Peaceful Evening on Helmer Nelson's Pond

 

I love the nights where the air is so still that the stars reflect almost perfectly in the water. Stars above, stars below. It feels as if you are fully immersed in the universe.   

Greenwood Forest Fog

 

Wednesday this week was a beautiful day out in the forest. Some rain in the morning followed by overcast skies and high humidity make for lingering fog throughout the day.  Fog always adds depth to a scene and provides an extra layer of interest to photographs. 

Sunset Fog

 

Last night's sunset had the potential to be a real knockout... IF the fog cleared enough to let the sun shine through.  I set up about 45 minutes before the sun went down and sat there watching and waiting for the fog to hopefully clear just enough.  Unfortunately it never did and the best I saw was a few minutes of glowing color from the sun shining through the clouds and fog.  Still, it was nice just to sit there and enjoy the view for as long as I did. 

The Promise of Possibility

 

The universe speaks to us in ways that we don't always understand. Sometimes it can make us feel like the path before us is nothing but an endless stream of insurmountable challenges. Things that at the time of their occurrence seem to be better at dragging us down than lifting us up.  I think we all face these struggles at some point in our lives.  

Other times it may seem as though everything is lining up in our favor.  One good thing happens after another; little triumphs that all seem to be connected somehow. And depending on how much we've struggled in our lives, these little triumphs can be hard to embrace.  We may not trust them and where they might be leading us.  

These struggles and triumphs become a part of us, a part of our individual history. And that history determines who we are as a human being at this point in time. Everything that we experience leads us to where we are right now.  

A few years ago I know I was feeling my fair share of struggles. And I have had some triumphs along the way as well.  But lately the universe seems to be speaking to me in a pretty profound and positive way.  Things are looking better, perhaps, than they ever have before. The feeling I keep landing on is that it feels like The Promise of Possibility.  Possibility for a future that I was starting to think was not possible.  And what a great feeling it is!  I'm hoping that I can ride this wave for a good long time.

June Fireflies

 

I've got a few images from earlier this summer that I haven't gotten around to posting yet.  Such as this one from June 25th. This is the first night of 2020 where I saw a lot of fireflies flying around in this meadow. The photo was made at 10:24 PM and even that late in the evening in June we still have some lingering daylight in the western sky. 

Breaking Free

 

The Milky Way tries to break free from the clouds obscuring its view in the early morning hours of August 14, 2020. When I first started making photographs on this night, I was a bit disappointed at the cloud cover.  Once I realized how fast the clouds were moving, however, I decided it could still make for some very cool photos. 

The Milky Way kept revealing itself with these little glimpses through gaps in the clouds. I kept thinking... the clouds have it trapped... clear up and let it be free!  Which eventually it did do. When the clouds started dissipating they did so rather quickly and all of a sudden the Milky Way was shining brightly in the sky, lighting up the night. 

August Milky Way and the Spirit Tree

 

Had another awesome night of stargazing last night with a friend that I haven't seen in several years. Time really flies by when combining great conversation with staring at the night sky.  Before we knew it almost 3 hours had gone by. The Perseid meteors were still visible.  We saw quite a few of them as we sat staring up at the stars. Most were pretty faint, though. Such a good time of year to be out doing this.  The nights have been so comfortable lately!

Milky Way and Perseid Meteor

There are still a few Perseid meteors to be seen, even though the peak of the meteor shower was several days ago.  I caught this one last night while watching the Milky Way rise over this tree line. There were clouds coming and going rather quickly and each photo was so different from the one before it because of that.  It was hard to pick my favorites from last night but this one definitely made the list because of the big meteor streak. 

Venus Rising

 

Venus rises over Lake Superior in Grand Portage, MN in the early morning hours of August 11, 2020. 

Celestial Storm

 

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Last night was pretty incredible!  I went for a short bike ride just before it got dark and noticed a thunderstorm building on the horizon.  Lightning was flashing fairly frequently from within the clouds. After shooting a few videos with my phone I realized that even though it was already well past sunset, the clouds were still holding a lot of color.  Then I thought... why am I sitting here with my phone trying to take pictures?  I should go get my Nikon! 

After running home to get the GOOD camera gear, I found a place to set up that provided a nice, clear view of the sky. It was getting pretty dark now but I could still see faint color in the clouds.  Once my first 30 second exposure was complete, I was shocked to see how much color was still in the clouds!  For about the next hour I stood there taking photo after photo, trying to capture the lightning but also catching the constant yet subtle changes in the clouds. 

The storm was moving incredibly slowly and where I was standing it was very calm.  The faintest of breezes caused the occasional ripple on the surface of the water. Every now and then thunder rumbled softly in the distance. It was beautiful, mysterious, powerful and peaceful all at the same time. 

Northwoods Storm

Last night I had a conversation about storms. Not just in nature but also in our day to day lives and relationships with others. That conversation led to this image, which I had sitting in my "to be edited and posted someday" queue. 

The photograph was made while facing due north over a lake in Grand Portage State Forest, MN. The storm was moving from west to east so in this photo, it was receding. It was one of those storms that came up very quickly and without much warning. For about an hour it was pretty violent and powerful with wind gusts and hard rain. But as with storms both in nature and in our personal lives, it did pass.  And revealed a calm and peacefulness that transcended the violence that had so quickly and unexpectedly charged in. 

High Falls and Comet NEOWISE - Part II

One last photo of Comet NEOWISE, once again over High Falls of the Pigeon River in Grand Portage State Park, MN. In this photo I was lucky enough to also capture a meteor streaking through the sky in the upper left.  This comet was so much fun to experience.  I'm really going to miss it.