi. I remember the waves, undertows, and the ice. It looked just like all these pictures. One yr., I believe it was in the mid 60’s, when the Mockifiel grounded on the pier next to the lighthouse during one extreme winter. It was stuck there for the entire winter. It wasn’t until that next Spring before they could repair her and move her off the pier. We had numerous ships from all over the world who would come into our town down through the channel into Muskegon Lake and on to the warehouse district. Most were there for the scape metal. It was so interesting and awesome to watch these huge sea fairing vessels come in. You could stand at the channel and almost touch them as they passed by. I really miss those incredible times. I miss Michigan….winters and all.
Thank You , These were Magnificent Photos & Video .
I always wanted to live in a Light House Years ago. But after seeing some Big Storms I thought otherwise !
Light houses that were maned , the Men & Families where Very Brave !
The photos were spectacular. I was amazed at the changes the various seasons had on the structures. Never having visited Michigan, I was surprised at the number of light houses on Lake Michigan.
I’m a Michigan gal and sailed the some of the Great Lakes for 20 years. My uncle Russ Pouliot co-founded the Bayview to Mackinaw Sailboat race, so I have a history of boating most of my life.
I now live 1 mile from the Savannah River in SC, but it’s nothing like the waters of the Great Lakes. I have been in several storms on our sailboat that I thought at the time we wouldn’t make it back to shore. The storms can kick up in a hurry and until this day I’m a watcher of clouds.
I’m a Michigan product and retired on the coast of southern California. Although I love the Pacific
ocean I do miss the great lakes area. Great photography of the powerfull and dynamic force of the great lakes sorrounding the beautiful state of Michigan.
Truly amazing of Mother Nature’s awesome power & beauty…Congrats to the brave people who shot these photos…
Have only seen maps of Michigan’s Lakes and now photos of lighthouses’ storms
Such a revelation!
Have never seen such amazing pictures!! God does share his glory with us!!!
comment: The pictures were totally Awesome and really beautiful Lighthouses.!!!
If I had a bucket list, this would be the first and only thing on it. I would love to experience such a thrilling phenonmenal event!
Our Lord Jesus Christ is a LIGHTHOUSE!!
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
Am also born (a Yooper) in the Upper Peninsula of beautiful Michigan. Was only disappointed to not see any pics on Lake Superior, which was 2 or 3 miles from our resort on Lake AuTrain. Our resort was one of the most beautiful in Northern Michigan. We had our lodge, and very large, and beautiful log cottages with Lake Superior agate rock fireplaces and my Dad, Richard A. Perry built every single building from scratch by reading books on how to build with logs. He was on a television show specifically being lauded for this huge resort. Our little Lake AuTrain was gorgeous summers and winters, but you never heard such a banging clanging sound as our double plate picture windows all around the lodge faced the fury of storms coming down from Canada. We had a doorbell and the winds would blast off a noise that sounded like a ghost howling. Many a time lightening struck our tall pines around the house and left their mark. As a Senior in High School, I missed almost as much school as I MADE it to, having to get up at 6 am with the house soooo cold, you could see your breath gusting out. Then breakfast, and mom driving us through storms to the little town of AuTrain, Mich. where our father actually started the little town up, by building our grocery store, gas station, and Post Office. This, of course years before. Now we caught the bus to drive allllll the heck from AuTrain to all the tiny little areas here and there. The famed “Christmas Michigan” for one, in that freezing bus for 1 and a half hours or more depending on the storms to Munising to our High School. We swam in Lake Superior all the time, though it is so cold, you couldn’t do it for long. Then we would dive into AuTrain River which seemed like lukewarm water after Lake Supe.
We would drive the two lane highway all around Lake Superior with ice dikes feet high and of course, Lake Superior is frozen in winter all around the edges and it has a whole whole lot of coastline around those edges. More then any other state. Our family would get snowed in so often, and without electricity and frozen pipes. We had to heat snow to wash our hair. Upper Mich. can make one very humble, but it is stunningly beautiful. And most folks have no idea that the Great Lakes are so clear, you can see the bottom CLEARLY in very deep water. These pictures of the Lighthouses are so beautiful, and so shocking, that anyone who was a lighthouse keeper, or flew to get these pictures was seriously courageous! Michigan MY Michigan….I am in Northern California now, and have been to some of our lighthouses here and California is stunning too. Redwoods, Ocean, beaches, sunshine and friendly people. Most of our Yooper (Upper Peninsular) friends spend their winters in Florida, golfing these days. Also my sister (Kitty (Perry) Osborne, and her husband retired Col. Bob Osborne. These photos and video are going to everyone on my mailing list.
