This ice formation was photographed along the Grand Portage shoreline of Lake Superior a few days ago. It never ceases to amaze me the endless forms that ice can take along the shores of this great lake. This "fortress" of ice formed over the top of a large mound of rocks. As the rocks get pounded by the waves the water freezes and forms into ice. Every year the ice looks different, as it never freezes in the same exact shape. Often times even from one day to the next it will look different as new waves add new layers of ice, or warm days melt a layer of ice.
It is kind of a blustery (but mild!) day today, with some falling (but mostly blowing) snow. The blustery nature of the day has me thinking back to a few days ago when the day was absolutely calm and quiet. The photo you see here was made on this quiet day, with barely a sound to be heard along the shoreline. When this cloud drifted over the ridge of ice plates I knew I had to photograph it. The complementing blues of the ice and sky were beautiful. I sure hope we get a day like this on wednesday of next week, if we do it will be a perfect day for our wedding ceremony!
Here is a recent shot of plate ice on Lake Superior, extending out as far as the eye can see. It sure was an interesting morning to be out exploring the shoreline. There was a wind coming off the lake along with a gentle swell that made the ice fascinating to watch. As each swell rolled in to shore you could see the plates of ice gently moving up and down with each passing wave. It was a very gentle movement, and to me looked as though you could see the lake breathing. With each wave the ice would rise, then fall. It was as if each passing wave was the lake taking a breath, then exhaling. This photo was made at sunrise. I returned to this same location at sunset and all the plate ice was gone. After a full day of being ground against each other by the waves the plates of ice had been ground down to small chunks of ice that "tinkled" against each other as they rolled in the waves that were still coming in throughout the evening.
Last night's sunset may not have had a large color palette, but the streaks of clouds and the floating icebergs sure were nice! Yesterday morning at this location there was a brisk wind and a nice swell rolling in off the lake, and there were a lot of ice plates floating around. Last night the swells were still coming in off the lake but the wind was gone and so were the plates of ice. The ice was actually still there, but it was all ground up into small chunks that were floating everywhere in between the larger "icebergs" that you see here. Without the wind the "tinkling" sound of the ice rolling around in the waves was quite loud and fascinating. This calm preceded a winter storm that we are getting today. There still isn't any wind, but snow has been falling steadily since about 9:00 this morning. We have had a few inches already and they say we may end up with 7 inches by the time it's done. One thing's for sure... it sure is a beautiful winter wonderland of white out there today!
As promised, here is another shot from this morning's sunrise over Lake Superior. Whitecaps Point (not an official name, just a name I came up with to reference this area) was lined with beautiful plate ice this morning. Soft swells were rolling in off the lake, and the plates of ice were rubbing against each other in the swells, making a magical "shooshing" sound. It was a gentle sound, not loud and abrasive like the sound made when the plates are piling up against the shore. I sure do love this time of year and wish it lasted longer. Spring is on its way, though, and soon I will be heading to the canyonlands of the southwest for a 3-week camping/hiking/biking adventure honeymoon with the love of my life!
This was a pleasant surprise from this morning. I was on my way to my pre-planned sunrise location when I looked back across the bay and saw this beautiful softly-glowing light over Hat Point and Pete's Island. You can see a glimpse of Isle Royale National Park in between Hat Point and Pete's Island. This light was so beautiful I had to stop and make a photo of the scene. After this I headed to the spot I was originally going to and found lots of incredible plate ice floating on the lake. Stay tuned later today for another posting of the plate ice at sunrise!
Here's an image from the last sunset I shot a few days ago. It was one of the quietest evenings I've ever experienced on Lake Superior. There was absolutely no wind and not a single ripple on the water to disturb the evening. The sunset didn't yield much of a display in terms of color, but the clouds and their matching reflections on the surface of the lake were a sight to behold.
