I am planning to exhibit several brand new photographs at the art fairs this season. Here are a few of the new images that I've had the opportunity to complete so far this year:



Evolution – Onyx Beach, Lake Superior, USA

From crashing waves to painterly wildflowers and glorious sunrises, Lake Superior's North Shore is full of iconic treasures, and I love photographing them. However, little-known scenes like this really stir my creative soul, and I strive to see them in a unique way.

This particular location had waves crashing in from both sides (I was on a narrow tombolo). It took just the right combination of waves to make this image work. The tree growing from the rocks is an American mountain-ash. If you look carefully, you can see those bright red berries that this species of tree is known for.



Stone Wash – Sugarloaf Cove, Lake Superior, USA

Much like each stone on a Lake Superior beach, our own character is shaped over time by the waves and currents of life, making each one of us individually unique and interesting.

Making this image involved a number of trials and many errors (or should I say, "attempts") to get just the right timing and amount of incoming wave action for the artistic effect I was seeking.



Lunar Light III – Split Rock Lighthouse, Minnesota, USA

Those of you who have followed my work for some time have probably noticed that I have produced several iterations of the moon-directly-behind-Split Rock Lighthouse image over the years. This one is the latest one in the series from earlier this year.

Each January, if the eastern sky is mostly clear during the night of the full moon, those willing to brave the cold breeze on the shore of Lake Superior can catch a glimpse of the full moon rising directly behind the lighthouse.

I never tire of photographing this once-a-year alignment as each year presents a different atmospheric character. This time, a thick haze from the sea smoke drifting over the lake made the moon appear with an unusually soft glow.

 

I'm still working on several more images from the past year that will be released before the summer art fair season begins. Stay tuned . . .

My photograph "Lake Effect" was recently juried into the 2013 Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition.

I made this image on a -10°F morning at Brighton Beach in Duluth. This photograph portrays the sun peering through the fog that rises from Lake Superior when the air temperature falls to well-below the lake's surface temperature.

The State Fair's Fine Arts Exhibition, open for the duration of the fair, features the works of Minnesota artists in a variety of media. It is located in the Fine Arts Center, just north of the 4-H building on the east side of the fairgrounds.

Typically, about 15% of artwork submitted each year to this juried competition is selected for display. The last, and only other, time I've exhibited in this show was in 2010 when my image "Watchdogs of the Prairie" was selected for display.

If you go to the Minnesota State Fair, be sure to check out the works of the many talented artists on exhibit in the Fine Arts Center!

It's been some time since we've experienced an active showing of the northern lights in Minnesota. Therefore, when I received the alerts for possible auroral activity at 3:15 AM, I quickly dressed, bundled up, and headed out into the crisp -8F darkness, all while a seemingly more sensible side of me was being tugged back to the comfort of my bed.

I drove to a location about six miles north of where I live in Sauk Rapids. Immediately after exiting the light of the city, I saw the unmistakable lights dancing in the sky. With colors ranging from green to blue to purple to red, the show of light lasted right up to dawn. The emerging light of day gradually overpowered the continuing auroral show.

Of the four displays of aurora borealis I have seen in my life (all within the past 14 months), in my opinion, this one ranks at the very top of that list for color and second for overall activity and dynamics.

What luck it was to witness this magnificent green light in the northern sky during the wee hours of St. Patrick's Day. I wouldn't have traded it for a four-leafed clover!

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Most people visit Lake Superior's north shore during the heat of summer and the brilliance of autumn, but those who can tolerate a little bit of arctic air and snow get to experience a truly exquisite winter treat! All of the images featured here were captured within about a 24 hour period.

"Stoney Point Gold"

The image above was captured on Stoney Point, just south of the village of Knife River. This little fishing cabin on Stoney Point has withstood the test of time, having been exposed to Lake Superior's elements for many decades. It is a testament to the rustic nature of Lake Superior's fishing past.

I've been to this location a few times and have always wanted to capture this historic cabin in the right conditions. All of the elements I was seeking came together last weekend.

 "Stoney Point Dusk"

This image was captured about 15 minutes later that evening as the sun set and the clouds took on magical pink and purple hues. You can even see a sun pillar and snow shower in the distance toward Duluth.

One important lesson I've learned over the years regarding photographing sunrises or sunsets is to stay around until it's completely over (or arrive early enough in the case of sunrises). Sometimes, you just don't know what will transpire!


When it gets bitter cold, Lake Superior gives off steam — literally. On calm, subzero nights, this steam rises from the lake and hovers there until it is burned off by the sun's heat or wind carries it away. The steam occurs when the surface temperature of the lake is much warmer than the temperature of the ambient air above it. This is analogous to how boiling water creates steam by being much warmer than the air above.

It was around -10°F when I captured this image on the shore of Lake Superior at Brighton Beach in Duluth. The lake was a bit too calm for my liking, but with a little luck, one relatively large wave rolled in and allowed me to make the image I wanted.

There is something special about a sunrise. In our human view of the world, it marks the beginning of a new day and evokes thoughts of new opportunities. Viewing the sunrise from the edge of a calm Lake Superior strongly amplifies this experience. This image was made near the mouth of the Temperance River in Temperance River State Park, located approximately midway between Duluth and the Canadian border on Lake Superior's North Shore. The park contains some of Lake Superior's most scenic shoreline in Minnesota.

Winter Moonrise Over Lake Superior

Moonrises over Lake Superior are also quite a treat. This image was created near Brighton Beach in Duluth in February.

I originally posted it only on my Facebook page to get some feedback before posting it here, as I wasn't completely sold on the image at the time. The response was affirmative, so I decided to add it to my online gallery.

The many random designs in the ice and embedded driftwood log serving as a leading line to the moon are the key elements that, I think, make this image a keeper.

