Minnesota Mountains

 

A common comment that I hear when people visit Grand Portage and see the dramatic hills that we have is "Wow, we didn't know Minnesota had mountains!" Indeed, we do.  Not by western standards, of course, but our mountains are ancient and at one time were a lot more dramatic than they are today. Of course, in some places, they are still quite dramatic such as the view shown here, of Highway 61 on the east side of the Mt. Josephine pass. The hills and bays of Lake Superior in the background are actually in Ontario, Canada where the landscape gets even more dramatic. 

In this photo, Dean Berglund's 2007 Peterbilt Model 379 transport truck is heading south on Highway 61 as it climbs to the summit of the Mt. Josephine pass. Dean (of Grand Marais, MN) makes the run from Hedstrom Lumber to Thunder Bay twice a day hauling wood chips. Mt. Josephine is big enough that it has its own local weather patterns. Its not uncommon for it to be shrouded in fog in the summer or experiencing more dramatic snowfall in winter than the immediate areas surrounding it. 

The John G. Munson passing by Hat Point

 

One of the most interesting things about this time of year is how close the ships hug the north shore.  It gives us great views and perspectives that we don't get at other times of the year. Yesterday my dad alerted me that the Stewart J. Cort and John G. Munson were passing by our area in fairly close proximity to each other. As I was heading home from work I was lucky enough to catch them as they were passing by Hat Point in Grand Portage. 

A December Winter Wonderland

We certainly have had our fair share of snow already this winter!  It's been a little hard to comprehend after having a winter of almost no snow last year. Just this past weekend we received anywhere from 12 to 16 inches of wet, heavy snow in Grand Portage. Because it was so wet and sticky, the entire landscape was covered in a blanket of white. The drive to work this morning was especially beautiful with the morning sun lighting up the road ahead of me. 


 

The End of Autumn

 

Well, it may not "officially" be winter yet, but I feel like its okay to say that autumn is over. We got our first snowfall and the temps the last couple of days have gotten down into the teens so it sure feels like winter. I captured this photo a few weeks ago while exploring the forest roads of northwest Ontario. I felt the lack of leaves and ominous sky clearly evoked the feeling of autumn ending and winter beginning. I hope you all are enjoying a nice Thanksgiving holiday, wherever you are and whatever you might be doing!

Winter Maple At Night

 

It's that time of year again, where we can wander out in the woods at night and see incredible views of the night sky above the forest canopy. While these images were made in March of this year, you can see similar views right now. If you are willing and able, take the time to go lay under a maple tree at night. You won't regret it. 

What an amazing journey

 

I just finished up presenting for the closing keynote of Dark Sky International's "Under One Sky" Global Conference... what an honor to be invited to participate in such an awesome event! If anyone had told me 35+ years ago where my photography would one day take me and how many people it would influence... I never would have believed you. It has been an incredible journey so far and I feel like this is just the beginning. I could never fully express in words the amount of gratitude I have for all of the supporters of my work and all of the wonderful people I've had a chance to collaborate with. Its been quite a journey so far and I'm looking forward to seeing where it continues to take me. 

Here is a photo from last night, of a surprise showing of the northern lights. I was driving home from Thunder Bay, Ontario and noticed a glow on the northern horizon. After I crossed the border back into the U.S. I stopped at one of my favorite spots to watch and photograph the northern sky. The air and the water were unbelievably calm, which is not the norm for November. Standing there taking in this view really helped put me in the right mindset for today's presentation. Thank you to all those that participated in the conference and listened in on my presentation.  I appreciate you all.

With Respect and Gratitude,

-Travis

Forever Grateful

What an incredible month it has been!  Near the beginning of October, we had some of the best aurora events that I've ever seen.  I'm still in awe and disbelief at the amazing skies I was fortunate enough to witness the week of the 7th through the 11th. Then, I was honored to be a panelist and guest speaker at the 7th annual Aurora Summit in Red Cliff, Wisconsin the weekend of October 18th-20th. It was one of the greatest joys I have yet experienced, to share my photography and stories with well over 100 very passionate people that share a deep love of the night sky. It was the first time I've received a full standing ovation following my presentation, and I had several people come up to me afterwards that said my work touched them in such a way that it brought them to tears. 

Then, last night, I was an honored guest once again, this time for Lake County's Superior Dark Sky Experience in Finland, MN. I shared a presentation of my work and there was a screening of the Northern Nights, Starry Skies documentary followed by the longest Q&A session that I have participated in so far. I am always amazed at how much interest there is around the subject of dark skies. I am continually humbled by the impact that my work is having on others, and grateful for the seemingly endless support that you all send my way. 

Thank you to those that posted photos of my Aurora Summit presentation on the 7th Annual Aurora Summit Facebook group page. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed a few of the photos to share here. 

With Respect and Gratitude,

Miigwech / Thank You

-Travis Novitsky

Another peak fall color season has come to an end

 

Now that we are well past the peak fall color for this year, it's interesting to look back and reflect on the season. One of the many weird things about this fall is that it didn't really feel much like fall as the temps were a bit warmer than usual. More than anything it felt like an extension of summer. Then, there was the fact that a lot of the trees started to turn rather early, possibly a product of the very dry second half of the summer that we experienced. Then, the leaves (especially the maples) threw us for a loop and decided to hang onto their colors and stick to the trees a little longer than usual. Here are a couple of favorite images from the tail end of the peak color season. 

