Cliffs and Ruins

Lookout View

2012-02-04T11:43:00.001-05:00

The view from "The Cliff Lookout" aka "The Anvil" aka many other names -- a lookout along the Cliff Range. I snowshoed up to this lookout by following the ridge line (visible here) all the way from the North American mine.

Champion Rock Bins

2012-01-31T18:45:00.001-05:00

Underneath the massive -- but slowly decaying -- Champion #4 rock house. This photo shows the path of the old rail spur which lead under the rock bins, where train cars could pick up copper-bearing rock to take to the mill.

This photo was taken as part of a tour on the Copper Country Explorer weekend, 2010.

Switches

2012-01-24T19:35:00.001-05:00

Some sort of mechanical-electrical switches at the Champion #4 hoist building.

We gained access to this building as part of the Copper Country Explorer weekend tour in 2010. The building originally housed a giant steam hoist for the Champion #4 mine, but in its later years it was scaled down to a much smaller electrical hoist -- leaving an awful lot of empty space.

Stope Hole

2012-01-20T10:18:00.001-05:00

Catching up: Here's an old shot from the Delaware Copper Mine, and excellent self-guided mine tour up in the Keweenaw Peninsula. This is a stope hole (possibly better called a "winzie") which connects the 1st and 2nd levels of the mine. The hole connects to the top of a "stope" (an area of copper ore which was removed) which is now filled with water.

C Shaft Hill

2012-01-08T19:35:00.001-05:00

The beginning of the tram road from the C shaft of the old Minesota mine's tram road -- yes, that's spelled right -- at the top of the cleverly named C Shaft Hill.

The Minesota was one of the richest mines in the Copper Country -- in its time. But it mined a special type of lode which had huge chunks of pure copper, and which (like most lodes of that type) ran out fairly quickly -- nothing near the 100+ years that Calumet and Hecla or Quincy would survive, working low-grade lodes filled with tiny nodules of copper. The lode mined at the Minesota was right on the face of the bluff, and so the rockhouse and other parts of the mine had to be below the bluff face.

De-fense!

2012-01-01T11:22:00.001-05:00

You may have noticed that I suddenly slowed down, and then totally stopped, posting photos recently. Well, I had a good excuse: I was going through a butterfly-like transformation and becoming Dr. Clark!

This photo, taken by one of my colleagues, is from my dissertation defense -- a presentation made to my advisor, a committee of professors, and anyone else from my department who cared to come. I presented on and answered questions about my last 5 years' worth of mathematical research. After some grilling by my committee, the deed was done: they agreed that I would be a doctor of mathematics!

Anyhow, the long and short of it is that, in preparing for this day, everything else took a back burner. After that, the combination of finishing up the final details of my dissertation, moving into a new apartment, and the holidays generally kept me from editing and posting photos. More later, I promise!

Tramway

2011-12-09T10:33:00.001-05:00

A tramway at the old Quincy Smelter.

Tire

2011-12-08T12:32:00.001-05:00

Machinery at the Quincy Smelter. My recent tour of the site provided a surprising number of semi-abstract shots, including this steel shot.

Wet Steel

2011-12-02T23:49:00.001-05:00

Exactly what it says on the tin... er... steel.

Originally found outside of the Quincy Smelter.

Back of the Cliffs

2011-11-17T21:52:00.001-05:00

The Cliff Range is a huge and beautiful series of rock outcrops in Keweenaw County. They jut up abruptly, facing southeast, and gradually slope down to Lake Superior on their northwest side. This was taken from one of the many smaller outcrops on this "back" side of the cliffs -- a typical Keweenaw backcountry view in late autumn. The clearing clouds from a rainstorm let in some beautiful late afternoon sunlight to finish off the scene.

Shotgun Stopsign

2011-11-10T20:26:00.001-05:00

A true Yooper "stop ahead" sign.

This one was along the snowmobile trail near Mass City, Michigan. It was also near the Hilton mine, which was my goal of the day.

Rockpile

2011-11-07T08:40:00.001-05:00

Rocks from deep underground, now piled high at the Trimountain mine.

Leaf on leaf

2011-11-04T10:14:00.001-04:00

One leaf's shadow on another.

Norwich Bluff at Sunset

2011-11-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

Norwich Bluff was once the site of many early copper mines. Now, it's a rugged and wild place to explore.

