Mulliken 48861

Mulliken's southern town line is Grand Ledge Highway. This road's been a state highway since around 1920, when it was designated as Michigan 39; it became M-43 in 1936 or '37 and has remained so ever since. Over nine decades the town's commercial district has mostly migrated from Main Street--which parallels the railway--to M-43, where the automobiles pass through (or by) town. Just outside the village, on the south side of 43, there are a half-dozen houses. The large Italianate place at the end of Potter Street likely predates the village--it was George Potter's home in 1895, and probably his father's before that. The rest of the south-of-43 houses are small places. Each was built tiny , then expanded; the results are various, and variously interesting. I was planning to show you the entire set, but somehow that mini-project got lost in the shuffle. I did photograph another of the little houses . ========== I'm not certain why I didn't post this photo to 366 Snaps. The perhaps-overprocessed daffies image I did post is fine, but so's this one. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 13 Title of " roll :" Around Mulliken Other photos taken on 3/11/2012: Joan and I visited Michigan Audubon's Bernard Baker Sanctuary, where I took 103 images using the Sony Cybershot. And was so taken by Joan's Nikon 1 that I ordered one for m'self. As you'll see, this also was the day I began/resumed taking more than one photo shoot each day. ========== Sources: The wonderful Michigan Highways website provided my M-43 dates. Wikipedia's M-43 page has slightly different details, but tells substantially the same story.The 1895 plat map for Roxand Township shows the big house on George Potter's land.

Mulliken's North Street has two side-by-side Georgian homes that aren't like any other house in town. I've always wondered who built them. That fence prevented this from being my daily pic. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project discussion for March 13 here .

The building beyond the PO was Forrest Meier's barber shop for well over five decades. Just wanted to mention that. I picked up my mail last March 13 and wandered behind the Main Street buildings to shoot a few pix of the tracks and trackside structures. Then I circled back to Main. This photo could be considered a complement to my Creative Taxidermy pic from January 7 --I was at the same location, but facing west instead of east. Then I crossed the street and caught the Farmer's Tavern Coca-Cola sign photograph that got posted to 366 Snaps . That sign tells a lot about Roger and Sandy Sain, who own the restaurant--and an antique business on the side. By the way, I'd photographed the sign before , with my (then) brand new Nikon D300. And before that , with the D70. Farmer's Steakhouse is endlessly photogenic . ========== I bought the D300 late in 2007. It was a significant upgrade from my D70, and the learning curve was pretty steep. Eighteen months later I was taking decent photos but was often fighting with the camera. At that point I took a rather long sabbatical from serious photography (not the camera's fault; my job turned unusually chaotic and my hobbies suffered). In mid-2010, when I resumed my photography habit, using the camera came easy. I can list several reasons for that--the break helped, as did the prior experience, and my attitude had changed for causes unrelated to either. Another reason was my then-new 16-85 mm VR lens. I love this lens. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 17 Title of " roll :" Downtown Mulliken Other photos taken on 3/13/2012: none.

It is. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 14 Title of " roll :" Monday is Trash Day Other photos taken on 3/26/2012: I gave the Nikon 1 a workout: 93 photos of birds at the feeders, and a dozen more in our gardens. I'd pretty much solved my shutter release problems at this point, but was still experimenting with exposure.

As I've explained before , Mulliken's library was/is one of my default photo subjects. Besides the convenience of its next-to-the-post-office location, I find this apparently-plain building's a fun photo subject. ========== The FujiFilm F200EXR was designed to be good at low-light photography. A year ago I devoted 36 images to testing that thesis, with mixed results. A few of the results were interesting , but few were very good. The best were taken downtown. The 366 Snaps picture was of the Masonic Temple's door, with the corner of the fire station in the foreground. I thought it worked pretty well. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 36 Title of " roll :" Home & Downtown Other photos taken on 4/3/2012: I was still playing with the Nikon 1. For some reason I shot a whole lot of pix of a tufted titmouse using the 10-30 lens. That mostly didn't work out, but I did get this .