With winter largely silent this year, I am glad that I maintain an archive of previously unreleased images to share, including this one from Grand Marais, MN. This image was made in January of 2011 during a winter that was quite the antithesis of the the current winter, with storm after storm pounding the region and ice-cold surf pummeling the North Shore.

With the lake temperature near freezing and everything on land well below freezing, much of the water hurled ashore quickly froze onto whatever surface it made contact with. This included the rocky shore (cleats highly recommended when exploring!) as well as any trees and shrubbery. The ice-coated landscape, by means of wind and water, was an amazing work of art, made by the force of nature through a higher authority. I am pleased to share with you a small part of this icy grandeur.

It's been quite an unusual winter so far here in Minnesota with unseasonably warm temperatures and a lack of that white stuff which half of us love and half of us hate. Photographers looking to capture classic Minnesota winter scenes have been out of luck thus far.

In contrast, in the four years I have been photographing January's full moon at Split Rock Lighthouse, the moon has never failed to make its appearance. Like clockwork, the moon slipped above the horizon, on schedule, at 4:18 PM and continued its ascent as sunlight faded. As the sun set, the eastern sky took on a pink hue that seems to be most evident on these clear winter evenings.


As daylight faded further, the pink transitioned to blue. This period of blue sky is known as the "blue hour" to photographers.

It has been a goal of mine each year to capture the moon centered directly behind the lantern of the lighthouse as it makes its trajectory. This is somewhat challenging as there is only a small window of opportunity in which this shot can be made. Once the moon is above the lighthouse, it is too late.

There is always a sense of awe in watching the full moon in the first minutes after clearing the horizon. Its apparent size seems to, at times, defy the imagination.

As a photographer, one of the greatest challenges is taking full advantage of the medium's capabilities to produce imagery that is beyond the ordinary "postcard" shot. I'm not trying to disparage postcard-type images – I make lots of them, they are beautiful, and some are challenging in their own right. But, some very interesting effects can be made by utilizing light in unique ways with the camera. The image above was made at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park in January as I was anticipating making those postcard-like photos of the full moonrise. Just before dusk, I found a stand of birch in the park that I liked and set up my tripod. The effect was created by using a slow shutter speed and panning the camera up and down during the exposure. I was able to use the slow shutter speed since it was late in the day with lower ambient light.

A bit less abstract is this image of floating ice platforms in the Grand Marais Harbor. It is interesting how the movement of the water and ice within the bay results in these varied ice formations.

Lake Superior has some expansive stretches of stone beach. Iona's beach between Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse is one example. Here you can find stones of seemingly most any shape and natural color.

The night of the January full moon is very special for a handful of photographers who ritually gather on the shore below Split Rock Lighthouse awaiting the rise of the winter full moon. This is one of the few nights of the year that the moon can be seen rising from behind the 130-foot cliff that is the foundation of the iconic lighthouse. Unlike the moons of the other winter months, the January full moon has also been the most reliable to see here - it has not failed to appear during the last four years.

I arrived as several other photographers were already setting up, awaiting Earth's only natural satellite to break the horizon. It is sort of a photographer's reunion as many of us have come to know each other over the years through this mutual interest.

Soon, light began to filter through the clouds and the promise of seeing a stellar full moon was imminent. The thin clouds that remained in front of the moon added a nice texture to this later moonrise in which capturing the detail of the moon along with the darker landscape would have been nearly impossible. After snapping several shots, it quickly grew too dark to fully capture the essence of the evening.

With each passing year, new memories are made, and it is the simple ones like these that are most cherished. Despite winter's cold bite, the magic of a moonrise at Split Rock will always be a pleasant experience.

With a winter rife with overcast skies, obscuring the last few full moons, I was not very optimistic about the odds of catching a glimpse of the January full moon. As I made my way toward Split Rock Lighthouse from overcast Duluth, I started to see light on the horizon and, soon, clear sky.

Once at Split Rock, I quickly parked the car, grabbed my camera gear, and trudged through the snow toward the lake where, to my awe, I saw the moon rising above the cliff. Quite a few clouds remained in the sky, giving the scene an interesting texture. With lots of ice near the shore, I carefully found stable ground and snapped a few shots as the orb continued on its trajectory above the lighthouse.

These photographs were taken on the night before the full moon in which the moon rises at a time in which there remains a fair amount of ambient daylight in the landscape. I returned the following night to a later, but equally stunning, moonrise. I will post an image from that night within the next day or so. Stay tuned . . .

We've been truly spoiled for much of the last month here in Minnesota with beautiful warm sunny days in conjunction with spectacular fall color. But with last week's major storm system and its accompanying bout of snow, Mother Nature cast a powerful reminder that we are indeed entering late autumn and - love it or hate it - winter.

I find winter to be an especially peaceful time along the North Shore. Gone are the throngs of summer travelers that congest the roads and popular landmarks. The cold and snow that invades the region seems to slow the pace of life somewhat and quiet the landscape (fresh snow actually does absorb sound). Lake Superior's freezing waters can also sculpt stunning ice formations when cold waves solidify into intricate layers of ice upon the rugged shore. The steam that rises from the lake on early subzero mornings adds a visual dimension to conditions very well sensed by our fingers and toes. And, if Lake Superior freezes over, strong winds commonly blow monstrous ice sheets ashore where they may break up into shards larger than mattresses. Winter on the North Shore is a truly unique experience, without the crowds.

The photograph above was taken last winter along the Gooseberry Falls State Park shoreline. It will be a few months before the surface of Lake Superior starts to freeze as in the photo since it takes a lot of cold weather to freeze such a large body of water. Hence, shipping activity on the lake usually lasts into January. But, with night increasingly encroaching upon day, temperatures tumbling below freezing, and snow starting to color the landscape white, summer is starting to seem . . . well, very distant.