Every year I take senior pictures for a number of families visiting Hancock, Michigan from other areas. I consider these sessions extra special because it means I can share some of the local “hidden gems” of the Keweenaw with them!
One of the seniors I photographed for the class of 2021 was Emma. Emma has an older brother already attending college in the area, so the trek up to Hancock Michigan this fall was two-fold! Her family is already quite familiar with the Copper Harbor area, so we kept things more local and instead explored some of the Hancock historical sites, starting at the top of Quincy Hill and traveling down to Torch Lake.
Quincy Hill
The Quincy Mine is one of the best-known features of the Copper Country. Its iconic shaft house featured prominently on signs and even many local cars. I especially love the old building remnants with their quirky Jacobsville sandstone (sometimes lovingly called “Bacon Rock”). Emma’s family loves these old historic buildings as well. They were a fun backdrop to her Hancock Michigan senior pictures!
The fall colors were showing off in fine form for Emma’s late September session. While every session is my favorite for a different reason, this one tops the list for epic fall foliage!
We ended up moving Emma’s session up an hour at the last minute because the weather report was threatening heavy rain for late afternoon. Did we beat the rain? You’ll have to read the rest of the post to find out 😉
(Just interrupting your scroll to say this was one of my favorite images from Emma’s senior session! While I always get plenty of close-up shots, I love a good wide environmental shot like this to help set the scene.)
Quincy Dredge
We finished Emma’s senior session by traveling down the hill to one of my favorite places in the Keweenaw – the Quincy Dredge No. 2. I love the open fields, pops of fall foliage, and the water this area features. It has it all in one spot!
The humidity continued to climb as the afternoon progressed, but Emma was a trooper, even adding an outfit change partway through.
When I posted this picture on social media, someone commented, “Um, is no one going to talk about that sinking barn back there?!” LOL!! The dredge has a fascinating history – I encourage you to look it up and learn more!
The clouds were getting pretty dark, but we finished Emma’s senior pictures with time to spare. As we drove back to town the clouds opened up. The weather report wasn’t kidding – it was a huge storm! I’m so thankful her family was flexible with their vacation time so the rain didn’t dampen (see what I did there?) our plans.
In closing:
Emma, thank you so much for allowing me to be part of your high school senior year memories! I can’t wait to hear about your adventures at Northern Michigan University in the years to come. Wishing you all the best as you pursue your nursing degree!
Leave a Reply