Aus Revoir
After watching these photos and the fury of Lake Michigan you can understand why and how the laker the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Michigan so quickly with all hands!
First of all I would like to correct the person who posted about the Fitz sinking on Lake Michigan You need to check your sources. It was on Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior up by Paradise in the UP. Lake Superior is the largest and deepest of the great lakes and Is known as Lake Gitchegumee the lake that never gives up its dead. The Fitz sank with all aboard lost. It is a living memorial and probably will never be raised. RIP.
I was born in Frankfort, raised in Ludington. My Dad and both Grandfathers sailed the Great Lakes and told of being out during some of these storms. I made many trips with my Dad on the Ann Arbor Car Ferries out of Frankfort and the C & O from Ludington. Always wanted to be a sailor when I grew up, now have to be content with taking cruises.
Merveilleux documents !!! Je n’imaginais pas à quelles puissantes contraintes ces belles et indispensables constructions étaient soumises. Sont-elles encore parfois habitées ? Sont-elles parfois détruites par la puissance des vagues les plus fortes, ou mises hors d’usage quant à leur rôle essentiel pour les navigateurs ?
Oui, les gens ne vivent dans ces phares dans le Michigan. Il ya un site qui ils vont, splka.org, où ils se portent volontaires pour être le gardien du phare pendant deux semaines. Je n’ai pas été sur le site, donc je ne connais pas tous les détails.
Having sailing through the Raz de Sein in my Sadler 29 in calm weather* I am glad I did not get caught in a storm! (*It was lumpy enough then.)
I WAS STATIONED ON THE GRAND HAVEN LIGHT HOUSE AND ON THE LIGHT HOUSE AT MARQUETTE MI. AND AT POINT BETSIE.
I love lighthouses. I also collected them from all over. To see these storm pictures is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing.
These photos are magnificent, I almost would love to be in one of them during a storm, I live in Michigan and have seen some of them. I might be taking a vacation to some of them this winter, just in case.
Do people still live in light houses? What do they do when an ice storm hits? Has a light house
ever been toppled by ice storm or waves? I remember all of the old 1940s movies about the sea,
storms and light houses and thought ” How Romantic”. After seeing these pictures I have my doubts!
Wonderful pictures from some very brave photographers!
I have often said to my dad “I wouldn’t mind living in a lighthouse” ………….never again!
I was stationed on Sombrero Key Light house in 1950–52, which is situated about eight miles off shore from Marathon, Florida. The station consisted of a work deck which was about 15 ft. above the water, an upper deck which housed two sleeping quarters (one for the Officer in Charge and the other for three enlisted men), a galley which also contained weather reading instruments, and the engine room which housed the generators.
The entire structure was suspended above the ocean by eight iron legs that were screwed into the coral reef.
We would swim, diving using only face masks and flippers as as air tanks and the like hadn’t come into vogue yet. The underwater panorama was breathtaking with the colors of the reef life. There were hundreds of fish types to be seen, including moray eels, Florida lobsters, sharks, barracuda, and huge devil rays to mention a few.
However, when the hurricanes came, it was quite a different story.
We had to secure all the metal doors (there were no windows) causing us to live in total isolation except for one telephone to shore. Before the storm got too furious, we would take turns going out the gang plank (which extended over the water) and descend a rope ladder and hang just over the roaring, white–capped waves which would hit the ladder immediately below us. and we would hang on for dear life. I have a photo of me doing just that. In those days, you didn’t think of death. I did read where one Guardsman did die by drowning at our light just three years after I served there. At the height of the storms, the waves smashing against the eight pilings would cause the entire light to vibrate like a violin string. That went on for hours and finally the seas would subside and we were once again able to open the storm doors and see the sunlight. I enjoyed those days. They went by ever so quickly. Dick Shinn, DVM (BM2)
Awesome photos! We live in a lighthouse on Lake Superior named Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn. It is the last and the largest lighthouse ever built on the Great Lakes. We spent three years restoring this lighthouse and now it is visited by people from all over the world.