An Unforgettable Week

 

Here is my last batch of aurora photos from the week of October 6th through October 11th. And what an awesome week it was!  I don't think I've ever gotten so many cool photos of the aurora in such a short period of time. While the nights of the 7th and 11th were the "best" in my opinion, there were auroras almost every night that week. The shapes and structures within the lights were endlessly mesmerizing and the colors were way more variegated than usual, with everything from green and white to purple, blue and red. It was a fun week of photographing them and now its been a fun week of editing the photos. I hope you enjoy them. 

What a week for the northern lights!

 

What an amazing week its been for the aurora!  I can't remember the last time I've lost this much sleep in one week. While I have been in a fairly extreme sleep deficit for much of the past 7 days, the scenes I've witnessed have been worth it.  Enjoy :-) 

G4 Aurora Storm

 

The sky had this really strange mix of haze and cloud cover on the night of October 10th-11th, but that didn't stop the G4-level aurora storm from putting on an impresive show. This photo was made at 3:03 AM in the wilds of northwest Ontario, Canada. 

Exceptional Aurora

 

While I do consider everything in nature to be special and extraordinary in its own way, there are some things that are even more exceptional.  And the aurora event on the night of October 7th and the morning of October 8th certainly fit that category in my mind. I have witnessed more aurora events than I can count in my 30+ years of photographing them, but this past week has left me with an even more awestruck sense of what nature is capable of. The sky was filled was such a variety of colors and shapes; even with the level of familiarity that I have with the northern lights, there were countless times throughout the night that I simply could not believe what I was seeing. They were that good. 

It looks like we're in for more of the same if not "better" tonight, so charge your camera batteries, take a nap if you can, and plan to head outside as soon as it gets dark!  Our forecast for northeast Minnesota is calling for mostly cloudy skies, but hopefully there will be some breaks in the clouds that will give us a chance to see what could be another truly exceptional event. 

If you haven't already, check out the book Spirits Dancing, which was written by Annette S. Lee and contains over 150 of my night sky images, as well as "Photographer's Notes" sections, which include some of my accounts of the night sky awesomeness that I've experienced over the years. Spirits Dancing was published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press and is available through most booksellers. 

"As it is above, it is below"

 

One of the best aurora "funnel clouds" that I've ever seen. This photo was made at 11:34 PM on October 7th, 2024. That night might be the new "#1 night" on my list of best experiences that I've had witnessing and photographing the northern lights.  The beauty in the sky that night was unparalleled, and it lasted all night. It was soooooo hard to make the call to end the night to try and get at least a little sleep.  It sounds like we may get some more awesome activity tomorrow night (October 10th), so keep your eyes on the sky!

The G3 Aurora Storm Arrives!

 

Well... after resigning to the idea that the strong aurora storm that was forecast a few days ago was NOT going to come to pass... guess what happened last night!  By 9:00 PM the aurora was going strong, filling at least 60 to 70 percent of the sky.  It was one of those nights where it was hard to decide which way to point the camera. Fascinating stuff was happening in almost every corner of the sky. I have LOTS more to share from last night, but you'll have to wait until later this week. Right now I need to get some rest as I need to work in the morning. But... I wanted to edit one photo to share with you right away. I hope you were able to get out and witness this incredible show. 

Aurora finally arrives!

After a forecast that got us all very, VERY excited (i.e. the second-strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25!) followed by several nights of waiting in eager anticipation with nothing happening, the aurora finally arrived. Unfortunately, the impact was much less than what was originally anticipated. Still, it was a very beautiful night with lots of color in the sky and a nice arc of light running along the northern horizon. I spent about 3-4 hours watching and photographing the lights. Now that we're into October the nights are getting a little cooler and it was somewhat chilly as I sat and watched the show. The temperature was 35 degrees with a stiff breeze out of the north. Personally, I love the cooler weather. September was quite a bit warmer and drier than normal, so its nice now to feel some weather that is more appropriate for the season. 

 

The maples at their prime

 

As weird of a fall as it's been, I gotta say... the colors have been pretty impressive this year. The maples are past their peak now, but here's a few photos from this past week when they were looking their best. What an amazing time of year!

Jupiter, Orion and Meteor Fragmentation

 

I was out most of last night hoping to see the onset of the big geomagnetic storm that space weather forecasters have been talking about for the past couple days. While the storm has not yet hit our atmosphere, the stars and planets were incredibly vivid. Jupiter glowed brightly in the sky just above Orion. As I was driving around waiting for the aurora storms that never came, I stopped at several different locations to take some sky quality measurements. 

At one of the stops, I had just set up my camera and started an exposure, then turned to the south to start a series of sky quality readings.  As soon as I turned away from the camera, a bright flash of light reflected across the inside of my glasses. I turned back around and as soon as the image finished recording, I hit the Play button on the camera to see what the flash of light was. Turns out I had captured the fragmentation of a meteor as it burned up in our atmosphere! I consulted with my friend "Astro" Bob King and he explained that the double points of light indicate a chunk of meteor that broke off from the main piece as they both burned up. It's the first time I've ever captured anything like that.