I camped at the base of this bluff in the fall, enjoying a terrific windstorm and a bit of rain too. I spent the entire next day climbing up the face of this bluff, through its valleys and ridges, and finding old mines. It was wonderful.

The scale in this photo doesn't necessarily show just how huge the bluff is. Compare those trees at the top with the aspens in the foreground: they really are that different.

Stars over the Lift Bridge

2011-11-02T20:13:00.002-04:00

The Portage Lake Lift bridge is a favorite subject, at day and at night. The brightness of the bridge makes it hard to get star trail photos, but I tried -- and got 'em!

Maple and Pine

2011-11-02T08:24:00.001-04:00

A maple leaf on a rainy fall day.

Molten Metal Sunset

2011-10-10T10:07:00.001-04:00

A sunset over Lake Michigan, this Friday, while I was waiting for the lovely Sarah to arrive!

Lake Rocks at Sunset

2011-10-05T08:33:00.001-04:00

Bedrock poking out of Lake Superior at sunset. These are along the beach near the mouth of the Gratiot River.

Beach Rock Inuksuk

2011-10-02T20:13:00.001-04:00

This pile of rocks is one of those curious places that I keep revisiting. The beach here, as you can see, is made of large cobbles -- there's very little sand to speak of. This mysterious pile of rocks stands by the shores of Lake Superior, near the Gratiot River's mouth. You may have seen it before in my wider view of this beach.

Unfortunately, the rocks keep falling -- or being pushed -- after years of staying in place. Each time I visit, I rebuild this inuksuk so that others can enjoy it too.

Chicory

2011-09-19T11:40:00.001-04:00

Chickory, a lovely early fall wildflower (or weed, depending on who you ask).

Breakers Clouds

2011-09-14T13:11:00.001-04:00

Wispy clouds behind the breakwater at Breakers -- a popular place at sunset. Just on the other side was this awesome sunset.

Wild sunset

2011-09-12T18:51:00.002-04:00

Wild sunset clouds and colors -- a true early fall sunset in da U.P.

Yes, it really did look this way -- the clouds moved in just after the sun dipped below the horizon, and really caught the last brilliant rays.

Seek Treasure in Ruins

2011-09-07T17:43:00.001-04:00

Sage advice.

I didn't place this here myself, but someone decided to "tag" the old Centennial #6 rockhouse in a surprisingly insightful way.

I'm tempted to look for similar things at other well-preserved ruins, but I have no idea if I'll find them.

Late Summer Leaves

2011-09-05T15:32:00.001-04:00

Late summer leaves glowing in the late summer sun...

Boiler Rivets

2011-08-31T18:02:00.001-04:00

Rivets on an old boiler at the Quincy Mine.

Purple Flowers

2011-08-30T20:17:00.001-04:00

Purple flowers somehow survive on the bare basalt at Seven Mile Point -- a rugged and beautiful nature preserve on the Lake Superior shore.

Fire Wheel

2011-08-28T12:51:00.001-04:00

A Fire Wheel -- a daisy-like wildflower found alongside an old logging road.

Sky and Fanny Hooe

2011-08-26T17:55:00.001-04:00

The view from the Brockway Mountain "nose", looking towards Copper Harbor and Lake Fanny Hooe. This is a wonderful spot to watch the Copper Harbor fireworks on the 4th of July as well.

Wild Daisies

2011-08-02T19:23:00.001-04:00

Wild daisies grow in and among abandoned equipment, at the Quincy Mine. Believe it or not, this wheel belongs to a very old cement mixer.

Storm's coming

2011-08-01T11:34:00.001-04:00

Sunset at Breakers, near Houghton.

I was hoping for a beautiful sunset -- but the storm clouds were still on the horizon. While taking this photo there were thunder and lightning out over the lake.

Safe

2011-07-27T22:19:00.001-04:00

A long abandoned (and looted?) safe hiding near the Mesnard mine.

Baltic Tramway

2011-07-20T22:03:00.001-04:00

The supports of some sort of tramway at the old Baltic stamp mill, near Redridge, Michigan.

This is a bit of a mystery ruin. The coarse sands all around this ruin are stamp sands -- the result of repeatedly smashing copper-bearing rock with giant hammers, to release the copper. The stamp sand is the waste product, and it forms giant cliffs along the beach in front of the old mill. In fact, it is quite a nuisance, as currents move the sands up and down the coast, filling in coves and creating new shoreline. This structure likely helped the mill workers move that sand out away from the building, and dump it closer to the lake shore.

