Photography by Travis Novitsky - Photo Journal

Summer sun rays over the Susie Islands

2012-01-31T19:20:00.002-06:00

On this chilly winter's night my thoughts wander to the warmth of summer days. So, I worked up a photo that I've long been wanting to put on my website but just never got around to it. This one is from the summer of 2005. I had spent the morning photographing around the Susie Islands and was heading back home mid-afternoon when a few summer rain squalls blew towards the islands from across Wauswaugoning Bay. Just moments after I made this photo I was caught in some pretty intense downpours, but they only lasted a few moments and once again the sun was shining. Gotta love those summer days!

Early winter sunset near Grand Marais, MN

2012-01-28T19:16:00.002-06:00

I haven't been out shooting a whole lot lately, so here's a photo that I took earlier this winter. This was back in December (the 7th if you really want to know) along the Lake Superior shoreline about 10 miles or so North of Grand Marais. We really didn't have any snow yet when I made this photo, but there was some ice along the rocky shore. What caught my eye in this scene was the way the rocks were sticking out of the waves as they crashed into shore. A 15 second exposure really smoothed out the wave action and created a dreamy look that I love to portray in my shoreline photos.

Wisps of Light

2012-01-26T19:11:00.002-06:00

Well, I've been suffering "Aurora withdrawals" since our last two opportunities for Northern lights viewing in Northern Minnesota were cancelled due to heavy cloud cover. As a way of getting my "fix", I went back to some photos from the night of March 10, 2011 and found a couple that I had not yet worked on. The photo you see here is one such photo. This was captured near the tail end of what I still consider to be the BEST Aurora display that I have ever seen.

Waxwing and Mountain Ash Berries

2012-01-20T18:29:00.003-06:00

With the cold weather hanging on for another night, I figured I would get up early and drive to Grand Marais to photograph the steam behind the lighthouse. What I wasn't figuring on were the thousands of Waxwings that were hanging out in the various trees in the Grand Marais campground. I found one area where all the Mountain Ash berries had blown off the trees and down onto the ground. I watched as hundreds of Waxwings hopped around amongst the berries, choking them down just as fast as they could pick them up. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to isolate this one bird against the backdrop of berries. It is my favorite shot of the morning.

18 Below and Beautiful!

2012-01-19T18:19:00.011-06:00

Sunrise and Sea Smoke over the Susie Islands on January 19, 2012. This morning when I saw that the temperature was well below zero (a rarity this winter!), I knew that there was going to be plenty of sea smoke (steam) rising off the waters of Lake Superior. So, I headed to my favorite place to make photographs of the steam. It's difficult heading outside on such a cold morning, but the spectacular photos make it worth the effort!

Sunset on the bay

2012-01-10T18:15:00.002-06:00

Grand Portage Bay on Lake Superior - Grand Portage, MN. Here is a shot of the BEAUTIFUL sunset that we were fortunate to witness last night! Because of the cloud cover it seemed as though sunset wasn't going to be very good, but by the time the sun dipped below the horizon there was a small break in the clouds which allowed the sunlight to shine through and illuminate the underside of the clouds. SPECTACULAR!

Dancing with the clouds

2012-01-09T12:49:00.004-06:00

Moonrise on January 9, 2012. Had great fun last night watching the moon dip in and out of the clouds as they passed by. The first thing I thought of was "It looks like the moon is dancing with the clouds!". Voila! Another image title :-)

Last night as the moon was rising the light on the surrounding landscape was sublime. The moonlight, clouds, stars and snowy landscape made for quite a memorable scene! I know I've said this many times before, but I can't help myself by saying it again: "I LOVE living here!"

Birch Tree Moonrise - January 8, 2012

2012-01-08T12:46:00.003-06:00

Taken yesterday at Grand Portage State Park in Northeast Minnesota. As I was leaving work I spotted the moon rising across the Pigeon River and it was BEAUTIFUL so of course I had to get the camera out and make some photos!

Unique visitor at Grand Portage State Park

2012-01-08T12:36:00.000-06:00

We had a unique visitor today at the state park where I work. It was a rather chilly and blustery day, but that did not seem to deter this intrepid little woodpecker. He spent most of the afternoon pecking at the trunk of a fallen Spruce tree. He also apparently was not bothered by my presence, as I was only about 10 feet away from him when I made this picture. My first thought was that it was a Black-backed Woodpecker, but I have since been corrected and am told that it is an American Three-toed Woodpecker. Whatever he is, he sure was a pretty little bird and was a lot of fun to watch!

Mt. Josephine Moonrise - January 7, 2012

2012-01-07T12:31:00.003-06:00

Here's a shot of last night's moonrise as I was heading home from work. I love it when the moon is passing right over the tree line. It was quite a beautiful sight!

Watching for Meteors

2012-01-05T17:30:00.002-06:00

We were out watching for the Quadrantid meteor shower last night. Unfortunately we had quite a few clouds blocking the part of the sky that the meteors were supposed to be originating from. After a while the clouds did go away, but even then all we saw were a few very faint meteor streaks, and only one big fireball. Even so, it was a fantastic night to be out stargazing!

Steamy morning in Grand Marais + Snow flurries on The Grade

2012-01-03T16:18:00.013-06:00

This photo was taken the morning of January 3, 2012. It was probably the coldest night so far of this winter, so I figured there might be some sea smoke (steam) rising off the lake in the morning. I was right! I headed into Grand Marais to catch the steam as it rose behind the lighthouse. When I first got there I was a little disappointed to see thick clouds and not much color. Soon after the sun rose, however, the clouds started to break up and color started to stream down from the sun, which was hidden behind the clouds along the top edge of this photo.

After my morning along the Grand Marais harbor, I took a drive up along "The Grade", a dirt road that connects the Gunflint Trail with the Caribou and Sawbill Trails. While I was driving along The Grade I went through several snow flurries, and during one of those snow flurries I noticed how the falling snow was adding depth to the treeline across a frozen lake, and couldn't resist stopping to photograph the scene.

Pancake Ice

2011-12-28T16:19:00.000-06:00

So far, this winter has been rather mild with very little snow and days/nights that have been too warm for any serious development of ice on the lake. Last night, however, the temp did drop a bit which meant that this morning there were some nice "pancakes" of ice floating in a couple of areas along Grand Portage Bay. One of these areas (shown above) was very close to my house. How could I resist stopping and making an image of such beautiful ice formations so close to my home?

After photographing the ice I took a drive up to the Mt. Josephine wayside along Highway 61. This wayside was improved by the MN Department of Transportation this year. They replaced the bathroom building, built a new parking area and picnic sites, and last but not least constructed a very nice viewing platform that takes in the view of Mt. Josephine, Wauswaugoning Bay and the Susie Islands. The photo below was taken from this new viewing platform. I have taken many a photo from this location over the years, but I have never seen the trees stand out the way they do in this photo. The lighting was such that it really accented the trees. Even though there isn't really too much snow or ice in the photo, I still think it conveys a strong feeling of winter.

