Photographer Captures Otherworldly Sand Pillars Sculpted by the Wind on Shores of Lake Michigan—And the Shots Are Surreal

Epoch Times ^ | 19 January 2022 | Michael Wing

[Scarlett156]

Confronted by an army of tiny, slanted pillars of frozen sand, carved by the harsh winds on the shores of Lake Michigan, nature photographer Joshua Nowicki knew he had spotted something extraordinary.

The marketing photographer, who snaps landscapes for a living, heads down to the lake almost every night in search of opportunity. This particular December evening in 2021, Nowicki stopped by Tiscornia Park Beach in St. Joseph to photograph spectacular ice starting to accumulate on the lighthouse pier, but he found something far stranger.

“Waiting for sunset, I was walking along the beach and happened upon them,” Nowicki told The Epoch Times of the otherworldly pedestals dotting the beach like some alien landscape. “I have found them a variety of times in the past … but these ones were larger than usual and there was a greater variety of shapes.”

[Scarlett156]

(from the article)

The photographer is fascinated by the phenomenon’s ephemeral quality. “They do not last very long, usually only holding their shape for a few days,” he said. “The wind completely erodes them or knocks them over, and if the temperature goes up above freezing, the ice holding them together melts and they crumble.

[Kevmo]

This will be the first time I’ll post this acronym without thinking of the beautifully artistic female form: TTIUWOP

[Scarlett156]

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Cool! Just like the sandstone formations in the desert southwest, but on a micro scale!

Too bad the photographer didn't use image stacking to get an infinite depth of field.

[Scarlett156]

Haha b1_ch

[Army Air Corps]

The photographer may have wanted a shallow depth of field to emphasize a few pillars.

[Seruzawa]

Here are a couple:

[SJackson]

Outdoors/Rural/wildlife/hunting/hiking/backpacking/National Parks/animals list please FR mail me to be on or off . And ping me is you see articles of interest.

Nice pictures. Sand Hoodoos

[gloryblaze]

We always get a Weather Calendar from our LP supplier, with this type of rare pics. I always send a “thank-you” card because it is my favorite.

[SaxxonWoods]

Global warming pillars. Sign that the End is near.

[gitmo]

Cool.

[Kevmo]

TTINLU

This Thread Is No Longer Useless

[Loud Mime]

It bothers me how some photographers put their name in the middle of the pic, a shouting byline.

[Deaf Smith]

And attempts to manipulate the scale to make objects bigger than they are.

Same when they pose people 20 ft behind a critter they shot to make the animal appear huge.

[Scarlett156]

*nods*

[Scarlett156]

When can we send the manicurist?

[Kevmo]

I would suppose, when those things start growing fingernails...

[DoodleBob]

[aquila48]

How big are these things? Are they just an inch tall?

[outofsalt]

Those are built by tiny little druids dragging grains of stone over vast distances then arranging them into monuments for celestial observations and the marking of the seasons.
Or, something.