This shot was taken on a hot, humid, and misty day. You'd never know it, but that's Lake Superior in the background!

Looking up to the top

2011-07-19T21:34:00.001-04:00

Another view of the sheaves at the Centennial #6 headframe (seen from below here). The small ladder leads to the old lightening/flag pole at the very top. No, I did not climb the ladder. I didn't even walk around the sheaves themselves -- the metal decking was getting more than a little dodgy, after so many years of neglect.

St. Stefan

2011-07-19T11:46:00.001-04:00

St. Stefan's church in Irsee, Germany. Irsee is best known for a large monastery and church, which is built far down the hill from this smaller church. St. Stefan's church is at the very top of a steep hill, surrounded by its walled cemetery.

This is a panorama stitched together from several shots, resulting in a strange effect -- the church doesn't look real to me! Perhaps it's because it looks too small, or I don't believe that something could have this field of view without perspective distortion.

Bavarian Countryside

2011-07-18T09:58:00.001-04:00

A storm rolling past in the countryside near Irsee, Germany.

I spent a week in Irsee during June, attending a conference on my particular branch of mathematics. I also had an opportunity to walk through the picturesque town of Irsee, which exists due to a local monastery. That monastery is now a conference center, so in fact I was living like a monk for a week! This shot comes from just outside of the monastery, showing the beautiful countryside just out our windows.

Starflower

2011-07-14T19:54:00.001-04:00

A starflower: a beautiful, small wildflower which blooms in the early summer. This one was hiding in the woods near the Garden City Mine.

Bumble bee

2011-07-12T21:02:00.001-04:00

A bumble bee pollinating some apple blossoms. I was attempting to get the bee while it was on the petals, but missed -- and got this interesting shot instead.

Sheaves

2011-07-07T20:24:00.001-04:00

Looking up at the massive sheaves at the Centennial #6.

Sheaves are wheels with a groove, intended to guide a rope. In this case, these sheaves are twice as tall as I am, mounted 100 feet about the ground at the top of the Centennial #6 rockhouse. Thick hoisting cable would run into the building from the hoist (behind me), over these sheaves, and then down the skip road into the shaft (down and to the front).

Let's Roll

2011-07-06T17:38:00.001-04:00

A doorway leading into the Centennial #6 shaft house.

The beams overhead (through the door) were used to help move heavy skips (metal boxes for moving rock or people) on and off of the "skip road", heading down into the shaft. The shaft is just below them, behind the fence. There is also a rather dodgy wooden flooring area just in front of the fence, leading into a sump.

These buildings were, for a long time, used as a hangout for local kids. There is graffiti everywhere, and a lot of broken glass. More recently, the shaft house has been used to store wood chips for a furnace!

Stairwell Triangle

2011-06-30T22:09:00.001-04:00

"There is no royal road to geometry." -- Euclid.

(But there is a decrepit stairwell, apparently.)

Located in one of the City of Houghton's many public parking lots.

Railing

2011-06-26T21:12:00.001-04:00

... on an old oil tank.

Centennial Dry House

2011-06-22T14:56:00.001-04:00

Inside the Centennial Mine #6's surface plant. This is one large steel building, including the dry house, shaft house, offices, and miscellaneous space attached to the rock house. This large area is part of the dry house, with lockers behind this set of machines.

Willow

2011-06-21T17:46:00.001-04:00

A huge willow tree at the UW-Madison Arboretum.

Walking under it: The Lovely Sarah and the Mighty Maitreya.

Spring leaves

2011-06-16T20:33:00.001-04:00

Early Birch leaves at the UW-Madison Arboretum.

Daffodils

2011-06-13T23:21:00.001-04:00

Another sign of spring -- downstate!

Tulip

2011-06-06T20:37:00.001-04:00

Tulips, a sure sign of spring!

Danger

2011-05-28T11:14:00.001-04:00

A mysterious hole in the ground near the old Belt (or Lake) Mine. There are (as far as I have found) exactly 2 such warning signs around all of "Belt Mountain", and appoximately 3 zillion holes in the ground which should be marked!

This hole was cool, but didn't have much airflow (which would denote a mine with open tunnels). On the bluff above here, there was a water-filled shaft which might have had some relation to this.

