Warbler Surprise

About ten days ago I was out for a hike on a local forest road and decided to sit down for a while at a high point overlooking a valley.  Not long after sitting down some birds showed up on some nearby willow branches.  They looked pretty colorful so I walked closer then sat down on the ground to watch.  After a couple of minutes the birds were coming in quite close and I could see that they were going after some small bugs that were flying around.  It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon so I sat there for a quite a while just enjoying the views of the birds and the warmth of the sun. I managed to get a few really nice photos too. These two shots with a Black-throated Green Warbler and willow branch isolated against the sky were my favorite images of the day. 

Spring Fog, Superior National Forest

 

The weather was quite a contrast to what it was yesterday.  While most people might consider yesterday's conditions "better", I find the cool, rainy and foggy days to be just as beautiful as the warm, clear and sunny days. I went to Grand Marais in the afternoon to buy some groceries and decided to take the forest roads home. Along the way I stopped to photograph this scene which really made me wish I had a canoe with me. I would have loved to go for a quick paddle around this small lake. 

The river in the sky

 

I've been working on some "older" images lately. Some of them are first edits and others are re-edits as I've learned new ways of processing my images. This is an example of a first edit.  I did process and share a vertical image from this same night back when I photographed it several years ago, but never did anything with the horizontal image that I photographed. 

While I have learned some new processing techniques, mostly what has changed is how I want the images to look.  I used to process my Milky Way photos to make them brighter and more blue, which is how I liked them to look at the time.  Now I've come to realize that I prefer them a little darker and less blue, which I believe is more true to how our eyes see the Milky Way in person.  While this is still brighter than what we can see with our naked eye, compared to my earlier edits of the Milky Way it is closer to what we can actually see while gazing at the night sky once our eyes have adjusted to the darkness. 

By nature, a long exposure photo of the Milky Way is always going to look brighter than what we see with the naked eye.  That's because our eyes only see the stars for an instant, while (in this case at least) the camera sensor is collecting the light from the stars over a period of 30 seconds. The brighter image that the camera sees compares to what our eyes see also makes for a "better" print.  If we processed the image to be more like what our eyes saw, it would make for a pretty dull print as it would be quite dark.  

I suspect that the way I want my images to look will always be evolving.  What I prefer now may not be what I prefer 5 years from now. That's one of the great (and frustrating) things about photography.  Photography is creative vision and interpretation.  Interpretation of how the photographer sees the world.  And the way a photographer processes the photographs that they make is an extension of that interpretation and vision. Interestingly, I chose this photo at random to work on this evening, from a folder of Milky Way images that I had saved. When I looked at the date this image was made, I saw that it was May 25, 2017.  Exactly 5 years ago today!  I guess it was meant to be for me to edit and share this image with you all today...

Floating Lichen

A small piece of lichen floats across a spring pond. I saw this while hiking along a forest road yesterday.  The pond was also full of wood frogs that were croaking loudly until I walked up to the edge of the pond.  They all scattered once they saw me approaching.  I was left to appreciate this little piece of lichen drifting across the surface of the pond in total silence. 

May Moonlight over Grand Portage, MN

 

I am forever in awe of the beauty that surrounds me here in northeast Minnesota. I haven't been posting much for night images lately because I got a new camera a couple of months ago and haven't been able to get a good night lens for it yet.  The other night, though, I just had to try and make some images of the moon as it was rising over Lake Superior.  It was just too beautiful to pass up.  Thankfully the kit lens does alright with moonlit scenes!  

"This instant is the only time there is"

 

"This instant is the only time there is."

-Fortune cookie from a recent visit to Taste of Saigon in Duluth, MN

Moonrise over Lake Superior and the Susie Islands in Grand Portage, MN. 

Unexpected Beauty

 

I like finding beauty in the most unexpected of places. You might not think that a mud puddle in the middle of a gravel forest road would yield something so mesmerizing, and yet it most definitely can. Recently while driving down one such dirt road as our deep snow cover was rapidly melting, I stopped to get out and take some photos of the forest.  I never thought I would spend the next 10 minutes or so staring straight down at the road into a mud puddle. I had just driven through this puddle so the sediment was agitated.  The puddle must have had a slight elevation change throughout, as the sediment was following the slightest of currents. Its movement made for some really intriguing patterns and a set of photos that I was surprised to like as much as I do. 

Spring Storms

 

The clouds were pretty cool over Lake Superior as I drove to Grand Marais this afternoon. When I left Grand Portage there wasn't a cloud in the sky but by the time I got to Hovland the blue sky was getting pushed out by storm clouds.  I couldn't resist stopping and making some photographs. These were rather short-lived, as by the time I got to Grand Marais it was nothing but blue sky again!

Record high water volume on the Pigeon River!

 

Today was an unprecedented day for many streams along the north shore of Lake Superior. Heavy rains over the previous two nights combined with high amounts of snow which is still in the process of melting created some amazing views and a lot of damage in some areas. For the Pigeon River in Grand Portage State Park, the volume of water reached a new peak (since records have been kept) of 96,000 gallons per second. The USGS has a stream gauge on the river and the data goes back to 1924. The previous record high was May 5, 1934 when the volume reached 82,500 gallons per second. What a crazy day...

Waterfall season is finally here!

 

It has taken a while to arrive this year, but the waterfalls are now in all their full glory from spring runoff!  These photos were taken at High Falls in Grand Portage State Park, MN. This is my absolute favorite waterfall to photograph.  It shows so many moods throughout the year.  I never tire of photographing it!

Spring Beaver on Little Lake

 

The beavers are out!  Another sign of spring is when the ice finally recedes enough that the beavers can emerge from their lodges. This lodge is pretty close to Lake Superior so its one of the first ones each year to open up. The afternoon and evening sun bathes the side of the lodge in warm light and the beavers like to hang out there on sunny evenings. I can't imagine how incredibly good it must feel to have warm sunlight hit your fur after 6 months of being stuck under the ice!