Ice Details

2011-12-19T16:47:00.006-06:00

My focus for the past week has been to try and find interesting ice patterns. I believe I have found several that easily fit that criteria, the ones shown here are my favorites from the week. The first one (shown above) is a macro shot of frost on the sheet metal of my truck. This is a very close-up shot that only shows an area about 3x3 inches.

Above: One of my favorite types of ice is shown above, when ice completely coats vegetation along the Lake Superior shoreline. It never ceases to amaze me how things can freeze in such a way, as to have one blade of grass completely encased in ice, like that shown here.

Another fascinating type of ice is when puddles freeze in such a particular way as to have all these patterns within the ice. While walking along the Lake Superior shoreline I found several such puddles. Each one had such unique patterns it was mesmerizing and I had to stop and stare for a while at each one that I came across.

December Dawn over the Grand Marais Lighthouse

2011-12-10T23:20:00.004-06:00

I went out this morning with the hopes of capturing the Lunar eclipse, but heavy cloud cover put a stop to that plan. There was, however, a small break in the clouds to the East where the sun was soon to rise. This photo was made about half an hour before sunrise when there was a nice, soft glow of color coming from behind the clouds.

Something New

2011-12-07T23:14:00.006-06:00

This evening I tried out a "new" (to me) location along the Lake Superior shoreline North of Grand Marais, MN. It turned out to be a wonderful spot and I had great fun spending the evening shooting here. I still can't believe I've never been down to this spot before! It is just a short walk from Highway 61, and is actually part of the Superior Hiking Trail. Many thanks to my friend Bryan Hansel (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryanhansel/) for letting me know about this amazing little slice of Lake Superior's shore.

Most of the beach in this area consists of small pebbles, but there is also a small rocky outcrop that juts out into the lake. On the tip of this rocky outcrop is a small island that is only a few feet from shore. It just so happens that the moon was rising over this small island during my visit. Also along the rocky outcrop were several types of plants that were coated in ice from recent waves and spray coming off the lake. As many of you know, winter is a favorite time of mine for photography mostly because I loooooove photographing ice!

After shooting for about an hour and a half along the Lake Superior shore, I headed home for a bite to eat. As soon as my stomach was full I headed back out to do some more shooting. It was a beautiful moonlit night and I wasn't about to let that go to waste! So, I headed up along the Pigeon River and made some photos of Partridge Falls bathed in moonlight. What a great day for some early winter photography!

Starry Night in the Maple Forest

2011-11-30T06:47:00.005-06:00

This photo was made last night when there was supposed to be a pretty good chance of seeing some Northern Lights. While the Aurora was a no-show, the stars last night were incredibly vivid, so much so that it felt like you could reach up and pluck them from the sky.

The magic of the night reminded me of my favorite quote from Vincent van Gogh:

"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream."

Tower Galaxy

2011-11-17T14:10:00.003-06:00

I haven't been doing much shooting so far this November, so lately I've been working on more photos that were taken earlier this fall. This particular photo was made on the night of September 4, 2011 at about 1:00 in the morning. The Milky Way was so bright that night it looked like it was jumping out of the sky at us. This was a 40 second exposure taken with a Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon EF 17-40mm lens. The lens aperture was set at f4 and the camera's ISO was set to 6400.

Grand Marais Sunset

2011-11-09T13:19:00.001-06:00

This was the scene tonight at sunset in Grand Marais, Minnesota. It was cloudy all day, but as sometimes happens during this gray time of year, the day ended with a splash of color!

Northern Photography exhibit at Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais, MN

2011-11-06T13:18:00.002-06:00

On display at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais, MN through December 4th are several prints from my Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) collection. All the prints are also for sale! The display includes 5 of my new "metal" prints, which are made on sheets of aluminum, as well as 3 more traditional matted and framed prints. There is also a small collection of matted (but unframed) prints available. Be sure to stop by and check them out if you happen to be in Grand Marais between now and December 4th! Gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Sundays from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Last color at Partridge Falls

2011-11-04T13:17:00.001-05:00

Here's one of my favorite fall color shots from this year. Taken the weekend of October 1st and 2nd.

October Milky Way

2011-10-31T13:14:00.003-05:00

Over the weekend we were hoping to see some Northern Lights, but no such luck in that department. We did, however, have fun photographing the Milky Way Galaxy! This is also a landmark photograph in that it is the first one on my website that was shot at ISO 12,800! Normally an ISO setting that high would have too much noise to be a usable shot, but I think because of the cold air last Saturday night (temp was in the low 30's), the sensor didn't heat up as much as it normally would and thus I was able to shoot at higher ISO's than I normally do. At any rate, I hope you enjoy the photo!

Above: "Sweeping Stars" - The same composition as the previous photo, only this one was a 75 minute exposure.

Aurora Surprise!

2011-10-25T13:13:00.008-05:00

I had gotten home from work yesterday evening and was pretty tired so after an early dinner I laid down for a nap. I woke at 9:00 PM and decided to check spaceweather.com to see if there were any CME's (Coronal Mass Ejections from the sun) recorded during the day. To my surprise, there was a fresh Aurora picture and news of a CME that hit our atmosphere earlier that evening! I then checked the Auroral oval and the kp index which indicated STORM level, so within a few minutes my photography gear was loaded in the truck and off I went to do some shooting.

I spent the next 6 hours making images of the Northern Lights. I went to several different locations and recorded several hundred images throughout the night, including some sequences that I combined into a timelapse video. The most intense and colorful lights occurred between 2:00 and 3:00 AM, with pillars of light dancing sideways across the sky, dominated ultimately by some deep red hues. It was a fascinating night of picture-taking and Aurora-watching!

Speckled Cloud Sunset at the Spirit Tree

2011-10-23T13:11:00.002-05:00

A recent sunset image taken down at the tree. Normally this is not a very good place for sunset photos, but I got lucky on this evening as the clouds lit up in a rather interesting fashion with all these little splotches of color. The color only lasted for a couple of minutes, so it's a good thing I was there at the right time otherwise I would have missed it!

Autumn Storm, Kawishiwi River

2011-10-13T13:10:00.003-05:00

Yesterday as I was driving home from Ely there were some of the coolest looking storm clouds I've ever seen moving along the Kawishiwi River. I couldn't resist stopping and making some photographs!

Northern Lights - September 28, 2011

2011-10-10T13:08:00.001-05:00

I have quite a few pictures of fall colors and such from last weekend that I should be working on, but what can I say... I have Aurora Fever! I keep getting drawn back to shots that are in my "waiting to be worked on" folder. This one was taken at 2:00 A.M. in the morning on September 28. For about two hours I had been watching faint but active Auroras, then just before 2 A.M. they got noticeably brighter just before a big, dark cloud bank moved in. This is my favorite shot from that night. Enjoy!