You faithless infidels! No mention of Poseidon the god of the sea!
Although there would be no ice, it made me wonder about the Florida lighthouses during hurricanes. I don’t think they are manned any more, but in the past they certainly were.
Amazing photos!!!!!! Whoever put this together deserves great recognition.
Truly amazing of Mother Nature’s awesome power & beauty…Congrats to the brave people who shot these photos… I only wish I was brave enough to venture out to these beautiful Lighhouses during storms and other natural wonders
Having been a lighthouse keeper on Boston lighthouse, there have been times when storms have ravaged all of them, Minot light was unmanned, however Graves light, also in Boston, was similar in structure but did have a crew.
I am thankful that I was on an island.
Boston lighthouse, was the first and last manned lighthouse in the new world, while it still stands it is unmanned now, Shame.
And just think, our Lord can calm these seas with just a whisper.
absolutely. Fearsome we must be~
awesome pictures and i have seen the litehouse in spain during a storm. those were really awesome pictures. well done.
My impression is also awesome pictures. I will check the lighthouse picture by Olga Diez of Escondido. Southern California is famous for it mission bells and in the picture one may be such.
You may join us at SPLKA.org. We have 3 lighthouses you can volunteer during April through Oct. Big Sable Point at the end of the State Park in Ludington. The North Breakwater at the end of the pier in Ludington and one on the shore of Lake MI by Silver Lake State Park. We have been Lighthouse volunteers for 11 years and have truly enjoyed every minute of our time serving. I remember our 1st year in 2001 as volunteers at Big Sable Point, a storm was coming across from WI and we hurried to the top of the tower to watch it. It was amazing! The storm was like a curtain on a stage with dark clouds, thunder and lightning and beside the curtain on each side, the sun was shining. I kept telling myself; don’t be afraid this tower has been here since 1867. Come and join us. I will warn you, it becomes additive, you serve and actually live in the Big Sable Lighthouse with wonderful facilities and awesome views from every room and especially from your bedroom and kitchen. The sunsets are breathless! It is so intriguing to imagine what life was like in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. What devotion these keepers had, to tend the light. Please go to SPLKA.org and check us out.
Grew up in Charlevoix Michigan and had forgotten how the ice built up on the harbor entrance lighthouse . Left there as a child and moved to Arkansas and away from the cold and miserable weather on the coast of Lake Michican. Nice place in the summer but miserable ion the winter..
AWESOME ,no doubt about! I really like lighthouses! I want to at least see the 21 in Oregon soon.
I have a picture of one being pounded by wave and has words under the picture:
Sometimes God calms the storm,
and sometimes He lets the storm rage
and He calms His child.
I was stationed in Saulte Ste. Marie Michigan, Falmouth Mass and grew up on the coast in Rhode Island. Love these pics.
Fantastic photos. I get the impression that the sea does not want the lighthouses watching it.
Live on the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal that is only “protected” By Bethyl Light in Chesapeake City MD. In winter sometimes we need the services of USCG Ice Breakers. If the waves in the canal reach the top of Bethyl Light, it is time to grab your ankles and kiss your … goodby. My tributes go out to the photographers who captured these exceptional pictures of natures furry.
The introduction to this page states “amazingly brave and talented photographers”, have “shared with us” this collection of “fantastic photos”. Please note that Earl Wilkerson’s ‘photo’ at number 21 does not fit into the category of photography, “captured at a split second”. It is actually a poorly done painting or a sloppy photoshopped photo. The curators of this digital exhibition lack discretion, or the “photographer” lacks will to disclose.
Okay, I’ll refund your money that you spent to peruse these pics. Oh wait, that’s right, it was free. Want me to show you the cyber door?
great!!!!
Incredible photos!!! and that video was so awesome. I have never seen the ocean hit the lighthouses like that. I also was amazed at the way the ice collects on these structures. A+++.