South Lake Mine adit

2011-05-24T22:31:00.001-04:00

Another in my series of photos from the South Lake Mine. This adit (horizontal entrance) was bored into the hillside. The roof ahead of this photo had collapsed at some point, opening up a large part of the neighboring shaft (seen in a previous photo). As you can see, there's still plenty of snow here -- inside the mine, there's ice!

South Lake Mine shaft

2011-05-18T15:22:00.001-04:00

Looking in to one of the South Lake mine's many entrances. This is one of the most spectacular open shafts that I've ever seen, although I don't think it was meant to be this way -- notice all of the fallen rock. There are actually two separate openings visible just in front of my fellow explorer, both of which lead in to a rather small mine. There are also many holes into the rock near this point, some of which join these tunnels, other are separate.

Looking out

2011-05-17T08:32:00.001-04:00

Looking towards the outside world, from inside the South Lake mine. This is one of the most spectacular open shafts that I've ever seen. It's not just open... it's WIDE open. This is partly because the old mining companies which explored this area liked to drill lots and lots of holes in the ground, anywhere that looked promising. But it's also because those holes have collapsed and combined over the years, forming some much larger (but less safe) openings into the mines.

Middle Hungarian Falls

2011-05-16T08:26:00.001-04:00

An old favorite: Hungarian falls. The Hungarian falls are actually an extensive series of waterfalls, large and small, expressed along the Keweenaw fault. That great fault makes for some spectacular drops, including this "middle" falls. Despite their huge size, most of these waterfalls are only a trickle during the summer -- but they really come to life during the spring melt!

Previous views of these falls: the same middle falls from a different view (notice the rocks, which are in front of you in this photo), the huge lower falls, the uppermost falls, and a seasonal side fall.

Ring on the Wall

2011-04-29T11:59:00.001-04:00

A ring on the wall of the old Key Mill, at the Centennial mine.

This was at the Centennial #3. Centennial had quite a history: it began by trying to mine the Calumet Conglomerate, which was making the Calumet & Hecla mine (immediately to the south) fabulously rich. Amazingly, the lode ran basically at the property line. Centennial didn't give up... the built full-out mines on two more lodes, before Homestake bought the mine and returned to the Conglomerate in the 1980's.

Homestake must have thought that it was promising... they even went so far as to build a mill (the "Key Mill") at the site, in some more or less featureless sheet metal buildings on the site. Unfortunately, the experiment lasted for only a year or two, and the mine has been shut down (and decaying severely) since then.

The mill was sold and torn down last year. However, not all of it is gone -- random cement pedestals and metal artifacts remain, standing in the late afternoon sun.

Dead Lightpost

2011-04-27T21:48:00.001-04:00

The Kingston mine was one of the very few Copper Country mines ever to have a parking lot. Most were closed long before automobiles became popular.

Crocuses

2011-04-22T22:42:00.001-04:00

It's spring!

"Crocus" means "spring" to me. I take a crocus photo every spring, kneeling in snow, getting muddy and cold... because they're just so dang beautiful.

Trust

2011-04-17T20:37:00.001-04:00

Trust me, this will all work out...

Ruins of the Champion Mine's mill, in Freda, Michigan. Freda was the end of the line, and existed only for the mill. Once the mine went under, so did everything else in town.

Dam Beams

2011-04-12T12:14:00.001-04:00

The massive support beams at the Redridge Steel Dam.

These are on the downstream side of the dam, behind the massive steel face which once held back water. The only reason that the afternoon sunlight can show so beautifully on them is because holes were cut in the dam years ago, to help drain the reservoir and avoid overtopping!

Rock Car Wheel

2011-04-07T13:33:00.001-04:00

This wheel once helped to dump rock cars from the Quincy Mine. It's long since rusted solid.

These rock cars are lined up on a bit of rail still left near the #2 shafthouse, leading under the rock bin.

Quincy through the window

2011-04-04T22:57:00.001-04:00

A classic view of the Quincy mine's #2 rockhouse, as viewed through a window of the #4 hoist house.

Rock Crack

2011-04-03T13:53:00.001-04:00

Light hilighting the edge of a crack in the rocks at Canyon Falls, Michigan. (Spring 2009 -- I'm going through the back catalog to see what I missed!)

Someone's Watching!

2011-03-30T16:49:00.001-04:00

Deer feed at a roadside park in Eagle Harbor, Michigan -- but they're quite smart about it. Even when crossing the road, the deer typically walk single file, crossing one at a time, with carefully stationed bucks watching for danger at important points.