When I tell someone from Lansing where I live, a common response is "I've eaten at Farmer's Tavern a couple times." There are certainly worse things a town could be known for. The atmosphere's friendly, and the food's decent. Everyone likes the place. There's a picture postcard of downtown Mulliken , apparently from 1909, which shows a bustling place lined with shops on both sides. Main Street's not like that any more. Most of the storefronts are gone, and it's unusual to see the street lined with vehicles. Downtown's main attraction for outsiders these days is Farmer's Steakhouse, a cute establishment liberally decorated with, well, junk. There's a stuffed bear, eccentric photographs, musical instruments, large and small toys, old 45s (what else would they be but "old"?), odd implements--well, you get the idea. The interior walls and rafters are covered with stuff. The decorations are surprisingly well-arranged and attractive, and the effect's captivating. And they change often enough to keep things interesting. They also overflow into the restaurant's central courtyard. This jeep lives in that courtyard. I photograph the grounds and building regularly. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 12 Title of " roll :" Farmer's Tavern Other photos taken on 4/7/2012: I took my V1 along on what I'd taken to calling the Daily Flower Census; shot 29 shots. Then Joan and I headed for Lake Michigan and wandered around Hoffmaster State Park., where I shot pix of tree roots . Postcard photo link borrowed from the Mulliken Historical Society's page on MiGenWeb . There's a color version of the postcard out there somewhere, but I didn't find it this morning.

This is the same photo as that I posted to 366 Snaps a year ago, but a different treatment. It looks like the original version used my then-usual Neopan (film) printed on Polymax (paper) imitation using Bibble Pro's Andrea plugin ; this version imitates Ilford on Ilford, which was once my film camera norm . But rarely with this high contrast. You'll see this setup again. ========== This photograph is an outtake (well, an alternate take, I suppose) from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 15 Title of " roll :" Meadowbrook Cemetery Other photos taken on 4/13/2012: Pretty much the usual thing: 42 flower census pix using the Nikon 1.

Here's an alternate take from last April 20 in a different sense--it's the same photograph as the photo I posted to 366 Snaps , but processed differently. This was the last photo in the set, and I knew when I framed it I'd likely use it as my daily pic. ========== This photograph is an outtake--more precisely, a different version--from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project discussion for April 20 .

I'm a day behind. Sorry; yesterday was exhausting.... I'm pretty sure that if I'd restricted my 366 Snaps project to downtown-Mulliken photographs I could have managed, but there'd have been significant redundancies. Some of the evidence, for both claims, is last April 20th's set. All 34 project pix were shot near the town's park. Many were framing experiments--of cherry blossoms, of the swing set and jungle gym and park pavilion, of the downtown buildings. And of the Masonic Temple's fire escape. Most of these were excellent pix--after you allow for the camera's damaged sensor. Many were framed without regard to the damage, which suggests I was mostly just experimenting. The set's similar to my March 8 effort , but with a different camera. One thing that's clear is that by this time I'd clearly come to terms with the F200's exposure issues . ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 34 Title of " roll :" Around Mulliken's Park Other photos taken on 4/20/2012: I experimented a bit with the Nikon 1, photographing birds. I kept changing the settings, and wasn't happy with the results.

I only shot eight photographs a year ago today. After picking up my mail, I walked around the post office and wandered along the tracks behind the downtown buildings. To the right in this photo is the somewhat-reduced collection of buildings which once was the Mulliken grain elevator. The distant light on the tracks is likely not a train, since it has vanished in a similarly-framed shot I took a few minutes later. I've mentioned Bibble Pro's Andrea plugin before, which has ability to mimic films and papers. In this case it's Ilford's FP4 Plus 125 film printed on their Multigrade IV FB paper. I picked up my affection for this look half my life ago, from my brother. ========== In this 1909 photograph of Mulliken's Main Street , on the left toward the far end of the street, is a boxy building that appears to be just beyond the last telephone pole. I believe that edifice to be the same building as the old wreck of a structure I photographed for 366 Snaps , though the building's front has significantly changed. I've no idea what other functions the place has served over the years, but for a time the village stored its truck in there. Nowadays it seems to be serving as a salt shed. That corrosive fill can't be doing the ancient brickwork any favors. This one's not an Ilford look. It mimics Fomapan 100 on Kentmore Art De Luxe (so Andrea claims; I don't actually know either), a combination I'd use again to bring out the details, and generally sharpen things up. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 8 Title of " roll :" Along the Tracks Other photos taken on 4/28/2012: none.