McFarland Twilight

2011-10-08T13:07:00.001-05:00

30 second exposure taken on October 4, 2011 at 7:52 P.M.

Paths Almost Crossed

2011-10-07T13:07:00.001-05:00

Ruffed Grouse and hiker on a backwoods road in Northeast Minnesota.

Foggy Fall Morning

2011-10-06T13:06:00.001-05:00

Taken Saturday morning of last weekend. An overnight low temperature of 28 degrees made for some beautiful fog over the inland lakes Saturday morning. Fog combined with fall colors... not many things make for better photos conditions!

Fall Photo Adventure

2011-10-03T16:01:00.018-05:00

This past weekend was a "Fall Photo Adventure" with 3 very good photographer friends that came to visit Grand Portage for a couple of days. My good friend Roger was accompanied by his brother Ralph from California, and Jake (Gary Jacobson) joined us from the Twin Cities. We had loads of fun, not nearly enough sleep and came away with more great shots than we can count! The fall colors this year have been incredible and their visit on this weekend couldn't have been timed more perfectly for the peak color. If you'd like to check out some of their photographs, here are their websites:

Roger Nordstrom: http://www.rogernordstromphoto.com/

Ralph Nordstrom: http://ralphnordstromphotography.com/

Gary "Jake" Jacobson: http://www.frozenshutter.com/

Above: Jake: "Some people hunt with a rifle, I hunt with a Canon."

Above: Roger capturing the view of the Pigeon River valley

Above: Ralph and Jake enjoying a roadside lunch

Above: The whole crew on one of the local fire towers. From left to right: Me (Travis Novitsky!), Gary "Jake" Jacobson, Ralph Nordstrom, Roger Nordstrom.

Above: Jake shooting the waterfall

Above: Jake and Ralph figuring out their next shots

Above: On Friday night we were doing some star shooting and were treated to a nice surprise showing of the Northern Lights!

Above: Roger is always looking for unique angles

Above: Photographers all in a row!

Above: The guys posing with their cameras

Above: Ralph photographing fall color reflections

Above: Jake takes in the view at Esther Lake

Above: Jake and Ralph shooting along the shoreline of a beautiful Northwoods lake!

Honeymoon Trail, Northeast Minnesota

2011-09-30T16:00:00.001-05:00

The colors are fantastic right now! Better get out there and enjoy them while they last!

Caribou Lake Colors

2011-09-28T15:59:00.001-05:00

Autumn at White Sky Rock along the Caribou Trail in Cook County, MN.

Minnesota's Maple Mountains

2011-09-27T15:58:00.001-05:00

Photo taken just before sunset this evening. The colors are starting to get really nice out there!

Aurora Borealis over the Border

2011-09-26T15:56:00.004-05:00

Northern Lights on September 26, 2011 - I was standing on the U.S. side of the U.S./Canada border in Northeast Minnesota when I took this picture. If you look closely you can see a couple of small red lights from communication towers on the horizon. Those towers are in Ontario, Canada.

Above: "Mt. Maude Aurora" - Northern Lights from last night at about 9:13 P.M. Exposure time for this shot was 30 seconds, aperture f4, ISO 2500 using a Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon EF 17-40mm L lens. This shot also made the front page at spaceweather.com today!

Early autumn at High Falls

2011-09-22T15:54:00.001-05:00

I made this image a couple of days ago on the Pigeon River at Grand Portage State Park. Normally I don't care for HDR (High Dynamic Range) photopraphy but in this instance I decided to try HDR, since my split grad filter just wasn't giving me very good results. The image you see here is a blending of 3 different photos at 3 different exposure settings, one exposed for the brightly-lit trees, one exposed for the dark foreground rocks and another one exposed for the middle areas of the scene.

Night begins on Mt. Maude

2011-09-16T15:54:00.001-05:00

A 60 second exposure of fast-moving clouds at dusk taken on September 2, 2011.

Sunset Smoke Haze

2011-09-15T15:53:00.002-05:00

Smoke from the Pagami Creek Fire near Ely, MN makes for a dramatic sunset over Lake Superior in Grand Portage, MN on September 13, 2011. One thing's for sure... all this smoke in our sky makes for some pretty wild sunsets!

Early morning Aurora over Deronda Bay

2011-09-10T15:50:00.005-05:00

My new habit of checking the spaceweather.com website every day seems to be paying off! Lately I have been getting quite a few nice shots of the Aurora Borealis, thanks in no small part to the information gathered from the spaceweather.com site. On Thursday, September 8th I checked the website just like I do any other day. Thursday's visit to the site revealed that a series of CME's (Coronal Mass Ejections) had occurred on the sun, and that those CME's had occurred on the side of the sun that was facing Earth. When this happens, generally it takes about 48 hours for them to reach our atmosphere... and when they do, beautiful Auroras are the result.

With the knowledge of the incoming CME's, and their expected time of arrival the night of September 10th, I started making my plans. I had to work on the 10th, so I knew that without some solid sack time I would be a zombie before the lights started to flare up. So, as is my normal plan of attack when shooting the Northern lights, I got done with work on the 10th, went home and went straight to bed. I slept from 5:00 PM until 10:00 PM, and was then refreshed enough (I hoped) for a full night of shooting.

As it turns out it was a good thing I got that sleep time in, because the lights didn't really start with any significance until just after midnight, and they continued all night until daylight started to creep into the sky, just before 6:00 AM. This particular photo was made at 4:42 AM along the shores of Lake Superior. Before moving to the shoreline, I had spent most of the night up on Mt. Maude, where the higher elevation provides almost a 360 degree view of the night sky. While on Mt. Maude I took a series of almost 400 photos of the dancing Northern lights and condensed them into a timelapse video, my first ever attempt at such a thing. All in all, it was a tiring, yet very rewarding, night of photography!

Passing Time on Mt. Maude

2011-09-06T15:49:00.001-05:00

This is my favorite picture from last weekend's night shooting sessions. It takes a bit of planning and preparation to pull off a shot like this but when you take your time and set things up right, the results are worth it. After about 20 "test" shots to dial in the composition I was ready to start the long exposure. This was a 96 minute exposure that I started at exactly 10:00 PM on September 3rd. The lens aperture was set at f4, and the camera's ISO was set at 100. Careful placement of the North star makes (I believe) for a very compelling composition. Taken with a Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon EF 17-40mm lens.

Eagle in a tree

2011-09-05T15:48:00.002-05:00

I just get home from work

and what do I see...

An Eagle in a tree

and he's lookin' at me!

Pink Sunset over Partridge Falls

2011-09-04T16:47:00.003-05:00

Last night's sunset at Partridge Falls on the Pigeon River. This wonderful sunset was only the beginning of what was to become an amazing night of photography!