Just wanted to say we have the privilege of living on Lake Superior and a view of our Marquette Lighthouse, which is truly a beauty. Please come visit. We are transplanted trolls but lived near the Little Point Sauble lighthouse growing up. We have never tired of the specktacular view surrounding us and the storms are an extra bonus, as long as everyone is safe. We were traveling back to the U.P. the night the Edmund Fitzgerald went down, the Mighty Mac was closed, there were 90 mile an hour winds at Mackinaw City. Restaurants ran out of food and Motels filled up in a hurry, a night our family of 5 with 3 dogs will never forget….
Wow some great pictures, and thank you I will stay on land. I did see a couple of pictures that had different dates mentioning Hurricane Carol, the dates were 1954 and 1969.
I did not think that a Hurricane would stay around that long.
( 1954 there was a Hurricane Hazel tho )
Wow! Incredible!
I lived through the 1954 hurricane, Carrol, and the Blizzard of ’78. These are the photos and things we missed when we had no electricity to watch the news.
The photo of the RI YACHT CLUB is really the EDGEWOOD YACHT CLUB. RI is about a mile south. It was totally destroyed in the 1954 and 1938 hurricanes but rebuilt each time. Edgewood, sorry to say, withstood two major hurricanes and the blizzard but was destroyed by fire about a year ago. I guess it’s reopened but just a few docks and moorings. It would Cost too much to rebuild that great old structure.
Mother Nature is one strong lady!!! The pictures were amazing. Brave photographers. Must be a sight to see in person, but scary also.
And you think, we human are the only ALMIGHTY….
After doing 10 years in USCG doing weather patrols and 82 ft tours in the South China sea, nothing kicks up faster that Lake Michigan. I did some work on the Ann Arbor RR ferry Arthur K Atkinson, could not believe how fast the lake kicked up and also calmed down.
Super photos of the Lights.
[…] 44 ferocious waves attacking lighthouses […]
[…] http://www.lovethesepics.com/2011/04/power-of-the-storm-44-ferocious-waves-attacking-lighthouses/ […]
I relish, cause I discovered exactly what I used to be taking a look for. You’ve ended my 4 day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
The only place to be with this weather is definately on Land.
My husbands 65 foot fishing boat froze up (just like the icicles in the picture) On the West side of the Queen Charlotte Islands in the 1980’s – It was very scary.
My family has a cottage a mile south of the Sturgeon Bay, canal light house. We have fond memories of the old air horn. It sounded as though it would run out of air from time to time, like an asthmatic. Now it has an eletric horn that now only is triggered by a senser that is set off by fog, a special radio on a boat or a spider that has made a web on the senser. We sure miss the old air horn.
After seeing these fantastic photos, and having grown up in Ludington, MI, I feel moved to put in my $.02. Located about halfway between the northern and southern extremes of the lower peninsula on Lake Michigan, it was early on supported by healthy logging and fishing industries. Pere Marquette Lake, with its passage into Lake Michigan provides a small, navigable port for larger ferry ships carrying about 30 train cars, passenger cars and people between Ludington and the Wisconsin ports of Manitowoc, Milwaukee and Kewaunee. The history of these car/train ferries is quite interesting and well worthwhile to research unto themselves. Though they have been highly important to the commerce of Michigan and Wisconsin, their safety of passage has been aided by the Ludington North Breakwater Light. For those who live in Ludington the lighthouse is a constant in their subconscious minds and a pleasant part of their conscious lives. Ludington’s Stearns Park features a drive by the beach where people can park to watch the great sunsets over the lake. Over to the left is the North breakwater with the lighthouse at the end. Everyone walks the quarter mile out to the lighthouse if only to get some exercise or really to be up close to it. While growing up there I still have fond memories of its quite loud fog horn. It can be heard all over town and, of course, it sounds off at night. I would listen to it and fall asleep to it. You get used to it. It has only recently been made open to the public and now, as others have pointed out, through splka.com you can become volunteer lighthouse keepers. Ok, that was $.04.
I worked on all the lighthouses in the Great Lakes for 4 years in the early 80’s while I was attached to the Coast Guard D9 “Cable Boat”. They really are something! Good memories!
