I had been out photographing sunset over some ice ridges on Lake Superior the other day and was having so much fun I wasn't paying attention to how dark it was getting. I figured I should probably start back unless I wanted to be fumbling my way across the snow and ice in the dark! So, I strapped my snowshoes back on and began the hike back to the truck. I had only gone a few hundred feet when I came around the corner of Red Rock Point and saw this scene laid out before me. I loved the way the clouds seemed to "fan out" from the tops of the trees. I decided this was a perfect spot to try a self-portrait. So, I set my tripod up again, composed the shot, set the timer and walked out into the scene and posed for the camera. I ended up with what may just be my favorite shot of the "blue hour" (the hour after the sun goes down) that I've ever made. This image conveys a sense of cold and the deep, dark heart of winter but believe it or not it was made on March 30th and the temperature was almost 40 degrees!
This is what I photographed last night as the sun was going down. An 8 to 10 foot high "Ice Mountain" that is just off the tip of Red Rock Point in Grand Portage. After yesterday's warm temperatures the ice had melted a little and no longer had that "fresh" look that it had the day before. Even though this mountain of ice has been there for several weeks, the daytime highs haven't been warm enough to melt the ice very much. At least, not until yesterday. Even though the ice has lost its fresh, sharp look it is still beautiful and worth photographing. I was hoping for more color in the sky last night but lately it seems every time I venture out to photograph the sunrise or sunset there is hardly any color in the sky. I end up coming home with lots of "blue" images. Which is okay, but I sure hope that one of these days I get some more color to spice things up a bit!
I wonder how long our ice will last this year? It certainly seems like it's not in a hurry to go anywhere. This one was taken yesterday in Grand Portage and is the top of an ice ridge that is roughly 8 feet high. I was hoping for a better grouping of clouds in the sky, but this was pretty darn nice too. I waited until the sun was just starting to peek out from behind the cloud bank so I could get a star-burst effect. Before we know it we'll be paddling and biking again, but for now I sure am enjoying the last of the Lake Superior ice season!
Here's a "bonus" image for today. After making the "Sunrise - Red Rock Ice Ridge" photo, I turned the camera around and made a self-portrait of myself standing on top of the same ice ridge.
I was able to get a few shots that I really like this year of the Sandhill Cranes in flight. This one is probably my favorite, which I call "Sandhill Squadron" because it reminds me of a squadron of fighter planes :-)
I went snowshoeing on Lake Superior this morning and had some fun making self-portrait images. I haven't looked through everything that I shot yet, but so far this one is my favorite. Hard to believe there are only a few days of March left! You'd never know it by looking at this shot. It looks more like January or February!
I made this photo from inside one of the overnight photography blinds at the Rowe Sanctuary. To celebrate the 1st anniversary of our wedding Jessica and I reserved a night in the blind for March 20th. These blinds are fantastic, they get you right up close to the birds so you can witness firsthand one of nature's greatest spectacles. The photo was made just as the bird activity was starting to intensify. The "V" of cranes that you can see in the sky was one of the first groups of birds to fly over. The show that followed was a mind-blowing experience of sight and sound. At one point almost every inch of the sky was filled with circling cranes as they prepared to land on the river.
A shot of some Sandhill Cranes dropping from the sky, preparing for a landing in a farm field. This is one of the goofiest and cutest things to see a Sandhill Crane do. As they lose altitude preparing for a landing they flare their wings, lift their heads and drop their legs. The shape their bodies make against the sky as they do this always makes me smile. It's one of the many reasons why I love Sandhill Cranes :-)