Above: After sunset at Partridge Falls I was out shooting stars and the Milky Way when a quick glance to the North revealed a nice surprise: a faint glow of Northern lights on the horizon! There wasn't any aurora activity in the forecast that night, so I was quite excited when I looked to the North and saw the lights. Since they were so faint, I decided to try a long exposure. This image ended up being 30 minutes long and I just loved the effect of the Northern lights combined with the spinning stars.

Awesome Sunset, Grand Portage Bay

2011-09-03T15:44:00.001-05:00

Here's a shot of last night's AMAZINGLY AWESOME sunset over Lake Superior. It was certainly one of the best sunset skies that I have EVER seen!

Foggy Maples

2011-09-01T15:43:00.002-05:00

A foggy afternoon in the forest on the last day of August 2011. This was taken with my 'point-and-shoot' camera, a Canon G11.

Late Summer Fog, Susie Islands

2011-08-31T15:42:00.002-05:00

Susie Islands and fog in late August. Rock of Ages Lighthouse (part of Isle Royale National Park) can be seen in the distance on the horizon.

Summer on Northern Light Lake

2011-08-30T15:41:00.001-05:00

I spent a good portion of today kayaking on the Brule River and Northern Light Lake. My hope was to see Moose, but that did not happen. I did, however, see two Bald Eagles, a Kingfisher and several ducks. It was a beautiful day to be on the water!

August thunderstorm on a moonlit night

2011-08-19T15:26:00.006-05:00

This photo was taken at 1:05 A.M. this morning. I was up late last night watching a movie when I started noticing a lot of flashes outside my living room window, which overlooks Grand Portage Bay on Lake Superior. I grabbed my laptop and pulled up the weather radar, which showed a thin but very intense line of thunderstorms heading our way. Right then and there the movie I had been watching was forgotten. I gathered my camera gear and walked down to the beach in front of my house.

The next hour was some of the most fun I've ever had with my camera. Usually when thunderstorms move through our area it is pouring rain before I can get any good shots of the lightning. This night, however, was different. When I got down to the beach I saw this very cool cloud out over the West side of the bay, which had lightning flashing inside of it every few seconds. The sky right above me was clear and full of stars. The sky above and to my left had the moon, which provided for some nice lighting of the bay.

The line of thunderstorms was moving very slowly and I was able to take well over 100 photos that night before the rain finally hit. I watched in awe as the clouds and the lightning moved out over the lake, then slowly appeared to swing back in towards the East side of the bay before closing in and completely covering the sky and blocking the view of the moon and the stars. Moments after the moon and the stars disappeared it started to rain. Thankfully, though, I could tell this was coming and had already packed up my gear and started walking up to the house. Just as I was getting to the front door it started to pour, which signaled the end of a fantastic night of shooting!

Day's End at Rock Cove

2011-08-16T15:25:00.002-05:00

Seems like my focus this summer has been on wildlife, but I have been getting the occasional landscape shot or two. Here's a fairly recent one from the Lake Superior shoreline near my home.

Sky Fire

2011-08-10T15:25:00.001-05:00

Sunset clouds in Grand Portage, MN on August 8, 2011.

Rainbow Sunset - Grand Portage Bay

2011-08-09T15:24:00.001-05:00

This photo was taken last night at sunset just after a brief thunderstorm passed over Grand Portage Bay.

Aurora Storm!

2011-08-06T15:23:00.007-05:00

With all the buzz about the possibility of strong auroras on the night of August 5th/6th, I was disappointed as sunset rolled around to see our sky filled with clouds. I am always optimistic, however, and as the evening progressed I made 2 to 3 checks every hour to see if the sky was clearing. Sure enough, just before midnight, I noticed a break in the clouds and in that break I saw some nice auroras! I went out the door and headed to my favorite spot to photograph the display. For an hour and a half the sky was filled with dancing lights, some of the best I've ever seen in Northern Minnesota!

Above: Here is a view that shows just how strong this geomagnetic storm was. This vantage point of the Spirit Tree is actually looking East/Southeast. Most of the time when shooting the Northern lights at the tree I have to shoot the other profile of it, which is looking to the North. I've always wanted to get a nice strong aurora so I could photograph them behind the tree from this other angle, which is a more Southeasterly direction. Well, on August 6th, 2011 I got my wish!

August sunset clouds over North Lake

2011-08-02T15:22:00.001-05:00

The sky over North Lake at sunset this evening was AMAZING!

I can stretch my wings just like Mom and Dad!

2011-07-27T15:19:00.007-05:00

This evening I made it back up to visit the Loons for the first time since the morning of July 19th. The chicks have grown quite a bit in that time! Their diving times have gone from lasting only 2 or 3 seconds to about 20 seconds. They also seem to be stretching their wings a bit more than a week ago. This is hands-down my favorite image of the evening!

Above: “They sure do grow fast!" - This Loon chick, just one day shy of being two weeks old, is already twice the size it was a week ago.

Above: "Sparkling Loon" - A Loon chick swims across the lake while the water sparkles all around it in the morning light.

Loon with baby in morning fog

2011-07-19T15:14:00.012-05:00

As you are already well aware (thanks to previous posts on this blog), I've been monitoring and photographing a Loon family for the past few weeks. On Friday, July 1st I discovered a Loon nest completely by accident on a local lake here in Grand Portage. I was with my friend Roger and we were looking for turtles sunning on logs, which is a frequent sight on the same lake. No turtles on that day, but while walking a small part of the shoreline we soon spotted a Loon nest out in the tall grass across a narrow channel of water in a protected corner of the lake. Right then and there we made plans to come back the next day and watch the nest all day in hopes that the chicks would hatch while we were there.

We returned at 9:00 AM the next morning and saw the adult was still sitting on the eggs. This was the beginning of what would end up being almost a two-week stretch of daily checks of the nest. After a week of visiting the nest and still not seeing any babies, I was starting to get a little worried about the eggs and whether or not they would hatch, since most Loon babies are born before mid-July. Finally, when I visited the nest on the morning of July 14th, I noticed right away that one of the babies had been born and was hiding behind the adult on the nest. I watched the nest for part of that day and eventually got some shots of the baby in front of the adult on the nest.

When I returned the next day the other baby had been born and the Loon family was already off the nest and out in the middle of the lake. This was when things got really interesting! Since the 14th I haven't quite been making daily trips to the lake, but almost. Watching the adults interact with their chicks out on the lake has been the most interesting wildlife experience I think I've ever had. It is amazing the care that is given to the chicks by the adults. Most of the time during their first week of life the chicks ride on the backs of the parents. This is done mostly for protection from predators, but also because the chicks get tired easily and need to rest. Now that the chicks are already almost two weeks old they are diving on their own (although their dives only last for a few seconds), they are learning to preen themselves, and soon they will be catching their own food, which consists mostly of minnows (small fish).

