Beaver Pond Ice Bubbles

 

Frozen bubbles on a beaver pond. The area of bubbles shown in these photos is maybe two feet wide. They were all pretty small... but endlessly fascinating. 

December 29th?

 

It's almost New Year's Eve and we still don't have any snow.  We've had some flurries here and there and some light accumulation inland from Lake Superior, but today the ground is completely bare of any snow cover and it was a beautiful day... felt like it was almost 50 degrees.  Enjoying it while it lasts. The lack of snow and below freezing temps at night means all the muddy spots are frozen and making for an easy time exploring the trails. Hopefully this doesn't last too much longer though. It just doesn't feel like winter.  I miss the blanket of white on the landscape.  Still... there is always beauty to be found everywhere. 

Valley of the Beavers

 

These beavers sure picked an awesome place to live!  A beautiful lodge set between two ridges covered with pine and aspen trees. 

The book signing events continue!

 

Another fun and successful book signing event yesterday at Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply in Grand Marais, MN! Sold out before my scheduled time was up! Once Stone Harbor sold out, people were going to Drury Lane Books and Lake Superior Trading Post to buy copies then bringing them back to Stone Harbor for me to sign. But no worries... more books are on the way! Thank you all for the incredible support you've shown for the release of Spirits Dancing, published by Minnesota Historical Society Press. 

Also today, the episode of Light Pollution News that I was asked to be a panelist on, was published and is now available for streaming! It's a lengthy podcast, but is jam-packed full of useful and interesting information that will be sure to give you a lot to think about. You can check it out here:

https://lightpollutionnews.com/podcast/vip-session-under-the-bridge/

Light Pollution News podcast!

 

The episode of Light Pollution News that I was asked to be a guest on came out today! The episodes are lengthy, but jam-packed full of good and insightful information. Definitely gives you a lot to think about. It's up now on the Light Pollution News website, and will be available to podcast outlets tomorrow, December 4th. 

https://lightpollutionnews.com/podcast/vip-session-under-the-bridge/

Book Launch and Exhibit Opening!

 

Awesome time last night at Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, MN celebrating the launch of my new book in collaboration with Annette Lee: "Spirits Dancing - The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, & Spiritual Connections to the Cosmos". Thank you Minnesota Historical Society Press, for publishing the book and for hosting an amazing launch event!

Night Sky Reflections

 

Lake Superior shoreline along the lakewalk section of the Superior Hiking Trail near Hovland, MN. 

It's that time of year when we are socked in with clouds more often than not, so I like to look back at older images of clear nights and star-filled skies. This night is a fond memory, as I made several nice images of the sky. The air and lake were so calm. 

Last Light at Hollow Rock

 

This is a little different style of composition than what I typically do. I just couldn't resist putting all of that water in the foreground.  I usually compose my images to show more of the sky, but the colors and textures in the surface of Lake Superior really caught my eye in this scene. Plus, there wasn't a whole lot going on in the sky anyway, other than the clouds that you do see just above the horizon. 

November Sunset on Lake Superior

I've been a little under the weather lately so I haven't been getting out shooting much. Today, though, it was a little warmer than most recent days so I had to get out and catch the sunset. I was glad I did, because it was beautiful!  I put my back to the sun as it was setting and shot this scene looking to the east.  The clouds were lit up nice and warm from the sun as it was dropping below the horizon. 

Dignity of Earth and (Night) Sky

 

Well, I was supposed to be in the southwestern U.S. right now, but a myriad of things that came up unexpectedly put a stop to my travel plans. Typically, if passing through South Dakota on my way out west, I would stop and visit the Dignity of Earth and Sky sculpture in Chamberlain. It is such a beautiful sculpture.  I've stopped and visited it a number of times now but I'm still drawn to it. On my last trip I wanted to photograph it after dark.  I arrived just after it got dark and was able to photograph the sculpture with Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) just to the left.  

Home under the stars

 

The Milky Way over my home in northeast Minnesota. I've been stuck at home for much of the past week due to illness and my sleep patterns have become pretty erratic, as I sleep when my body tells me I need to.  This means I've been sleeping away quite a few of the daylight hours as well as the night time hours. This also means that I am often up for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night. So, I've been trying to make the most of it and setting my tripod up in the yard for a timelapse or a quick photo.  In last night's case, it was for a quick photo. Even though its late October now and the most photogenic part of the Milky Way is leaving our sky, it is still a marvelous sight. If you haven't checked it out lately, please do.  You won't be disappointed. 

October Night Sky over Pete's Island

 

A beautiful star-filled sky accented with thin, fast-moving clouds made for some nice conditions to sit and take in the view over Pete's Island on Lake Superior last night. This is essentially the view from my front yard and one that I never tire of, not even for a minute. 

Milky Way over Bears Ears East and Bears Ears West

 

Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah. One of the most incredible places that I've had the pleasure of watching the Milky Way make its nightly march across the sky. At elevations just shy of 11,000 feet, the Bears Ears peaks have a view of the night sky that is hampered much less by atmospheric haze than lower elevation locations.  The Bears Ears area has been a place of significance for indigenous people for thousands of years and is home to countless cliff dwelling and rock art sites. Today, the monument is uniquely co-managed by 5 local tribes (the Navajo Nation, Hopi, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni, all of which have ancestral ties to the region), the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. 