Beautiful pictures,m showing both the power of the waves and the unflinching strength of the lighthouses. Wish we could see more Pacific Northwest coast lighthouses–so isolated there are few people to take these pictures!
Six months on a primary seacoast light and bored to death. Three years on a lighthouse tender and never saw anything like this but heard some stories of sleepless nights
My first 21 years were in Michigan,4 years in the UP.50 years later the lakes are still a vivid memory.Seen them all.Best memory was crossing Lake Michigan on a train ferry on a November night.I’m notb sure what was the loudest the lake or the rail cars below.
My wife and I are lighthouse keepers off the cosat of Rockport, Massachusetts on Thacher Islands Twin Lights. The last operational twin lighthouses on the east coast. We are the August keepers and have been so for the past nine years. These pictures are awesome and remind us all how powerful the sea is and how dangerour it can be and the important part that lighthouses have played in the safety of the worlds ships. Mostly automated now we keep the island and welcome guests and work our rear ends off! Check out our web site and come visit us if you are in the area in August. Be safe!
these are amazing photos of light houses.
have seen now, wonderfull pictures of lighthouses. Storms are very nice to see, but I prefer sunshine at sea. We do have storms in Holland, but we do not have clives as breakers. We have a sandy coeast. Have a very nice and calm 2012.
Great pictures! I didn’t see any of the lighthouses off the coast of VA and NC, though. Great ones there also! I love lighthouses and wouldn’t mind living in one for awhile at least; don’t know if I would want to full-time year around or not.
The force of nature is just amazing. I have been to Lake Michigan during the summer and experienced the impact of a severe thunder storm and the roars of the waves. The photographers and their photos are magnificient!
Maybe this will educate some about Mother Nature.
It seems to me that lighthouse keepers should qualify for “hazardess pay”.
Now you know that God is the strongest in the World, He can do anything!
This so different and great that I am glad that I was chosen to see all of it.
Many thanks, vel
Damn!
Hey, I live in Marquette, MI near Lake Superior and have seen monster storms here at the lighthouse and surrounds. Wish we were on this! Anybody want to be a lighthouse keeper? Or in a boat in the storm? Yah hoooo
After watching this, I will stop complaining about our 42 degrees this sunny January morning on Amelia Island, Florida.
Fantastic. Too bad about the sound of the waves got corrupted by weird singing. Very distracting.
Most impressive. Makes you wish you were there………….
Great pics. Ice pics are awsome
I grew up and live in South Haven Michigan and get to the South light almost daily.
#13 pic is not South Haven light
amazing what modern technology can do ? the movie at the end ALMOST had me convinced to believe what i was seeing but then a small miscalculation….phew,that was close! and so i say,you can fool some of the people SOME of the time,BUT YOU CAN’T FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME.nice try though
unbelievable what the work and the lighthouse have take from the stroms….But think about how and who made the stroms….God can bring on that strong of strom….What God could to help man to see how we need God to stand by us in our time of stroms….GOD IS GREAT …..may we never forget who made us and give the brain make lighthouse to stand……..
AMAZING….yes, absolutely, terrifying….quite…has anyone ever thought about how these lighthouses were built ???? That must have been a real engineering feat! There is nothing quite like the fury of the sea….nothing man made for sure. God can really make you stop and take notice, can’t He?? Thanks so much for sharing these beautiful photos. I sent them to my sister who lives in FLA and she and my brother were both very impressed. Thanks again!
A couple years ago there was a great program on tv…”Angels of Light” So they called the Lighthouses the Angels of light..It was just fabulous..I have painted a few lighthouses in oil, but none in storms..I can sit for hours and watch the waves in storms hit those rocks and houses…respect for the seas..always remember…save this site and show your kids…
[…] Power of the Storm: 44 Ferocious Waves Attacking Lighthouses Grand Haven Lighthouse. The photographer described, “In this picture is the outer and inner light. The outer light is 36′ tall and the inner light is 51′ tall. I was able to venture out safely about 1… […]
Live on the South shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana and I go to the shore every time there is a big storm and watch the waves change the shoreline. Absolutely spectacular.