(Winter 2009-2010 -- I'm going through the back catalog to see what I missed!)

Abutment

2011-03-29T19:06:00.003-04:00

The sandstone abutment of the Mineral Range Railroad's bridge over Hungarian Gorge -- a beautiful place for a once beautiful bridge.

Wheal Kate Door

2011-03-29T19:06:00.001-04:00

A basement door in an old farmhouse near Wheal Kate bluff -- once the site of a very poorly run mine, later owned by a land speculator, and now home to a few ruins.

Abandoned Abstracts 2

2011-03-27T13:28:00.003-04:00

(Another) sealed-up window, at the office of the Centennial #6 surface plant.

Abandoned Abstracts 1

2011-03-27T13:28:00.001-04:00

A sealed-up window on the hoist of the Centennial #6 surface plant. This space is (was?) being used as industrial space for a manufacturer who was producing brake pads.

Cracked Abstract

2011-03-27T13:27:00.001-04:00

A cracked tree trunk at the Upson Lake Nature Sanctuary.

Blue Ice Beasts

2011-03-23T21:45:00.001-04:00

Blue ice beasts, eating the shore of Lake Superior. Can you see them?

On the Superior shore at Hunter's Point, north of Copper Harbor, Michigan.

Blue Ice Trough

2011-03-23T08:13:00.001-04:00

A trough of blue ice between two rocks, on the shores of Lake Superior (Hunter's Point, north of Copper Harbor, Michigan).

Blue Ice Beasts

2011-03-21T08:38:00.003-04:00

Blue ice beasts, eating the shore of Lake Superior. Can you see them?

On the Superior shore at Hunter's Point, north of Copper Harbor, Michigan.

Blue Ice Trough

2011-03-21T08:38:00.001-04:00

A trough of blue ice between two rocks, on the shores of Lake Superior (Hunter's Point, north of Copper Harbor, Michigan).

Blue Ice Mountain

2011-03-18T23:15:00.001-04:00

Lake Superior doesn't hold back: she makes some beautiful ice sculptures. Most of them are honest-to-goodness blue -- not reflecting the sky, the ice itself is deep blue.

This amazing formation covers rocks along the shore of Lake Superior near Copper Harbor, Michigan.

Central Saltbox

2011-03-15T22:54:00.001-04:00

An old saltbox house at the Central Mine. During the summer, this house is open for tours -- in the winter, you have to snowshoe just to get near it.

How-to: A gphoto primer

2011-03-13T18:00:00.002-04:00

A few years back, my time lapse video of the Portage Lake lift bridge at sunset turned out to be rather popular -- because of my brief tutorial on using gphoto2 for time-lapse video. So, I've written up a short (but more detailed) tutorial on setting up and using gphoto for time-lapse videos.

Note (March 2011): This post was originally published in 2009. In March of 2011, I updated and re-published this post with the latest instructions for installing and using gphoto2. The instructions have been simplified considerably in recent months. This continues to be one of my most popular blog posts -- enjoy! Feel free to leave a comment with any questions.

Step 1: Install gphoto
The first step is getting gphoto installed on your computer. How exactly you do this depends on your operating system.

Linux: If you are using Linux, you almost certainly know enough to install gphoto on your own -- your favorite package manager will work. Versions of gphoto2 are available for all major package managers. For example:

 sudo apt-get install gphoto2

Windows: Unfortunately for Windows users, there is no official version of gphoto for windows. In fact, the gphoto2 team has a few words to say on the matter. I have heard rumors of an unofficial version of gphoto for Windows, but finding and getting that set up is far beyond the scope of this tutorial.

Mac OS X: While it requires a bit more effort than Linux, it is still fairly easy to install gphoto2 on Mac OS X. The first step is to install MacPorts, a package manager for Mac OS X. You can begin at the MacPorts installation page, skipping down to the "Mac OS X Package (.pkg) Installer" section. Click on the link in the first paragraph which corresponds to your system (Snow Leopard is currently the newest, it is also known as Mac OS X version 10.6). Download, open, and run the installer. Once it is done, open a Terminal window and type:

sudo port -v selfupdate

This may take a while. Once MacPorts is done, type:

sudo port install gphoto2

this will take a while. Leave the computer alone, have some coffee, read a book. When the compiler is done, you'll have a working copy of gphoto2 and everything you need to make it work (on the computer side, at least)!