Tipi camping at Upper Sioux Agency

 

From my stay at Upper Sioux Agency State Park in southwest Minnesota this past June. It was my first time visiting the park and I found it to be a very beautiful area.  Staying in one of the tipis was certainly a cool experience, and a highlight of my vacation. One interesting thing to note is that recent legislation directs the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to transfer land at Upper Sioux Agency State Park to the Upper Sioux Community.  This is a pretty unique thing to occur in the state park system... land getting transferred back to a tribal community. I am thrilled for the Upper Sioux Community that a prime piece of their land will be getting returned to them!  

Hovenweep Night Sky

 

Hovenweep is a cool little park that made for the perfect place to spend the last night of my trip to the southwest back in June. I rolled into the park just before sunset, after visiting the Four Corners Monument. It was a hot day... 97 degrees.  As the sun went down the temperature was perfect for lounging around comfortably in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt while watching the Milky Way rise above the horizon. I made this image right from my campsite at Hovenweep. 

Autumn Blaze

 

It sure has been a fantastic year for fall colors so far!  Here is a scene showing a cluster of maple leaves that had some nice dramatic light when I happened across them. I love looking for details like this in the forest. 

How quickly things change...

 

This evening's sunset was pretty surreal.  We had fog for most of the day but as the sun was setting, the fog was trying hard to burn off. A brisk wind off Lake Superior was pushing the fog inland, occasionally blocking visibility of the sun. As often happens with fog, it made for some really beautiful photos. Hard to believe that the maples are well past their peak colors already, with most of their leaves now laying on the ground.  Just one week ago the forest was ablaze with their vivid colors. 

A fantastic place to pass the time...

 

I visited this location on my trip to the southwest this past June, and it is one of my new favorite places in that region. It was a spectacular place to sit and watch the storms pass by. The view is not far from the  Bears Ears National Monument boundary, looking out over Natural Bridges National Monument. I can't wait to visit this region again soon.  Every trip to the southwest whets my appetite for more. 

Northern Lights over Northeast Minnesota

 

Some nice lights last night, even though the clouds tried hard to obscure the views. I feel like rather than detracting from the quality of the photos, the clouds added an extra layer of interest. It was a beautiful night with fog in the valleys and owls hooting from the ridge tops. 

A good year for the maple colors!

 

It's shaping up to be a good year for the maple colors in northeast Minnesota.  These photos were made this past weekend in Cook County, MN south of Grand Marais. Note: If you want to see the maples, you need to head INLAND from Lake Superior, to the higher elevations. 

Moody Skies over Valley of the Gods

 

My time in the Valley of the Gods of southern Utah this past June was pretty unforgettable.  My goal with each night of that trip was to see and photograph the Milky Way from a location with an interesting foreground. While there is no shortage of interesting foregrounds in southern Utah, not all interesting foregrounds work well for Milky Way photography.  Valley of the Gods definitely works, though. There are lots of interesting formations to photograph with the Milky Way rising behind/above them. When I arrived at the valley before sunset, however, the sky was completely socked in with clouds.  I thought that perhaps this night would be a bust for a star-filled sky.  About 3:00 AM, however, the clouds did begin to part and by 3:15 I was able to make a nice photograph of the Milky Way. 

Purple Aurora

 

A little touch of aurora out there this evening just after sunset.  Not very visible to the naked eye but the camera sure picked up a lot of color. I just ran out to a local lake about a mile from my house to make this photo. 

August "Super Blue Moon"

 

Here are my photos of the "August Super Blue Moon" that has been all the rage on social media and news outlets the past several days. While I think all full moons are special, there is definitely a certain allure knowing that a perigee moon or "super moon" (or in this case, super BLUE moon... the blue meaning that it is the second full moon to occur within the same calendar month) is 14% larger and 30% brighter than an apogee moon. For those that might not know, perigee is the point in the moon's orbit around earth that it is closest to earth, and apogee is the point in the moon's orbit that it is furthest from earth. 

At any rate, like pretty much every full moon, this one was beautiful indeed.  My favorite place to watch a moonrise is over water. I love the reflections that dance across the surface as the moon rises. I hope you all had a chance to get out and watch the moon rise as well. 

Wauswaugoning Bay Rain Squalls

 

Fascinating storms over Lake Superior on my way home from work this evening.  Isolated storms like this where you can see the rain coming down in such a defined way are definitely not the norm where I live.  I see this a lot on my trips to the desert southwest and it always make for some fun times with the camera. It was a treat to see it occur here. 

August Aurora Surprise

 

We had a somewhat surprising aurora storm over northeast Minnesota tonight. I say somewhat surprising because spaceweather.com said G1 storms were likely, which are the lowest level geomagnetic storms. Instead, we experienced a strong G3 storm. Even though the moon was up when I made these photos, the lights were easily strong enough to overpower the moonlight. It was a brief but beautiful event! 

Lake Powell Adventure

 

Hot temperatures, thunderstorms and hordes of mosquitoes tried their best to make my journey to a remote section of the Lake Powell shoreline a miserable experience.  However, those forces could not overcome the satisfaction I felt after seeing and photographing these incredibly beautiful landscapes. I often sound like a broken record when I'm on a trip, repeatedly saying that I had an awesome experience and what I saw was so beautiful, but it's so true! The southwest constantly "one-ups" itself, time and time again.