In winter, Lake Superior creates with ice. Whether it’s by flinging it up on shore with gale force winds or simply by letting the surface freeze, something wonderful will result. On this particular day the sun was absent and the air was hazy, this spoke to me as perfect for monochrome imaging. This set of images were taken from the shoreline at Leif Erickson Park in Duluth. By the way, if you want to wander around the shoreline, bring ice grippers.
Every year in Duluth the city creates a lighting spectacle in Bayfront Park on the harbor. Bentleyville draws thousands of visitors from all over to witness this event and it was recently featured on The Great Christmas Light Fight!
The December full moon was on the 11th and I hoped to capture an image of the moon, Bentleyville and the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. After first using Photopills to scout possible vantage points to shoot from, I settled on a spot along the Superior Hiking Trail that offered a view of all three. I went out earlier in the day to inspect the site, felt it would work well. In the light, it seemed like it had everything I was looking for.
However, come night, it did not live up to my expectations. It had too much foreground, the moon was higher than I had hoped for and overall, seemed to be lacking something.
Sadly, the weather the next day would be snowy and cloudy so no re-shoot was possible. I did take one of the images and crop to a panorama that, again, not great, but fun and colorful to look at.
The Glensheen Mansion in Duluth hosted another event for photographers the other day to allow access to the colorful lights on the grounds. Some of the lights had been acquired from a local resident that could no longer continue the tradition of decorating her backyard on the shore of Lake Superior. It has made a nice addition to the festive feel at the mansion.
The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge has turned teal in an effort to recognize Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
2019 is the second year they have included a giant inflated duck as part of the Festival of Sail. Not sure why we need a giant duck, it’s here anyway.
I think we need to check the map…
One of the more unusual sights at the 2019 Festival of Sail.
The 2019 Festival of Sail was somewhat disappointing due to the lack of the grander tall ships. This year there were only two true tall ships, the U.S. Brig Niagara and the S/V Denis Sullivan. They were joined by the smaller vessels, Abbey Road, Appledore V and Gerhard Folgero.