Do you have access to any hurricane photos of Fall River/Westport, Ma. and/or Tiverton, Aquidneck Island (Portsmouth, Island Park, Middletown, Newport) Rhode Island?
Grew up in Grand Haven, Michigan and loved the harbor then. I still love to go back and enjoy the harbor. At an art festival two years ago, I spotted a portrait of the pier in a big windstorm at sunset. It looked like a painting, but I discovered it was a professional photo, and I had to have it. Hanging in my living room in Florida now, I still love it. Boy, I went to view the musical fountain this past summer (had seen it multiple times), but was really more fascinated by the harbor lights reflecting on the Grand River….brought back many old memories. Donna Terrill Northuis
And people still don’t beleive in Gods Power
I was born and raised in St. Joseph Michigan and was so used to playing in and around Lake Michigan that I didn’t really appreciate it. Now I am retired in Kalamazoo and miss the big lake. My parents and us kids would pack a lunch on Saturday, in the summer, and go fish for perch off of the piers. We spent most of the day out there and usually had sunburned noses! Then we had fun at the Silver Beach Amusement Park right next to the South Pier. Oh the memories of the big lake!!!
Our family lived in St. Joesph MI for fifty years. When I first became aware of the lighthouse, it was periodically issuing a very deep BEE-OOPS when conditions were foggy or troublesome. I liked the sound of it because I knew it was assisting boaters who might not have a very good vision of where the entrance to the St. Joseph River was or where the shoreline was. Later on, that sound was replaced by an electronic BEEP. I didn’t like that as well but it was accomplishing the same purpose so it was okay. Now, I believe, the lighthouse gives off no sound at all since devices aboard boats make that unnecessary. The lighthouse was a delight but it was also sort of a legal “attractive nuisance”. Neighbors lost children who didn’t respect the power of the waves and the danger of being out on the end of the pier and dodging the water. Our daughters were permitted to go to the beach without supervision at age 12 but that didn’t mean I didn’t think about how much fun it was to be out on the north pier and hope they would keep their wits about them. One day, Tom Bensen dropped by and we chatted about how he was going to go to maritime school after graduation and sail the great lakes. My love to Tom–still aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald.
I was a crewman on USCG Light Station Ambrose during 1984/85. These great images remind
me of the Atlantic Ocean storms that rocked my Station. We were a Lighthouse built like
an Oil Rig type platform located about 10 miles out to sea, south of Brooklyn , NY.
Waves would hit the ocean catwalks so hard the structure vibrated like a tuning fork.
My Dad was stationed in Oswego from 1948-1953. [Photo #8] Hard to believe that I used to row
out to the Oswego Lighthouse in a 12 foot flat bottomed skiff, more times than I like to
think about. It was about a mile or better out there. I was about 13 or 14 at the time.
I’ve seen Dad and a crew go out in storms, and when they passed the harbor entrance, in
a 36 foot lifeboat, the waves would oftentimes make them invisible. Lawrence Outten,
March 15th [Dad’s Birthday] 10:25 p.m.
I have lived most of my life on the western side the lower peninsula of Michigan and have walked most of these Michigan lighthouses. I even took my GPS from the jeep to the end of the Muskegon breakwall and marked that spot. When I got back to the parking lot it appeared I “walked on water” to get to the lighthouse lol.
The November and December storms coming into Ludington were a good reason to take a ride to the beach and watch the power of nature crash into and over both the north and south breakwalls. What memories these pictures bring back!
And they say the surfing sucks in the Great Lakes…
Anyone with enough guts to fair the waves of great storms to get to a lighthouse definitely more guts than me.
Anyone with enough guts to fair the waves of great storms to get to a lighthouse definitely has more guts than me.
I was a lighthouse keeper in New Zealand for eight years – Moko Hinau, Tiritiri, and Nugget Point.
We often had bad, sometimes very severe weather, and even though the towers were high above the sea, the spray still sometimes reached them. And the wind! On a couple of occasions I actually had to crawl to reach the tower. Nevertheless, the best years of my life – actually wrote a book about it – As Darker Grows the Night.
