Great Lakes Ship Photos

Welcome to my Soo Locks Photo Galleries Page. Here you will find photos from many trips to Sault Ste. Marie, MI and the World Famous Soo Locks. Just click on one of the links below to see the photos from that trip. The Soo Locks normally open on March 25 and close on the following January 15 each year. Exceptions can be made to these dates (usually the closing date) depending on winter ice conditions. A Note About "Engineer's Day" at the Soo Locks - This special day is held each year on the last Friday in June. On this day only, visitors are allowed to walk out across the lock gates (into the grassy area between the two ships on the right side of the above photo/page header) and be right next to the large freighters as they "lock through" the Soo Locks. (See the second photo below for a view which is available only on this special day)
		My very first ship photo at the Soo with my new digital camera (Sony Mavica) in May 2000 was the Herbert C. Jackson downbound in the MacArthur Lock.
		Engineer's Day 2002 provided me with the photo I always dreamed of - the Stewart J. Cort downbound (and in your face) in the Poe Lock (taken while standing in the middle of the Poe Lock lower gate).
		The Atlantic Huron passes in front of the Mesabi Miner in this Oct. 2003 photo taken from the top of the Tower of History in Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
		This topographical map of the Great Lakes hangs in the Soo Locks Visitors Center. The dark blue areas of the lakes represent the deepest parts, and the port cities are marked in red. The actual map is done in 3-D and is much more detailed than this photo.
		This aerial view of the Soo Locks also hangs in the Soo Locks Visitors Center. The locks from left to right are the MacArthur Lock, Poe Lock, Davis Lock, and Sabin Lock. The Davis Lock is operational, but very seldom used, while the Sabin Lock is permanently shut down.
		This map (http://www.mapquest.com/) of Sault Ste. Marie, MI shows the areas around the Soo from which I like to shoot photos.
First of all, here is a gallery I posted at www.boatnerd.com of Image-captures from the Soo Locks Cameras run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers along with ERDC/CRREL (with whose permission these "photos" are presented). There are separate slideshows of strange happenings at the Soo Locks as well as individual photos of different ships (and other things), all as captured by the Soo Locks webcams. You will see ships getting "pulled off" the lock walls by other ships, several different ships being towed through the locks, and more. Click Here to go the Image-capture albums. Please note that clicking on either of these links will take you to a different website (and out of this site) Photo Galleries:
Photos From Various Engineer's Days:
Engineer's Day 2000 - 26 Photos from June 29 & 30, 2000 Pre-Engineer's Day 2001 - 44 Photos from June 27, 2001 (Thurs. before Engineer's Day) Engineer's Day 2001 - 28 Photos from June 28, 2001 Engineer's Day 2002 - 51 Photos from June 27 - 29, 2002 Engineer's Day 2006 - Part of a 264-photo gallery from June 29 - July 5, 2006 (click here to go directly to the photos from "Engineer's Day" - Friday June 30, 2006 Engineer's Day 2007 - Part of a 106-photo gallery from June 28 - July 2, 2007 (click here to go directly to the photos from "Engineer's Day" - Friday June 29, 2007 Engineer's Day 2008 - Part of a 296-photo gallery from June 26 - July 1, 2008 (click here to go directly to the photos from "Engineer's Day" - Friday June 27, 2008 Engineer's Day 2009 - Part of an almost 400-photo gallery from June 25 - July 1, 2009 (click here to go directly to the photos from "Engineer's Day" - Friday June 26, 2009 Engineer's Day 2010 - Part of over a 400-photo gallery from June 24 - June 30, 2010 (click here to go directly to the photos from "Engineer's Day" - Friday June 25, 2009 Photos From Other Trips To The Soo: Soo Trip June 1995 - 25 (scanned) photos from a trip to (and through) the Soo Locks, Mackinac Island and Kitchitikipi ("Big Spring") Please Note that since these photos were scanned from old 35mm photos, the image quality is not the best; however, I hope you find the subject matter entertaining. Soo Trip May 2000 - 37 Photos from May 24 & 25,2000 Soo Trip September 2000 - 80 Photos from Sept. 26 - 28, 2000 Soo Locks Sept. 2001 (Part 1) - 50 Photos from Sept. 14 - 17, 2001 Soo Locks Sept. 2001 (Part 2) - 27 Photos from Sept. 14 - 17, 2001 Soo Locks May 2002 - 50 Photos from May 27 - 30, 2002 Soo Tower of History - 43 Photos from atop the 210-ft. tower on May 28, 2002 Soo Trip Oct. 2002 - 66 Photos from Oct. 9 - 12, 2002 Soo Trip Aug. 2003 - 157 Photos from Aug. 8 - 13, 2003 Soo Trip Oct. 2003 - 159 Photos from Oct. 7 - 10, 2003 (includes Fall Colors & photos of Point Iroquois Lighthouse) .....Fall Color Gallery - Go directly to the Fall Color photos from the "Soo Trip Oct. 2003" page Soo Trip July 2004 - 87 Photos from July 23 - 27, 2004 Soo Trip Oct. 2005 - 109 Photos from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, 2005 Soo Trip Summer 2006 - 264 Photos from June 28 - July 5, 2006 - INCLUDES Engineer's Day 2006 Photos! Soo Trip Oct. 2006 - 92 Photos from Oct. 7 - 10, 2006 Soo Trip Summer 2007 - 106 Photos from June 28 to July 2, 2007 - INCLUDES Engineer's Day 2007 Photos! Soo Trip Summer 2008 - 296 Photos from June 26 to July 1, 2008 - INCLUDES Engineer's Day 2008 Photos! Soo Trip June 2009 - Almost 400 Photos from June 25 to July 1, 2009 - INCLUDES Engineer's Day 2009 Photos, Groundbreaking Ceremony for a NEW Soo Lock photos and 90+ photos from a trip on the Soo locks Tour Boat, Nokomis! Soo Locks Boat Tour - June 28, 2009 - Click on this link to go directly to 92 photos from a trip on the Soo locks Tour Boat, Nokomis! Soo Trip June 2010 - Over 400 Photos from June 24 to June 30, 2010 - INCLUDES Engineer's Day 2010 Photos, plus photos of 16 placards depicting the progress on the NEW Soo Lock and a photo gallery of things seen on a tour of the Valley Camp Museum ship (including the remains of the lifeboats from the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald and much more. Soo Trip Oct. 2011 - 230+ Photos from Oct. 5 - 10, 2011