Morning by the Lighthouse

Dawn over Lake Superior next to the north pier of the Duluth entry to the harbor.

An Early Morning

Walking out on the north pier to watch the sun rise over Lake Superior and the light on these rocks caught my eye. I wonder how many guests in the row of hotels were awake to see this morning’s offering?

Dawn’s Early Light

Shortly before the sun broke the horizon. Shot from the north pier with a view of both lighthouses. Captured using my Loawa 17mm f/4 on Fujifilm GFX 100s.

Smoke On The Water

Cold air above somewhat warmer water generates “sea smoke,” making it seem as though the water is steaming. Throw in some ice and a beautiful sunrise and you have a fantastic morning to be by the lake.

Wake-up Call

These days I don’t get many opportunities to spend a large portion of my day seeking out new images but, this today was one of those rare days. And what better way to get started than a gorgeous sunrise over Lake Superior.

Morning Blush

It’s currently dangerously cold to be out with a camera so, I went back in time to a more pleasant morning when I captured this image along the shore of Lake Superior.

Sunrise and Sunset

In August of 2016 I captured an image of the Paul R. Tregurtha as she left the harbor and headed out to Lake Superior. The sunrise painted a lovely glow down her side as she steamed away.

Fast forward to January 2022 and the same ship is arriving back to the harbor at sunset. The two images will make for a perfect triptych.

Running From the Smoke

One last image before I seek cleaner air. The smoke was getting to be too much for me to handle, checked the air quality index and it was an unhealthy 158. Believe it or not, this is not the worst we’ve had lately, we were over 200 this past week. In many places out west if’s even worse.

Forest Fires and Burning Skies

Another from a smoky morning on Stoney Point along the shore of Lake Superior. It was difficult to work with the low air quality and I began to get a headache and scratchy throat making this one of the last images I captured before heading home.

Adding Color

Like many places in the U.S., northern Minnesota is experiencing forest fires. Depending on the wind direction, Duluth may have nice, clear air or heavy smoke from the fires. On this morning the smoke was blowing down the lake toward Duluth providing us with unhealthy air quality. The upside to the smoke is beautiful sunrises and sunsets.