Why aren’t there any picts. of Manistique, MI’s lighthouses or the Seul Choix point lighthouse in Gulliver, MI ?? Their on Lake Michigan in the UP’s Manistique area and also are very beautiful in any weather!! Living there for 10 years and now living in the dessert makes me miss the water!!
It all depends upon what photos are licensed under creative commons, on the time factors of going through hundreds upon hundreds of photos so the viewers will hopefully be pleased, and that also includes the time to hunt for copyright image photographers contact info and if they respond before publishing that yes we can show off their photos with a link back to them. Although many sites do it, we don’t want to snag and ‘steal’ copyright photos without permission. Those photos are the property of photographers.
[…] Hilfe für Schiffe. Gerade den dritten Aspekt, die Gefahr, ist Thema dieser Fotos, die Milowie bei Love These Pics gefunden hat: Sturmfluten oder Stürme allgemein bedrohen immer wieder die Küsten, weshalb […]
great…………. collection
grea…………t achievement
[…] Ferocious Waves Attacking Lighthouses […]
[…] Ferocious Waves Attacking Lighthouses […]
Thank you for making sure that each of the photographs/video have the photographer’s name attached. Their lives were at stake when they took them, and a successful “action” photograph is rarely attained by accident. These are tremendous! Thank you!
These pictures are amazing to look at. I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in a lighthouse when such storms were happening. I think the lighthouse keepers must have been very courageous people to have endured such waves and storms, some seemingly swallowing the lighthouse up completely with water. I would like to visit a lighthouse, I used to see the Lydia Ann Lighthouse on my way to work daily. What a beautiful sight to see, the Lydia Ann is on St Joseph Island near Port Aransas, Texas. After seeing these pictures I have a new respect for lighthouse keepers past and present. You are a special breed of people with a courage surpassing most people living.
These photos are amazing, mother nature is so profound, as are the lighthouse keepers and their families. To live in a lighthouse would be a very couragous life at times, and a very inspirational life as well. I commend all of the brave and wonderful families living in the lighthouses, keeping the lights on for ships guiding safely around the shores. I believe the views seen from lighthouses must be beautiful and hard to leave when the time came to go.
I started off my married life as a lighthouse keeper here in New Zealand (1958-1966), on Moko Hinau, Nugget Point and Tiritiri. We endured equally wild weather quite often. However, two of our stations were on islands and the third was on the coast and so the sea itself never reached us. But the noise and spray most certainly did! Before joining the NZ Lighthouse Service I had been a merchant seaman, and so in one way or another I have had a long association with the sea and its sometimes ferocity! If anyone is interested enough, I wrote a book about our lighthouse days – As Darker Grows the Night
mother nature awsome and beautiful thanks for the treat god bless
I hope to one day see an actual lighthouse…with me living in the desert it almost seems the lighthouse is unreal.
Maravilhosas fotos.
Parabéns.
The power of the storm and the fury of nature which are beyond human conrol. I marvel the people living in the Lighthouses! Hats off to the photographers who went out there inspite of the bad weather. The photos and video were simply amazing! Fantastic! Lake Michigan? Brrrr…. I don’t think I would like to be there at such a time.
[…] Power of the Storm: 44 Ferocious Waves Attacking Lighthouses […]
Wow. Awesome. How did they get some of those built? You can’t do that much work at low tide. has the sea risen so much in 100 yrs? Man, we live on this one place Earth its beautiful.
Wow, these are amazing shots. Thank you for posting this!
These are some awesome pics/videos!! I’ve been a “Lighthouse Freak” for quite some time now….6 years ago my best friend and I, on our motorcycles, toured all 5 lakes and visited some 75 lighthouses on the tour which he had laid out, motel reservations and all, he is a wiz (wizard) on the computer. He is the one that sent me this video. THANKS FOR THESE SHOTS!!
[…] in the Swiss Alps – Great gallery of the underwater world by the Discover Channel – Waves vs Lighthouses, the eternal battle wages on – 101 Unusual, Impressive and illegal pieces of defaced […]
great pics
[…] If you liked this, then you might also enjoy glimpses of winter in Michigan along the lake as seen in Power of the Storm: 44 Ferocious Waves Attacking Lighthouses. […]