These photos were captured this morning just after sunrise, which so far has been the day with the most incredible conditions for photographing the birds during all my days of visiting the lake. We have been having daytime temperatures of almost 90 degrees with very high humidity, but the night of the 18th and early morning of the 19th the temp dropped into the upper 50's which meant that in the morning there was a lot of fog on the lake. The conditions for picture taking were phenomenal to say the least. I hope you enjoy these images from this morning!

Evening Cruise

2011-07-16T15:13:00.001-05:00

Both chicks from nest #2 have hatched! Yesterday we spent late afternoon and early evening photographing them as they swam around the lake. Once both chicks are born they don't waste any time leaving the nest and once they leave the nest they don't go back. Heading up today to spend more time photographing them. Nice and sunny right now so I hope it stays that way!

Cuddle Time

2011-07-14T15:11:00.002-05:00

I paid a visit this morning to Loon nest #2 and was delighted to see that one of the chicks had been born! Loon chick #1 was born either last night or early this morning, but the adult continued throughout the afternoon to sit on the second egg, which had not hatched yet as of 6:00 PM this evening when I left the nest. This photo was taken right after the adult called the baby back to the nest. The baby apparently did not want to wait for its sibling and decided to take its first swim on its own!

Moose Cow and Calf

2011-07-13T15:55:00.005-05:00

So I went to check on Loon nest #2 again yesterday, still no babies and I didn't feel like sitting there and watching the nest (which I've already spent more than enough time doing!), so I went up to the Pigeon River to spend some time in my kayak. I spent almost 4 hours on the river, and it ended up being time well spent because part way through that time I ran into this Moose Cow and Calf, which made for a great picture! After making this photo they ran off into the woods, so I continued down the river and about a mile later there they were again! I noticed them earlier the second time, and tried sneaking up on them along the edge of the river. I was upwind, however, and before I could get close enough to get good shots they were gone into the woods. I'm grateful that I was able to get this nice shot of them, though! I love how they are both checking me out with their ears pointed towards me :-)

Evening cloud bank over the Pigeon River

After photographing the Moose Cow and Calf I was treated to an incredible display of clouds over the river. This is what the scene looked like about 45 minutes before sunset. Once the sun started to hit the horizon, these same clouds were lit up with all kinds of amazing colors. Between the Moose and the clouds, it was an unforgettable evening on the river!

Fog in the Sleepy Hollow Valley

2011-07-10T15:54:00.001-05:00

This photo was taken from one of the local fire towers last night just before sunset. It had rained all day and as evening wore on the fog was incredible. An elevated vantage point such as this provided for some spectacular views of the fog as it drifted through the surrounding valleys!

The Coming Storm

2011-07-08T15:53:00.001-05:00

Here's another cool cloud image... this one was taken late yesterday afternoon as the first of several fast-moving thunderstorms came over the tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead region. Not more than two minutes after I made this shot, the rain was coming down so hard that visibility was minimal at best. The wipers on my truck could hardly keep up with it!

Summer Storm over Swamp Lake

2011-07-07T15:53:00.001-05:00

Check out these awesome clouds that I photographed over Swamp Lake today.

Patience pays off!

2011-07-05T15:52:00.002-05:00

Patience pays off! During another 4 hours of Loon watching today, we got to see the eggs being turned by the parent mid-afternoon, and this time she was facing us so we could actually see what was going on :-) Still no babies, though... stay tuned!

Loons!

2011-07-02T15:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we found another Loon nest so today we are heading up to watch it and see if the chicks hatch.

Well, after 9 hours of watching the Loon nest the eggs got turned several times by the adult, but so far they haven't hatched. The one that was on the nest got off the nest 3 times throughout the day and went for a swim while the other adult stayed out on the lake. I'm guessing it was Mom doing all the work :-)

Loons and Pileated Woodpeckers

2011-06-30T15:58:00.005-05:00

Above: "Loon Taxi"

Just got in from one of the best days EVER in my life! Had an incredible day photographing Loons and Pileated Woodpeckers. The paddling weather was also perfect, unlike yesterday. Sunny skies and calm winds make for some beautiful conditions on the inland lakes!

Above: "Peering out from the nest"

Below: "Feeding the young"

Loon Mother and Baby + Baby's First Swim

2011-06-29T15:52:00.005-05:00

We spent the entire day today photographing Loons and had some incredible luck doing so! When we came upon this nest, there was one chick already born and snuggling under mom's wing. After our mid-day lunch break we returned to find that the second chick had hatched while we were away! It was an incredible day :-)

Just moments after leaving the nest, a baby Loon gets its first taste of life on the water. If you look just above the beak of the Loon on the left, you can see the nest and the egg shells in the background.

Painted by Moonlight

2011-06-25T15:51:00.004-05:00

Taken during June's full moon, this is a 30 second exposure where the moon was behind the rock just below the tree.

Here is a similar shot to the one above, only this is what happens when you leave the shutter open for 5 minutes instead of 30 seconds. I love how the clouds turned out in this one! They reminded me of brush strokes from a paint brush, hence my name for the photo.

Momma Fox

2011-06-23T15:49:00.002-05:00

This is a photo of the latest "friendly fox" that has been hanging around near where I live. A litter of fox were born this year underneath the Catholic Church in Grand Portage, MN and lately the young ones (and mom) have been very active on the grounds surrounding the church. The evening I captured this shot we had spent a total of about an hour and a half watching the foxes. Mom was around most of the time, with the young ones making an appearance every ten minutes or so. When I took this photo Mom was just sitting in the grass about 25 feet away from us, watching us as much as we were watching her. I love the eyes of a fox, they can convey so much emotion. In this photo she just seems to be more curious than anything, and her behavior also led us to believe that at this moment, the only thing on her mind was curiousity. She was probably wondering what these guys were doing pointing these big white camera lenses at her!

Below: One of Momma Fox's babies

Painted Turtle

2011-06-11T15:49:00.001-05:00

A surprise yesterday while driving past a small pond, I happened to catch a glimpse of this small Painted Turtle in the corner of my eye. I backed up and watched him for a while, but when I opened the door of my truck he didn't like that and moved towards the water. I snapped this shot just before he slipped beneath the surface.

Lift-Off!

2011-06-10T15:48:00.004-05:00

Check out these Bald Eagle shots I captured on my way to Grand Marais this morning. I was heading in early for a clinic appointment (tested postitive for strep throat... bummer!) when I saw this Eagle perched in a tree that was on the verge of falling over. These photos are proof positive that it always pays to have your camera gear in the car with you, and in this case, to have some extra time. I was traveling about 15 minutes early for my appointment so when I saw this Eagle I had plenty of time to pull over, walk down on the beach and get some pictures of him.

