Cold, so very cold. Not the kind of day anyone should venture out without proper preparation. It goes beyond being uncomfortable, it’s not just that you can harm your body, it’s the kind of cold that can kill the unprepared. Take it seriously.
We have very strong winds in Minnesota today which is causing some serious wave action on Lake Superior. I took a short drive to a spot just up the shore from Duluth called Stoney Point to see if there was a possible photo op, yep! Stoney Point is also the location of an old fishing shack, which has probably been photographed by every photographer in the area and beyond. Everyone has there own take on the relic, I’ve included one of mine.
On an unseasonably warm February day, it seemed appropriate to take a moment and savor the vibrant red of the red twig dogwood growing along the walking path.
July skies in the northland are often changing as quickly as the weather changes. A nice day by Lake Superior can turn on you in a heartbeat. Within minutes, the temperature can drop by 20 or more degrees as the wind shifts around from the east off the lake. Even on an eighty degree day you need to keep a jacket handy for such occasions.
Canon 5D Mk ll, ISO 100, 51mm, f/9.0, 1/1250 sec, HDR Efex Pro 2
Canon 5D Mk II, ISO 50, 75mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec
As I previously mentioned, Tettegouche is one of my favorite Minnesota state parks and one of its most famous landmarks was the stone arch. On one of our trips to the park, my wife and I had the chance to kayak through the arch. However, in late August of 2010, the bridge portion of the landmark collapsed into the lake and left behind a stack rather than an arch. Because of its location, this part of Lake Superior’s north shore is often subject to large waves from storms and when that happens during frigid winter weather, the blowing spray can create unusual ice formations along the rocky shore and on the trees.
In case you haven’t figured it out, the three bottom images are from the same day, but from opposite sides. The first two are looking south from Shovel Point, the Watcher is looking north.
I had hoped to post my follow-up to Lessons Learned yesterday, but as often happens, life had other plans for me. Not that the outcome would have been any different, yesterday and today were warmer than the day I shot the original images, which meant that the frost did not form in quite the same way. However, the weekend promises to be much colder so I may get a second chance to reshoot the frost.
In Minnesota we are blanketed by very cold weather at the moment, which does not inspire me to run around outdoors with a camera. As an individual who chooses to live in such a climate, I have learned to embrace the winter weather, but even I, and my camera, have limits. However, as luck would have it, opportunity came knocking at the window which allowed me to shoot a winter phenomenon without going outdoors. I only had a short amount of time before leaving for a sports shoot so I didn’t get my tripod out, that cost me a few shots that may have been much better. On the upside, the window isn’t going anywhere, the frost will be back and I have a day off from sports. Knowing I had the next day available should have caused me to delay shooting, but I couldn’t resist. Today’s images are all handheld, depth of field is acceptable, but focus falls off around the edges too much for my taste. I do like how the light source affects the images for the last three. Being able to reshoot with a tripod should make a difference and I will post those images tomorrow.
Happy New Year to all, hope you’ve enjoyed the holidays in whatever form you preferred to celebrate. For me it was a very enjoyable break with family and friends, not much photography, but plenty of merriment. However, my urge to wander with a camera overcame the comfort of home and off I went for a walk along the beach known as Park Point here in Duluth. There had been strong winds coupled with freezing temps and the spray from the waves had coated everything near the water. I present two images in color and two in black and white. The specks imbedded in the icy coating are grains of sand that mixed in with the blowing spray.
Canon 5D Mk11, Tamron 28-200mm.
Northern Visions Media 