Update (March 2011): Good news everyone! As of March 13, 2011, MacPorts has the newest version of gphoto2 and libgphoto2 active (version 2.4.10 of gphoto2, and version 2.4.10.1 of the library). The information previously located in this section about installing gphoto2 by hand is no longer necessary (although it may still be interesting). I've moved the detailed instructions on compiling gphoto2 to the end of the post for those who are still interested.

Step 2: Set up and test your camera
Almost all digital cameras made in the last 7 years -- whether point-and-shoot or DSLR -- will almost certainly work with gphoto. To be sure, you can check out this complete list of supported cameras.

There are a few basic steps to getting your camera ready to work with gphoto:

Set your camera to the correct mode. This doesn't mean exposure mode, but rather the correct "connection mode," which controls how your camera talks to your computer. To figure out which mode you need, look on the list of supported cameras. Find your camera in the list, and look for the text in parentheses at the end -- for example "(PTP mode)". You now need to change your camera into this mode. This is usually in a "setup" or "options" menu, and it's a rarely changed option. Every camera is different, and your best resource is the user's guide. Many cameras work in either their normal mode (requiring no special setup), or PTP mode, which is a standard allowing computers to control cameras.

Here's an example for the Nikon D40 (my favorite camera) which works on most Nikon DSLRs. The mode you need is PTP mode. To set this, press the Menu button, then choose Setup -> USB -> MTP/PTP and hit OK.
Connect your camera to a computer using a USB cable. This should be the normal USB cable which you use to connect your camera to your computer when downloading photos. If you normally use a card reader or some other method, you will need to locate a USB cable which lets you connect your camera directly to the computer -- typically cameras come pre-supplied with these. I recommend using a laptop, so that you can move the camera to your favorite shooting location.
For Mac OS X users only: kill the PTP daemon. This isn't as evil as it sounds! Mac OS X automatically "grabs" the camera when you plug it in -- this is how iPhoto and other programs can automatically download your photos. But this also means that gphoto doesn't "own" the camera, and can't use it. To fix this, open Terminal and type:
```
 killall PTPCamera
```
You will have to repeat this entire process every time you plug the camera in to your laptop, or if you turn the camera off and on again while attached to your computer. In fact, killing the PTP daemon is the answer to many weird gphoto errors on Mac OS X.
Test that your camera is connected and working. To do so, execute this command in a terminal:
```
   gphoto2 --capture-image
```
Your camera should (after a few seconds) take a photo, just as if you had pressed the shutter button. If it doesn't, the error message may be enlightening.

Step 3: Take photos!
You are now all ready to take photos! The most useful "advanced" feature of gphoto2 is the ability to take time-lapse photos. The basic command you need will look like this:

   gphoto2 --capture-image --interval 30 --frames 10

Here's a breakdown:

--capture-image: tells gphoto to take an image.
--interval 30 : tells gphoto to keep taking images, once every 30 seconds.
--frames 10 : tells gphoto to stop taking photos after 10 have been captured.

You can replace --capture-image with --capture-image-and-download if you want the images to be downloaded to your laptop instead of staying on your camera. Remember, you don't want to touch the camera while it's taking shots!

Here are a handful of useful things to remember:

Your camera will take photos in the current exposure mode (Program, Aperture Priority, etc.). Be sure your camera is in the mode you want before you begin. This usually means going into full-manual mode, so that the exposure is consistent between frames. It is also possible to use gphoto2 to change your exposure mode on some cameras.
If using a camera which has it, turn off ISO-Auto and ADR (this is Nikon, mostly). These features can change your intended exposure and make your frames look inconsistent, even if you're in fully manual exposure mode.
Focus your camera on the intended subject before you begin, and then turn your lens to manual focus. This will avoid the camera trying to refocus for each frame, especially if there are moving objects involved, or if lighting gets dim.
Don't touch your camera while taking time-lapse photos, unless you want different frames to have a different viewpoint. For time-lapse videos such as the one I mentioned at the top of this post, you want the camera to be untouched for the entire time.

Wrapup
Those are the basics! You can do a lot more than this with gphoto2 -- but that's for the future. If you're interested in seeing what you can do, there are many other tutorials available out on the web. You can also get a summary of gphoto's options by typing

   gphoto2 --help

in your terminal. For now, enjoy!