The storm that never was

2011-06-09T15:47:00.001-05:00

Today I went for a drive up to the end of the Gunflint Trail. As the end of the road got closer and closer, I started seeing a really ominous cloud bank up in the sky. I thought that it for sure was not only going to rain, but thunder and lightning something fierce by the looks of it. Nothing ever came of it. The cloud bank loomed, but moved on without so much as a whisper or a single drop of rain (at least, not that I noticed!).

Wolf Pups

2011-06-08T15:46:00.001-05:00

Shoe Lake Road - Cook County, MN. I saw these cute little fellows while driving home from the Gunflint Trail yesterday. Came around a corner on Shoe Lake Road and there they were, sitting just a few feet off the road. I watched them for a couple of minutes before they wandered back off into the woods.

Shake it off!

2011-06-07T15:46:00.001-05:00

A cow Moose shakes water from its body after digging in the water for some plants to eat along the Gunflint Trail in Northeast Minnesota.

Northern Lights - June 4, 2011

2011-06-04T15:45:00.001-05:00

Here is my best shot from last night's aurora activity. This photo was taken at 11:15 P.M. There was a nice band of green with some purple fringe along the top for about an hour to an hour and a half. After that the color faded a bit, and it was no longer very conducive to making good images. Another beautiful night on the shores of Lake Superior!

Spring at Pancake Bay

2011-06-01T15:43:00.003-05:00

This is one of my favorite shots from Memorial weekend. Taken on Sunday evening, there were some really nice clouds at sunset that night. After the sun went down we could hear thunder rumbling in the distance and as darkness fell over the lake a nice little lightning show was visible out on the horizon. After the two previous evenings which were very dismal shooting conditions (rain and gray, cloudy skies), Sunday evening more than made up for it with some of the most spectacular spring sunset clouds I've ever seen. The island on the left is called Pancake Island, and the one in the distance is called Blueberry Island. My buddy Roger refers to them as "The Breakfast Islands" (think blueberry pancakes!).

Spring Bittern

2011-05-30T15:42:00.001-05:00

Spotted this fellow the other night while driving around the backroads of Grand Portage. I consider myself lucky for spotting this guy as we drove by this meadow, as these birds are NOT easy to see when they are standing in the tall grass like this!

Snapping Turtle at Grand Portage State Park

2011-05-29T15:42:00.004-05:00

Had a pretty cool experience at work today, there was a Snapping Turtle that walked right across the main sidewalk in front of our visitor center, then through the woods and down to the Pigeon River. We were guessing that she had probably come up away from the river in order to lay her eggs in the soil somewhere near the visitor center.

May Moonrise at the Spirit Tree

2011-05-24T15:41:00.002-05:00

On May 16, 2011 I headed down to the Spirit Tree in the hopes of catching the moon rising just to the left of the tree. Based on past experience (and some checking of references online) I knew there was a good chance the moon would rise where I was hoping it would on this evening. This particular evening was also chosen for the time of the moonrise, which was supposed to occur just before sunset, meaning there would still be some light in the sky as the moon rose. Everything came together for a wonderful evening of photography :-)

Spirit Tree Twilight

2011-05-11T15:40:00.001-05:00

There is a magical period of time each day that lasts for maybe 15 minutes during which you can capture the last bit of blue in the sky along with a sky full of stars. On the evening of May 6, 2011 I was fortunate to have ideal conditions for capturing this special moment in time. The sky was not yet completely dark (meaning I could still capture plenty of blue in the sky), yet it was dark enough that plenty of stars were visible. This image was made using my Canon EF 17-40mm lens, exposure length was 25 seconds, aperture f4, ISO 1600.

Spring at Gooseberry + Temperance Twilight

2011-05-06T15:39:00.007-05:00

Had a great evening and night doing some photography at Gooseberry Falls and Temperance River. Sunset and twilight at Temperance was AWESOME. Such a beautiful evening :-)

April Aurora

2011-05-01T15:57:00.006-05:00

The image below was made at 2:38 A.M. on the morning of April 30, 2011. I usually check the aurora forecast around sunset or slightly before to see if there is any chance of northern lights and sure enough, the forecast models were predicting a decent chance of seeing the lights on this particular night. So, as soon it was dark enough, I began my ritual of walking out into the backyard every 15 to 20 minutes to check the sky. At a little after 10:00 P.M. I noticed the first hint of the Aurora up in the sky. I quickly gathered my gear and headed out to my first preferred location for shooting the lights.

After an hour and a half of watching, all I saw was just a faint glow in the Northern sky. I headed back home just before midnight to grab a snack, with the plan to head back out to a different location for a couple more hours. After my snack I headed back out, picking up my friend Jessica along the way. She had never seen the northern lights before, so I was really hoping they would put on a good show. We arrived at the next location about 12:30 A.M. and could still see only a very faint glow in the sky. I had two other locations I wanted to check, so we went to each of those spots and watched for a while, again seeing just a very faint glow.

At 2:00 A.M. we decided to start heading back and as we were driving past one of the spots we had previously stopped at, I noticed the lights were starting to get brighter and more active. I parked the truck and we got out to watch for a bit. As soon as we got out of the truck the lights were dancing and shimmering slowly just above the horizon. Jessica was quite excited, she hadn't really expected to see a good show her first time out but indeed here it was! It's pretty cool to share someone's first experience with the Aurora. They never know quite what to think :-) One thing's for sure, they are pretty much guaranteed to be blown away by the "cool" factor of this, one of nature's most amazing spectacles.

Spring Snow at Portage Brook

2011-04-27T15:55:00.002-05:00

This year, spring in Northern Minnesota has been slow to arrive. This photo, captured the day after a late winter storm dropped 5 inches of snow on the Arrowhead Trail in Cook County, is proof of that fact. Most people that I've talked to recently have had more than their fill of winter. I, on the other had, welcome a late winter/early spring snow storm, especially after the rivers have opened up. The contrast of fresh snow and running water makes for some incredible imagery. This waterfall is a little-known gem not far from the Canadian border. The trail to this falls is not marked, and is a short but rugged hike. Just before you get to the falls, there is an area where blowing snow collects and drifts rather badly. I had to wallow my way through a drift that was almost waist-deep in order to get to this vantage point on the falls. By the time I got back to my vehicle, my pants and shoes were soaked from pushing my way through the wet snow. As is often the case, however, the photos that I got were worth the effort. This image was made using my Canon EF 17-40mm lens, shutter speed was 1/2 second, aperture f22, ISO 50.

Spring Evening at High Falls

2011-04-24T15:53:00.003-05:00

Grand Portage State Park, MN. The water level at High Falls right now is perfect for doing long exposures and capturing many layers of water. Get there and visit the falls now while the water conditions are optimum for this kind of shot!

