On The Pegs May 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 5 | Page 115
On The Pegs
Vol. 3 Issue 5 - May 2018
P 115
So these shots all took place underneath the Mackinaw Bridge, the five mile
bridge that connects Michigan’s lower and upper peninsulas. The bridge also
separates two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. This area is
known as the straights of Mackinaw. We did our shooting on the Lake Michigan
side and would walk out from the beach on the lower peninsula. (There is actually
a fort on this beach, made during the fur trade)
I live about 45 minutes below the bridge in a town called Petoskey, MI and
was back home for spring break at the time. This year, the ice floating above the
Straights had taken on a bright blue tint, and I decided to head out with my girl-
friend Abbie one afternoon to get some pictures of it. While we were walking
around on the ice, I spotted a guy way off in the distance flying across the ice on
a skate board. As I got closer I realized he was snow skating. He would put his
board down on the ice, walk to a spot about twenty yards away and then sprint
at the board. After landing on the board he would launch off of the built up
ice, which in some places was as high as 20 feet! This guy turned out to be Phil
Smage. I had no idea who he was at the time, but I was really interested in taking
some pictures of him. It’s not everyday you see someone skateboarding on Lake
Michigan. We talked a little bit and got each other’s information. He had the idea
of coming out on the ice with his Bike, and figured it would be the perfect spot as
long as he could get his tires studded up. So the next day we decided to head out
again and get a bike session in.Â
This was about as grass roots as it gets, as the budget was legitimately zero dol-
lars. We continued to shoot for the next three days, all of which seemed better
than the last. We were learning as we went and just having fun being out on the
ice. Phil definitely took some hard falls over the course of the week but somehow
it never seemed to slow him down. The ice had turned into a playground, with
new and exciting features everywhere you looked. The ice would change and
shift everyday, making each shoot unique. At the end of the first week of shoot-
ing I had to head back to Marquette, Michigan, where I go to school at Northern
Michigan University, and Phil had to head back home with his new baby goat
Allie, who he had picked up on the trip. I thought our shooting might be done,
but on Monday night I got a text after class from Phil asking if I wanted to go back
down to the Bridge for another shoot.