Another 6/25/2012 outtake: This is the awning outside the Village of Mulliken Recycling Center. I was taken by the patterns in the bracing. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project stats for June 25 .

Despite my efforts to diversify the places I was taking photographs, sometimes it's best to shoot locally. So last June 25 I took about a dozen pix of Mulliken's downtown. On the whole it was an excellent set. This wall is at the front of this building , which I discussed on April 28 . It's holding up better at this end, but you gotta think the salt's not good for the walls. ========== My first digital camera was an Olympus Camedia C-50 Zoom, which I purchased early in 2003. I'd been watching reviews, and knew that several companies were producing cameras I expected I'd like. I spent an hour or so comparing features, deciding that the C-50 was my best choice largely on the basis of its menu system and external controls. Basically it looked the most like a pro camera. I used it hard for a couple years, then broke and replaced it (I'm not a gentle photographer, I fear). The C-50 I used last year was a replacement I picked up sometime because I saw a good price on eBay. This camera's not as good as my original, which had an upgraded ROM, but on the whole it's the camera I remember. The "Commons" photo I posted to 366 Snaps shows this camera at its best; great depth of field and sharp focus. Its weaknesses center around speed; this is not a low-light camera, and it's not well-behaved if you're in a rush. The 3x zoom can be pretty limiting, too. A good camera, really. I certainly never regretted purchasing it. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 11 Title of " roll :" Downtown Mulliken Other photos taken on 6/25/2012: The Daily Flower Census found Lilies. They were glorious .

Here the haze has helped me create the illusion that the graveyard goes on forever.... My 366 Snaps session for last July 6 is one of the more interesting sets in the series. I played with shadows and contrasts. Every photo's there in two or three versions, with the camera's settings changed radically from shot to shot. Dark photos, washed-out photos; high-contrast and low-contrast versions of the same framing; photos in bright sun, in dark corners, with sunlight and shadows mixed. I was getting pretty comfortable with the V1's controls. ========== The hosta photo I posted to 366 Snaps seems not to require comment..... ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 36 Title of " roll :" Flowers - Meadowbrook Other photos taken on 7/6/2012: none--but I recovered the color of a flower shot and posted that to "A Flower a Day for January."

Downtown Mulliken. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project discussion and stats for July 13 .

I like my Chrysler 200. It's an excellent car. But it's not a Mustang. ========== Most of last July 13's photographs for the 366 Snaps project were taken in downtown Mulliken, and most of those were taken on the village common. It's surprisingly difficult to get usable photographs of playground equipment. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 24 Title of " roll :" Downtown Mulliken Other photos taken on 7/13/2012: none.

Here we go again with the Mulliken Masonic Temple's fire escape. I think this will be the last, until year's end.... ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project discussion and stats for July 14 .

I've mentioned this before, but: When I moved to Mulliken, the grain elevator was still functioning and the town could legitimately claim to be a farm community. At harvest time the town would fill with large and small trucks, and of trailers in trains behind tractors. Much the same would happen when the farmers were planting, except they'd leave with seed rather than arrive with grain. Then the elevator closed, and the farmers took their business to Grand Ledge and Sunfield and probably Woodland. I miss 'em. ========== Mulliken's still surrounded by farms, of course, but many of our neighbors are Lansing-area commuters. Or retired. That, of course, also describes us. ========== The beanfield photo (see below) I posted to 366 Snaps was taken at the same time and place; I just pointed my camera a different direction. This photo shows the general layout at the end of Main Street. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 24 Title of " roll :" Around & About Other photos taken on 7/14/2012: The Daily Flower Census was mostly daylilies.

Explored #273 (7/27/13). Thanks! (No longer in the top 500. So it goes.) Since I stop at the Thriftway every morning, many of the shots for last year's daily photo project were from this parking lot. (A note: The photograph's actually of Swede's lot . I was standing in the Thriftway lot, though.) You're getting this photo this morning because I've an ulterior motive. We'll point you back here in a few days.... ========== The 366 Snaps photo, of a reflected truck, also shot from these lots. The shot was planned in some sense, but turned out better than I anticipated.... ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 19 Title of " roll :" It Rained! Other photos taken on 7/26/2012: none.