Appendix: Installing gphoto2 on Mac OS X, the hard way

For those interested in how we had to do things "back in the day", I'm keeping the information below: how to get the latest version of gphoto2 and libgphoto2 to install under Mac OS X. This is no longer necessary, because MacPorts currently has the newest version of gphoto. Read above for more information. And with that, here's the old data:

Here are more detailed instructions for installing the newest version of gphoto2 on Mac OS X. I recommend starting with the MacPorts version above -- even though it's old, installing it will also install and update many other programs which gphoto2 needs to operate. After doing that, you should get the newest version. To get the newest version, download both the gphoto and libgphoto packages from the gphoto homepage. The first step is to install libgphoto. Double-click the libgphoto package to uncompress it. In Terminal, type the following commands:

 cd (path to the libgphoto directory)
 sudo ./configure --prefix=/opt/local

A large amount of text should pass through the terminal, after which type

 sudo make
 sudo make install

This installs libgphoto. The next step is to install gphoto2 itself, which uses libgphoto to control your camera. Double-click the gphoto package to uncompress it. Again in Terminal, type the following commands:

 cd (path to the gphoto directory)

 sudo ./configure --prefix=/opt/local --without-cdk --without-aalib POPT_CFLAGS="-I${prefix}/include" POPT_LIBS="-L${prefix}/lib -lpopt"

 sudo make

 sudo make install

These should configure, compile, and install gphoto2 correctly. To double-check that it worked, type in Terminal:

 gphoto2 -v

The result should be a bit of information, including version numbers about gphoto2. If there are any errors, you'll need to reinstall gphoto2.

130

2011-03-13T17:20:00.001-04:00

Snowmobile Trail 130, also known as Central Road (in the summer)... not a nice place to snowshoe, as it turns out.

Copper Falls Camp

2011-03-13T17:19:00.001-04:00

A "camp" (cabin, summer cottage) in the middle of the Copper Falls area. Despite being very crooked, it still seems to be used in the summers.

Sunny Winter Afternoon

2011-03-12T22:13:00.003-05:00

A sunny winter afternoon: the best time to get lost deep in the woods.

This one is near Copper Falls.

Rockhouse Graffiti

2011-03-12T22:13:00.001-05:00

Some graffiti. "Static", I think? This graffiti lives on the inner wall of the Centennial #6 rockhouse's foundation. The chutes at the top would have once delivered copper-bearing rock into waiting rail cars. The rock at the bottom is remnants of the famous Calumet Conglomerate, the richest native copper deposit in the world.

Blue Boiler

2011-03-11T18:24:00.002-05:00

At the instigation of the infamous GarenT, I went and tried some more light painting a few nights ago. This is an old boiler house at the Quincy Mine, lit from within by some LED lights.

It is definitely different than my previous attempt, The Council of Dave.

Quincy Rock Cars

2011-03-11T18:23:00.004-05:00

A line of abandoned rock cars at the Quincy Mine, bathed in the green glow of a security light.

Actually, several of these "Z" cars (named for the shape of their support beams) were bought by Quincy from the old Arnold mine, up near Copper Falls.

Sarah, Snowshoes, Shadows

2011-03-11T18:23:00.003-05:00

The Lovely Sarah on snowshoes in the shadows made by the sun. Sweet!

(At Michigan Tech's Bigfoot Snowshoe Event last weekend: a rare moment without hordes of other snowshoers in sight.)

Cliffs and Ruins blog • David Clark Photography store

Powderhouse in Winter

2011-03-09T16:56:00.002-05:00

The beautiful doorway to the Central Mine's powderhouse, in winter. This doorway saw hundreds of tons of black powder and (later) dynamite going to and from the mine.

Horseshoe

2011-03-09T16:54:00.002-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr

An old horseshoe, hanging out on an abandoned outhouse.

Beach Tree

2011-03-06T18:50:00.000-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

A dead tree at reaches up into the sky at Seven Mile Point.

Ballot

2011-03-06T18:48:00.000-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

A selection of interesting parties on a somewhat elderly ballot which I found in an abandoned building near the old Centennial mine.

Apparently this was the 1988 election, as that was the last time Ron Paul ran for president as a Libertarian.

Adventure Ruins

2011-02-16T18:13:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

Half nature, half ruins... who needs the rule of thirds, anyway?

The "mouth" of an old stack, at or near the Adventure Mine (yes, that was its real name!) last fall. This was the opening which would have led into the adjacent boiler building.

Still catching up on some old photos...

More Cowbell!!