These photos were taken a few days ago at Grand Portage State Park in Northeast Minnesota. After the ice broke up on the river this year, the water level was initially at a level of 3.5 feet. A few days after the ice-out, the river level was at 8 feet. Since then, the river level dropped a bit to just over 5 feet, but it is now on the rise again. With more moisture in the forecast for the next day or two, it may reach 8 feet again (or more!). This weekend is shaping up to be another great one to view the falls... come out and see it while the water is high!

April Sunset - Temperance River

2011-04-23T15:52:00.002-05:00

Temperance River State Park near Tofte, MN. I made this image a couple of nights ago after a "spur of the moment" decision to drive down to Temperance and photograph the sunset. It was cloudy in Grand Portage, but I figured what the heck I'd give it a shot. It's a good thing I did, as there was a beautiful sunset that evening!

Watching over the nest

2011-04-20T15:51:00.001-05:00

A pair of Eagles watches over their nest as they take turns incubating the eggs. Butterwort Cliffs Scientific Natural Area - Near Cascade River State Park, MN.

Spring Snow Storm - April 17, 2011

2011-04-17T15:51:00.008-05:00

Sure seems like we have been getting a lot of snow this spring! We just got another storm that dumped close to a foot of new snow on us. I spent the day after the snow storm driving around and taking pictures. The type of snow that fell had a pretty high moisture content so it really stuck to all the trees and vegetation, making quite a winter wonderland!

Above: High Falls on the Pigeon River - Grand Portage State Park

Above: Pigeon River gorge just below High Falls - Grand Portage State Park

Above and below: High Falls Trail - Grand Portage State Park

Above: Snow-caked trees along the Arrowhead Trail

Above: Stump River, Arrowhead Trail

Eagle Landing

2011-04-15T15:50:00.002-05:00

Just one of the 4 Eagles that I saw flying around the visitor center at work today. This immature Eagle was coming in for a landing on one of the Birch trees along the banks of the Pigeon River.

Cold-Blooded Spring

2011-04-14T15:49:00.002-05:00

High Falls at Grand Portage State Park, MN. There is a lot of snow in the woods this spring, and thanks to a recent week of warm temperatures combined with a nice rain storm the Pigeon River opened up nicely a few days ago. However, winter is not quite ready to let go and last night cold temperatures returned to Grand Portage. The cold air meant that all the mist at High Falls was freezing to the trees, shrubs and grasses throughout the night and all day today, making for an amazing icy scene.

Breaking Up

2011-04-11T15:48:00.001-05:00

High Falls at Grand Portage State Park as the river starts to open up in early April of 2011. This photo was taken yesterday afternoon, just before we had a big thunderstorm that dropped some heavy rain on the area. I'm going to walk back up to the falls this afternoon to see what kind of a difference yesterday's rain made on the ice and the water flow.

Late March Sunset at Red Rock Point

2011-03-30T15:41:00.001-05:00

Last year when I went to the Southwest (pretty much at the same time as this year) all the ice was gone before I left on my trip. This year, I return home and still find plenty of ice along the shoreline. This was taken last night looking South across Lake Superior just after the sun went down. Amazing how each year can be so different!

Owachomo Bridge

2011-03-25T15:38:00.006-05:00

Above: In order to get this effect of light on the bottom of the bridge we were doing some light painting with our flashlights while our cameras recorded the exposures.

As we drove towards Natural Bridges National Monument the afternoon of March 24th it looked as though the sky was not going to cooperate for shooting the stars that night. The clouds were moving in fast and soon covered most of the sky. We stuck it out, though, and are glad we did because as the sky darkened we soon started to see stars showing up through the thinning clouds. After the sun had set the clouds moved out and we ended up having a nice solid couple of hours to make star images before the clouds moved back in. I was really excited because a year ago I had been at this same location three nights in a row trying to shoot the night sky but had three nights of cloudy, uncooperative skies. This year definitely made up for last year. The image below is a 38 minute exposure that was made from 10:00 PM to 10:38 PM. Aperture was f4, ISO 200. I wasn't sure how this would turn out by placing the North Star directly behind the bridge, but in the end I was really happy with the result.

Lake Powell Sunset - Alstrom Point

2011-03-24T15:37:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we ventured out along the backroads of Southern Utah to watch the sunset over Lake Powell at Alstrom Point. This point is easily one of the most spectacular views of Lake Powell. It is also a very remote area, which means there is very little traffic. In fact, last night we were the only two people out there. We saw a couple of cars along the road on the way out to the point, but once we got to the point we had it to ourselves. The sunset light here is absolutely magical. As the sun begins to set the buttes begin to glow and if there is no wind (like last night) you get some really nice reflections in the water. Not an easy place to get to, but definitely worth the effort.

Below: Here I am earlier in the day taking in the view from Alstrom Point. Photo by Roger Nordstrom.

Antelope Canyon Adventure

2011-03-23T15:37:00.011-05:00

Yesterday's Antelope Canyon adventure was AWESOME. We spent a total of 6 hours photographing the canyon, 4 hours in Lower Antelope and 2 hours in Upper Antelope. Both are equally impressive and so magical that they defy description. The two sections of Antelope Canyon are also very different from each other and have completely different characters. Lower is very easy to access via a short trail from the parking area and the canyon is skinny at the bottom and wide at the top. Upper is accessible only via heavy-duty trucks with big tires that have been modified to drive the several miles up the soft sandy wash. Upper is also different from Lower in that it is very narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.

Above: Driving up the wash to Upper Antelope Canyon

Above: The entrance to Upper Antelope Canyon. If you look to the left of the trucks (where you can see people standing), there is a slit in the rock. This is the entrance to the canyon.

Above and below: A magical world awaits you just a few feet inside the entrance of the canyon!

Below: My friend Roger posing in one of the most interesting sections of Lower Antelope Canyon. The way the light washes down the canyon walls here is unreal!

Below: Lower Antelope is also different from Upper in that the floor of the canyon is very uneven and in several places rugged stairs have been installed so people can make their way through the canyon without the use of climbing gear.

Below: Self-portrait in Lower Antelope Canyon

Dancing Cranes

2011-03-19T15:36:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of shots from this morning on the Platte River in Central Nebraska. We saw a LOT of cranes this morning, but the lighting was a bit of a challenge. We never did get any nice sunlight, but we saw a lot of incredible crane activity. When we first arrived at the blind the birds were very quiet. Most of them had their heads tucked under and were asleep. Before too long, though, they started waking up one by one and soon their chattering was quite loud. As they wake up they also start to hop and dance around quite a bit. Some of the dancing is to try and impress their mates or potential mates, and some of it is done to warm up before they take their first flight of the day. It was an unforgettable morning and we are hoping that the birds repeat their patterns and performances again tonight and tomorrow morning.

