lake effect

I love how the tree is looking down into the water at its lost leaves reflecting on the growth that occurred in the previous summer.

Here is a thunderstorm cell that is falling apart over the waters of Lake Superior. This was shot from Skyline Parkway in Duluth.

Here is the harvest moon hanging over the waters of Lake Superior as seen from the Two Harbors breakwall.

Went down to see the sun set and then the full moon rise within 18 minutes of each other on the waterfront in Two Harbors tonight. The clouds ruined the sunset, but the harvest moon managed to sneak through the clouds for a brief show. Had a great piece of coconut cream pie courtesy of Betty’s Pie. Autumn is definitely in the air with the cool wind blowing out over the lake.

I was out shooting the last Wednesday night sailing race of the year. It was so cloudy over the area of the lake they were racing on but I could see the clouds breaking to the west. I hoped the sun would poke out and light the boats up. It briefly found its way through the clouds for about a minute. These were the only boats in the path of the sunbeam.

We were in Grand Marais exploring Artist’s Point today, it was a perfect warm blue sky late summer day on the north shore. On the lake side of the point there were  medium sized rollers crashing into the rocky shore and it was hard for Oliver, our four-year-old golden retriever, to take his daily dip into Lake Superior. We took a break to drop our sweatshirts in the car and I was waiting for Alisha when through the rocks I saw Ollie sneak into the lake on the calm side of the point for his daily dip. He was as warm as we were, but he was not able to leave his coat in the car. I am glad that he went swimming.

Here is the west side of Stoney Point pressing out into Lake Superior in the last sunlight of the day. I saw it nicely glowing as I drove up the North Shore Drive Friday evening, stopped got a lens on the camera and walked to the shore to see that the light had left. I felt like it was going to be a frustrating end to a frustrating day.  It is amazing how quickly the light can shift. I trained my lens on some other interesting things and when I thought I was finished a nice warm glow hit the point once again. It was nice to have something work out.

I photographed this bird near the top of Corundum Point in Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. I returned home got the image up on the screen and tried to identify the bird, so I grabbed my National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds Eastern Region. This guide has plates of color photographs that you compare your bird to. I thought this might be a waxwing or a grosbeak because it was eating berries. I could not match it up with anything in the book so I emailed a copy of the photo to Laura Erickson, an ornithologist who lives in Duluth. Check out her excellent website at http://www.lauraerickson.com/. Laura identified the bird as a baby cedar waxwing. Many thanks goes to Laura for her help. After this situation, I would like to switch to the Sibley field guide to birds.

This bird is taking advantage of the food that has taken all summer to mature. I had to cover our tomatoes tonight because they are still all green on the vine and we have yet to pick a red one. It seems early to me to have the killing freeze of the season already. I am willing to cover our plants in the coming weeks to extend thier growing season so that we can use the food they provide just like this young cedar waxwing eating mountain ash berries.

Had a good walk along the lake from the mouth of the Split Rock River northeast along the shore to Split Rock Point to Crazy Bay to the top of Corundum Point and then to the top of Day Hill and then back again. These pilings caught my eye on the way out but I waited until we got back to shoot them. It was rather dark and I had difficulty holding the camera steady because I did not bring a tripod. There is a sign near the area that says the pilings were a part of a structure used by early loggers in the area. I wonder if the loggers removed the decking when they were done in the area, or did the power of the lake batter the structure so now the pilings are the only things that remain. They are like ancient guardians to mouth of the river.

I am using this to display personal photo work that might otherwise sit on my hard drive forever, and my ultimate goal is to present fresh personal work on a regular basis on this site.

The photos that I display here may fall outside the realm of my work as a photojournalist. I think that it is extremely important to photograph the things that catch my eye.  So much of the time I am making photos for a specific need, to tell a story, to document a process, to present the key play at a sporting event, or to capture a personality. I hope that this allows for me to practice more of a “free form” type of photography, to make a picture just because of the beautiful light, to create a photo just for the sake of the colors in front of me, or to capture something that evokes a certain mood.

The environment of Lake Superior is unique, powerful, and has a reach that affects a broad area beyond the shores of the lake itself. As much Superior is in the background for the lives of the people that live on and near the lake, it has a continuous subtle effect on the way we think and how we live in its shadow. I find it amazing how many diverse ways the water works into the way of life here.

Enjoy the photography and I hope that you check in often to see what is new.

We have been in a drought for the past several years. Our lawn has turned brown, the trees are an ugly yellowish, and we cannot have a campfire because the wildfire risk is too high. On labor day, it was nice and sunny until the wind picked up and blew in these clouds. I was excited because I thought a storm was going to bring much needed rain. One of the neighbors says, “I always looks bad until it gets here, then it hits the lake and fizzles out.” He was right. The clouds lingered for a bit and it just turned overcast. Later that night there was much lightning in the distance and then we still only got a light sprinkle.