Hollow Rock, the Aurora Borealis and the Milky Way

Here's another image of Hollow Rock from last night's aurora storm.  I still cannot believe how active the aurora was over Lake Superior!  Normally we don't see the northern lights over the lake that much here on the north shore because when we are looking out at the lake we are looking south.  But last night the majority of the activity was out over the lake.  I love that the Milky Way was still showing in this photo even though the aurora lights were so strong.  

Solar Storm Explosion!

This photo was made at 12:30 AM last night at Hollow Rock in Grand Portage, MN.  It was the most intense moment of colors in the aurora that I witnessed last night.  For only a minute or two there was this brief explosion of purples, pinks and reds over Hollow Rock.  The rest of the time the lights were a predominantly green color with some purples here and there.  The reds and pinks in this brief explosion were spectacular and the highlight of an unforgettable night of aurora photography!

Summer Solstice Solar Storm

The summer solstice solar storm arrives!  What an insane night!  For the first few hours of darkness, the sky was filled with some of the most incredible northern lights that I've ever seen in northeast Minnesota.  Space weather forecasts were originally calling for this storm to arrive the previous night and indeed there was a subtle amount of aurora activity but the main impact of the storm was yet to come.  Well, last night it arrived with a vengeance!  I left the house just as it was getting dark and had planned on driving about 20 miles inland to one of my favorite lakes.  However, as I drove down Highway 61 I could see the lights dancing in the southern sky over Lake Superior!  So, I changed my plan and stopped by Horseshoe Bay in Hovland.  There is a small island just off the shoreline in this location and it was the perfect place for my first shooting location of the evening.  

2015 Summer Solstice Night Sky

Last night Jessica and I spent the majority of the night out in search of the northern lights. The aurora was supposed to be really active according to space weather forecasts but unfortunately it was not.  We only saw a little glimpse of the lights around 2:00 AM just before the clouds moved in.  But, that glimpse was beautiful with hints of green and purple.  Also, the views of the stars last night were unreal!  The stars were unbelievably vivid, especially once the clouds first started to move in.  The leading edge of the cloud cover seemed to be this really light haze, which actually made the more prominent stars (such as those in the Big Dipper) really jump out from the sky.  The haze seemed to create a slight halo around those brighter stars, making them appear much larger than normal in my photos.  Even when things don't work out the way you hope they will, a night spent in the north woods is a night to remember!

Mt. Maude Tower and the Milky Way

A beautiful June night stargazing at the Milky Way Galaxy with the Mt. Maude fire tower in the foreground.

Grand Portage, MN

P.S. - Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!

The Daily Return

Earlier this week, Harley Toftey's boat returns to the Grand Marais Harbor and Dockside Fish Market with the day's catch.  I was passing Five Mile Rock on my way to Grand Marais and saw a boat traveling out on the lake.  I took a picture of that boat with my telephoto lens and realized it was Harley's boat.  Knowing that he was likely heading for the harbor, I drove straight to the municipal campground and waited on the shoreline for the boat to show up around the lighthouse.  I only had to wait a few minutes before I saw him coming.

Caribou Falls

On Wednesday of this week I spent a good part of the day exploring with my camera and one of the places I visited was Caribou Falls, a beautiful waterfall that is a half-mile hike from Highway 61 along a very nicely maintained trail.  I have been to Caribou Falls several times before but wasn't really prepared to photograph it well.  In order to get the "best" angle on the falls for photography, you need to walk in the water and cross the river to the opposite side from where the trail puts you.  This is not difficult, as the water is shallow, but I was always reluctant to cross it wearing shoes and pants.  This time I was wearing shorts and sandals so crossing was no problem at all.  

It really is worth it to get your feet wet, as the view from the west side of the river is much nicer than the view from the east.  When viewing from the east side you really don't get the full sense of how the waterfall widens at the bottom.  Since I was there in the middle of the day when the sun is the highest and brightest, I used a 6-stop graduated ND filter to block enough light so that I could make a long enough exposure to blur the movement of the water.