Sandhill Cranes and March Moon

2011-03-18T15:34:00.004-05:00

My friend Roger and I are at the beginning of a 10-day trip to the Southwest. We are spending the first part of our trip along the Platte River in Central Nebraska, with the intention of photographing the Sandhill Crane migration. Last evening at sunset the moon was already rising in the East. Lots of cranes were flying in front of the field of view of the moon, so I thought it would be neat to try and capture them as they passed in front of it. It proved to be a bit more difficult than expected. Since it was already starting to get dark it was pretty much impossible to use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the movement of the birds. So... the moon is sharp and the birds are blurry, but I still really like these shots!

Solar Tsunami - Waves in the Sky

2011-03-14T15:33:00.003-05:00

From Thursday night's Aurora event, this photo was made at the moment when the Northern lights transitioned from being "so-so" to SPECTACULAR. The colors and movement started on the left side of the frame, and within seconds a line moved very quickly all the way across to the right, then upwards into the sky. Along the bottom edge of the lights was a line of purple and white color, everything above that was green. The bottom edge of the aurora was waving up and down and back and forth. The whole sky was shimmering with waves of light. It is a memory and image that will live in the forefront of my mind for a long time to come!

Dance in the North Sky

2011-03-11T15:30:00.010-06:00

Some friends had told me about seeing the Aurora in the early morning hours of March 10th, 2011 but unfortunately I was already asleep and missed the activity. The following evening, however, I noticed the telltale green glow in the Northern sky at 9:30 PM. I called a friend of mine and within 15 minutes we were both headed up into the woods to get away from any man-made lights. Just moments after we arrived in my planned shooting area the Aurora intensified and really started to put on a show. By 11:00 PM the sky was bursting with dancing lights. At one point the lights filled about 50% of the entire sky. I would have needed a fisheye lens (which I unfortunately do not own) in order to capture the entire breadth of the lights. We stood in awe at not only the movements but the colors we were seeing. Dominated by green, we also saw shades of red, purple and white. Rarely is the aurora seen this powerfully in Northern Minnesota. I was almost in a trance staring at this amazing show and I kept having to remind myself to keep taking pictures!

Northern Hawk Owl

2011-03-10T15:29:00.002-06:00

For the past couple of weeks a Northern Hawk Owl has been hanging around near the Grand Portage Trading Post. I have seen him several times, but until today he was always perched on the power lines (not the best for photos!). Today I spotted him in the trees and promptly reached for my 100-400mm lens. I watched him (or her? I'm not sure how to tell the difference in owls) for close to half an hour. During that time the owl flew to 4 or 5 different trees, and from each tree was listening for sounds of mice down under the snow. Every now and then he would swoop down towards the ground, but he never did catch anything while I was there. He sure gave me some nice opportunities for photos today though!

Winter's Day on Mt. Rose

2011-03-09T15:28:00.001-06:00

Went for a snowshoe hike up Mt. Rose today. Man, it was beautiful out there! What a delight tromping through the woods with a foot of fresh, light and fluffy snow! Today we had beautiful blue skies and a warm 30 degree temp with no wind... TERRIFIC day to be outside!

Aspens and Sea Smoke

2011-03-04T15:22:00.003-06:00

This photo was taken on a VERY cold morning in February 2011. I think it was almost 20 below zero the morning I made this image. There was a lot of steam or "sea smoke" as people like to call it, rising off the lake. More common in early winter, it was a treat to see the steam in late February. My friend Roger and I had spent sunrise right along the water's edge taking photos of the rising sun and the ice on Grand Portage Bay.

To give you an idea of just how cold it was, while we were walking through some deep snow drifts to get to the water's edge, I tripped and fell in the snow. My tripod went right down under the snow, and was only in the snow for a few seconds. The tripod had been warm from being inside the car, and as soon as I pulled it up out of the snow it had ice on it. The snow had melted briefly when making contact with the warm tripod and as soon as I lifted the tripod up into the cold air it the melted snow that was on it froze instantly. I had a difficult time the rest of the morning adjusting my tripod legs due to the ice that now covered it.

After about 20 minutes in our first location we headed up to an overlook which looks down onto Lake Superior and Wauswaugoning Bay. From this elevated vantage point it was magical watching the sea smoke as it rose off the lake and drifted out away from shore. Roger has a Vari-ND filter which lets you block several stops of light and I thought this would be a perfect place to use it so I borrowed it for several exposures. The stationary trees and the edge of the ice combined with the moving steam made for a very compelling photo. Exposure time on this shot was 15 seconds, aperture f16, ISO 50. It was taken with my Canon EF 100-400mm lens.

Ice Ribbons

2011-03-03T15:20:00.002-06:00

Tettegouche State Park, MN. The ice that is decorating the shore near Silver Bay, MN right now really provides for a lot of interesting photographic compositions. While most of the time my tendency is to go for the wide landscape images, I also greatly enjoy zooming in with my 100-400mm telephoto and composing detail shots within those landscapes. This is one such image that I really like. The lighting coming from behind the ice combined with the shapes and textures made for a scene that I couldn't resist photographing.

3 A.M. Northern Lights

2011-03-02T15:18:00.002-06:00

Well, the aurora did make a showing last night! While it was nowhere near the best display I've seen, it is always exciting and special to see the Northern lights. As is my ritual when there is an elevated chance of seeing the lights, I was religiously checking the sky every 15 minutes until just before 2:00 A.M. when I noticed the green glow on the horizon. I quickly dressed for the cold (it was below zero last night), warmed up my truck and headed a few miles inland to try and catch a better view of the display. I stayed up in the woods for 2 hours hoping the lights would intensify, but they never did. I only made 6 exposures, this was my favorite of those six. Not a lot of color but still definitely pretty! The glow on the horizon on the right side of the image is from the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Sure wish I could get them to turn all those lights off :-)

Sunrise in the Frozen Forest

2011-02-28T16:01:00.006-06:00

This photo was made at Tettegouche State Park in Northeast Minnesota on the shores of Lake Superior. Parts of the shoreline at Tettegouche are a wonderland of ice right now. Thanks to high winds and waves that hit the shoreline just over a week ago, the trees at Tettegouche are covered in ice. Some of the cliffs at the park angle back as they drop down towards the lake, so when the waves come in just right they literally EXPLODE back out from the cliff and if the wind is strong enough it will catch the spray and fling it up over the cliff and into the trees. This only happens once in a great while, maybe only once or twice every 10 years (or so I'm told). I've shared this ice experience with a few different friends of mine, and no matter how long you've lived along the shores of Lake Superior, this incredible ice makes you stare in amazement. Truly one of the most magnificent things I've ever seen in my life on the lake. This image was made with my Canon EF 24-105mm lens, shutter speed 1/60, aperture f16, ISO 100.

Below: Here is another photo of the same ice formation, taken later in the day after the sun had risen high into the sky.