Highway 139 and Douglas Pass

I thought I would post a shot of the scenery along Highway 139 in northwest Colorado... this image is pretty indicative of most of the terrain that I have been driving through. Pretty desolate, but still beautiful nonetheless. Not long after I snapped this shot of the highway the road started to climb rather drastically in elevation. I was soon treated to a spectacular view of the mountains from the summit of Douglas Pass (El. 8,240 feet), on the way to Vernal, Utah.

Morning light at Colorado NM

Well, I got what I wanted. Which is to say, I got some morning light to play with at Colorado National Monument. So this morning I drove back up Rim Rock Drive to catch the morning light. The funny thing is, while it was a beautiful sunrise, I am happier with the images from the last two days than I am from this morning. One thing is for certain: those rocks sure are pretty when the sun hits them in the morning!

Colorado National Monument

I must admit that I had never really heard of Colorado National Monument before planning for this trip. It is one of the lesser-visited parks within the national park system, which is a curiosity because it is a wonderful park. I must thank my friend Roger for loaning me his photo books for the southwest. Were it not for those books, I probably never would have stopped at this park. My original plan was to head straight for Arches National Park after Nebraska, but I found out in the meantime that now is not a good time to go to Moab. That is, unless you own a Jeep rock-crawler! As it turns out all this week Moab is hosting the "Easter Jeep Safari". Off-road enthusiasts come from all over the country for this event, so as you can imagine finding a place to stay is next to impossible.

So, I altered my plan a bit and will hit Arches next week, after Easter. Enter Colorado National Monument! I decided to spend a couple of days in Grand Junction, Colorado and explore Colorado NM. As I mentioned earlier, this is not a very busy park... which I can attest to since I spent all day today (saturday, no less!) at the park and only saw a handful of other people (including one young guy from Italy!). The scenery is outstanding, with many canyons and gorges and interesting sandstone rock formations. The main road through Colorado NM is not one for those with a weak stomach, however! Most of Rim Rock Drive is about 2,000 feet above the valley floor below, and many times it seems as though the road is right on the edge of the cliff. It is a white-knuckle drive for sure. The speed limit along most of the road is only 25 mph, and I would advise sticking to it.

The weather today was less than desirable, with snow this morning and rain mid-day. The sky didn't clear until almost sunset. I'm going to head back into the monument tomorrow morning to try and catch some nice morning light, which hopefully there will be. Stay tuned!

Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River

Well, I spent a full day and a half photographing the cranes. I was in Nebraska in mid-March last year, and hit the migration during its peak, when there were about 500,000 cranes in the area. There were a lot fewer birds this year, since I'm a couple of weeks later than I was last year, but the numbers were still impressive. I just got in from a guided tour to one of the photo blinds at the Rowe Sanctuary (www.rowesanctuary.org). The guided tours at the sanctuary never disappoint. If you ever come to Nebraska looking for cranes, your first stop should be the Rowe Sanctuary. Sign up for a sunrise or sunset tour to one of the photo blinds, then ask one of the staff where the best places are during the day to look for cranes. The staff are very knowledgeable and helpful.

Aside from the cranes, I saw and heard a lot of red-winged blackbirds as well. They are one of my favorite birds, and each year I eagerly await their return, and long to hear once again their beautiful call. If you do go to Nebraska in March or early April, the best places to look for cranes are anywhere along the Platte River between Grand Island and Kearney. There are numerous farm and county roads that you can drive to look for the birds. But, like I said, you MUST take a tour at the sanctuary! You will be closer to the birds there than anywhere else. The sight and sound of these ancient birds flying in to the river is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. In addition to photos, I shot a few video clips of the birds, which you can see on my website:

http://travisnovitsky.smugmug.com/gallery/4585425_ZKKho

Well, that's it for today... I need to get some rest for the drive to Colorado tomorrow. Next up: Colorado National Monument!

Shooting the Twin Cities at night

Today I left home for a 3 week road trip to the southwest, with the primary destinations being in southern Utah and northern Arizona. On my way through the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul I stopped to create some night images of the cities, which is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time. As I drove towards the cities I wasn't sure if I would even be able to do any shooting or not, since the forecast was calling for snow later that night. Luck was with me as the snow held off long enough for me to get the shots I wanted. Tomorrow I'll be in Nebraska to spend a day or two photographing Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River.



(Above: Mill City Museum and Gold Medal Flour)



(Above: Foam trails at Stone Arch Bridge, just below St. Anthony Falls)



(Above: The St. Anthony locks were wide open, to let the high water run through.)



(Above: the I-35 bridge is lit with these really powerful lights, which I've heard can change color. On this particular night they were green. It looks like a martian bridge!)



(Above: Hennepin Avenue Bridge)

A few random images

Here are a few shots taken over the last few days. I haven't done a lot of shooting as I have been pretty busy working on other things, but I have gotten out here and there. The image above is a 1/2 second exposure with a short pan upwards from bottom to top. Taken on a day of shooting with my friend Roger (http://www.rogernordstromphoto.blogspot.com/) who was actually my inspiration for this shot. Roger showed me a similar picture that he had taken, so I decided to try one of my own within this stand of pine trees on Old Highway 61.

(Above: Ice pressure ridge on Wauswaugoning Bay)

(Above: Ice, snow and sky)

(Above: Ice fisherman and gulls on Wauswaugoning Bay)

Brighton Beach

If you want see cool piles of ice, Brighton Beach is now the place to be. The ice piles that were so high at Stoney Point earlier this winter are now but a memory. Brighton Beach (also known as "Kitchi Gammi Park") is right on the edge of Duluth, just past the mouth of the Lester River. A visit to the beach is not only interesting because of the ice, but also because of the people. Folks have been going out in droves to see and climb around on the ice, which is nice because it helps add a sense of scale to any photographs that one takes. After spending about an hour at Brighton Beach, I took the scenic drive from Duluth to Two Harbors. As I neared the mouth of the French River, I started noticing quite a few people ice fishing along the shoreline. I noticed one guy who looked like he was reeling in a fish, so I pulled over to the side of the road to watch. He circled his hole in the ice about a dozen times, working the fish, wearing it out. Eventually he dropped to one knee, reached into the hole and pulled out a nice prize. He immediately called out to his buddies who were further down the shore, and raised his fish into the air so they could see. Yes, it was a good day for all to be on the lake!