Golden Shores in Grand Portage

It looks like this weekend was probably the end of the peak color season, at least here in Grand Portage.  The colors were about as perfect as they get on Friday on Saturday, but on Saturday it was pretty windy all day and that knocked a lot of leaves off the trees.  There should still be good color up here for a few days at least, but it will be past peak.  I stopped and made this photo on my way to work on Friday.  It was taken from the pullout on Highway 61 that overlooks Lake Superior and the Susie Islands. 

The Maple Drive

There's nothing quite like a morning drive through some of the most beautiful autumn forest in Minnesota to start your day!  Before work yesterday I took a drive up into the woods to check on the leaf colors.  They were awesome!  So was the wind, which was doing everything it could to knock all the leaves off the trees.  I'm sure there are still some leaves left, but they're going to be dropping fast now so get out there and enjoy the colors while they last!

Arrowhead Autumn

Fall colors near the "Tip of the Arrowhead" (the northeastern-most corner of Minnesota) in Grand Portage, MN.  I've been wanting to get to this location to see the fall colors for a few years now.  Finally did it this year!  It's not an easy spot to get to, since there is no established hiking trail.  It's roughly 5 miles round-trip and involves a steep climb up a ridge.  The lake in the foreground is known as Teal Lake, and Lake Superior can be seen in the background.  It's a beautiful spot and we timed it well for the colors.  It was certainly worth the effort to get to this beautiful location!

Golden Morning

The fall colors are really nice right now and it's a nice spread of color between the Lake Superior shoreline and inland away from the lake.  Usually the maples peak then fall before the colors along the shore get really good, but this year they are hanging on longer than usual so there is good color just about everywhere.  It won't last long, though, as leaves have been dropping like crazy today.  The weather forecast for this weekend looks really nice, so it'll be a great time to get out and enjoy the beauty of the autumn season!

Greenstone Falls

Getting back to our recent U.P. trip and waterfall tour, this is Greenstone Falls of the Little Carp River in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.  This waterfall was an awesome hike through some old growth forest in the heart of the park.  As luck would have it, when we arrived the sun was in a nice position to frame right over the falls.  I set my aperture to f/22 and adjusted the camera position to catch the sun just as it was peeking out from behind a tree then made this image.  

A North Woods Night

One of the first photographs I made of the northern lights in the early morning hours of October 7, 2015.  The aurora storm started off quietly, with a soft glow just above the tree line.  By about 2:00 AM the activity was picking up considerably and there was a ribbon of light undulating across the northern sky.  Between 3 AM and 5 AM the sky exploded and the aurora was dancing like crazy.  It sure was a fun night.  The area shown in this photograph I think really exemplifies what a lot of people might think of when they think of a typical north woods lake scene.  Add in the northern lights on a beautiful fall night and you get "A North Woods Night"  :-)

October Aurora over Devil Track Lake

The last image I made before calling it a night last night.  After several hours of great fun watching and photographing an awesome aurora storm, this image was made at 5:17 AM over Devil Track Lake near Grand Marais, MN.  Photographed with a Nikon D750 camera and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, exposure length 15 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 1250.