diff --git a/skimage/__init__.py b/skimage/__init__.py
index ad37f425..c417c2be 100644
--- a/skimage/__init__.py
+++ b/skimage/__init__.py
@@ -123,18 +123,17 @@ def _setup_log():
     import logging
     import sys
 
-    log = logging.getLogger()
+    formatter = logging.Formatter(
+        '%(name)s: %(levelname)s: %(message)s'
+        )
 
     try:
         handler = logging.StreamHandler(stream=sys.stdout)
     except TypeError:
         handler = logging.StreamHandler(strm=sys.stdout)
-
-    formatter = logging.Formatter(
-        '%(name)s: %(levelname)s: %(message)s'
-        )
     handler.setFormatter(formatter)
 
+    log = get_log()
     log.addHandler(handler)
     log.setLevel(logging.WARNING)