2011-02-16T18:12:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

After my first ever 10k snowshoe race, I now have: MORE COWBELL! I earned this by taking first in my age group at the Noquemanon 10k snowshoe race. The race led through the Forestville ski trails, ending right in the middle of lovely Marquette, Michigan.

Yooperdome Pentagons

2011-02-13T13:56:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

A semi-abstract shot: the window at the top of the Superior Dome (aka the "Yooper Dome"), Northern Michigan University's sports dome (football, especially). The entire building is a dome, built with this beautiful, richly colored wood.

We were at the Yooper Dome for the Noquemanon 10k snowshoe race (one of many races held that day). The Superior Dome was the site of the finish line, and wonderful free food afterwards.

Beach Rock

2011-02-08T21:44:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

A rock on the beach -- the Calumet Waterworks beach, to be specific.

Sunset Shadows

2011-02-05T23:13:00.002-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

Sunset on the Michigan Tech Lakeshore Center. The shadows are from the much older buildings behind the camera.

Tech Trails

2011-01-31T16:46:00.004-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

These two photos come to you from the Tech Trails, Michigan Tech's world class ski, mountain-bike, and hiking trails. The top photo is on the Isle Royal loop (named for the mine which used to own the land). The bottom photo is snow near the Hobbit Loop. The Hobbit Loop is just one of several similar loops set off in their own part of the trail. Others are the Troll loop, the Ent loop, the Elf loop, the Dragon loop, and -- of course -- the Ring loop, to which they are all attached.

Sisu Skifest Fire

2011-01-30T16:33:00.003-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

The Lovely Sarah and I volunteered at the Sisu Skifest again this year (I also volunteered last year and posted a photo for my 365 project). The Skifest takes place at the ABR ski trails in Ironwood, Michigan. The race actually ends in the middle of Ironwood's downtown, on streets specially covered with snow. It's quite spectacular to see skiers poling around the corner of a road, right in the middle of town! This photo shows the sides of the custom-cut metal fire pits which are used for the race. This one was right in the middle of main street!

Under the Hoist

2011-01-28T10:18:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

A tunnel underneath the Franklin Junior #2 (Conglomerate)'s "new" hoist. This is the only hoist I've ever seen with a fully covered tunnel running through it -- an unusual find.

Colorful Snow

2011-01-27T13:46:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

Campus, lit by sunrise and sodium-vapor lights -- a beautiful winter combination, as it turns out!

Texture Smörgåsbord

2011-01-27T08:35:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

More texture than you can shake a rusty piece of metal at! This is part of a "skip" behind the Osceola #13 mine near Calumet, Michigan. A "skip" was a metal rail car which rode rails up and down a mine's shafts. It would be loaded with rock, brought up to the surface, and dumped. The metal bar and scratches here show the rotating action it went through when it was dumped.

Icy Leaf

2011-01-26T08:18:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

Nothing more than a lonely leaf... after almost a year of no leaves, I'm back at it again!

Marquette Rocks!

2011-01-25T19:26:00.002-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

Rocks in Marquette, Michigan, recently exposed by the construction of a new parking lot at Buffalo Wild Wings. Marquette is known for being on one of the first major iron ranges in the US, and these rocks seem to confirm that!

Minimalist Trees

2011-01-25T19:25:00.000-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

Trees at the Tech Trails, growing out of a midwinter snowbank.

Snowshoeing through the pines

2011-01-20T22:58:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

The Lovely Sarah snowshoes through the pines, as we practice for our 10k snowshoe race! It was a magical snow-covered forest out there.

94 Steps

2011-01-19T12:45:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

"94 steps" it says on the sign down to Tahquamenon Falls. According to some friends, they lie! Luckily, the steps are kept quite clear in winter.

Tahquamenon Tree

2011-01-18T22:30:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

A view of Tahquamenon Falls from above, with an ice-coated tree in the late afternoon sun. This tree is quite a ways from the falls (at least 95 steps, as the sign at the lookout tells me!), but the mist from the falls still coats it with ice. The ice is all yellow-tinged, from the tannins in the water (which you can also see in the falls themselves).

This was taken about 20 minutes before my earlier Tahquamenon shot, which was taken from the lower deck.

Crossings

2011-01-18T22:29:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to see it on Flickr.

The remaining snow makes criss-crossing patterns in the field, following the paths of last summer's tractors. This almost-golden-hour shot was taken behind my parents' house, in flat flat FLAT lower Michigan.