Greetings!

It's now summer in the northern hemisphere and, outside of a little stormy weather (see below), our art festival season has been off to a great start! It's been a pleasure seeing so many familiar faces already this year. The next several weeks take us to communities in greater Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. Please come and visit if you are in any of these areas. We will return to the Twin Cities in August for the Uptown Art Fair.

• June 22 - Lemonade Concert & Art Fair - Campus of St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN
• June 24-25 - Park Point Art Fair - End of Park Point, Duluth, MN
• July 1 - Shell Lake Fine Art Festival - Shell Lake, WI
• July 8-9 - Grand Marais Arts Festival - Grand Marais, MN
• July 13-15 - Downtown Fargo Street Fair - Fargo, ND
• July 29-30 - Alexandria Art in the Park - Alexandria City Park, Alexandria, MN

"October Gale"

When I am making photographs on the North Shore in early October, my usual and primary concern is capturing the ephemeral beauty of the northern autumn.

On the afternoon of October 4th, my attention was abruptly shifted to Lake Superior's rapidly changing mood. In a matter of hours, calm waters were transformed into a fury of several-foot rollers brought on by gale-force winds in the range of 40-50 miles per hour. Winds from the southwest meant areas near Grand Marais were experiencing the brunt of this force due to the southerly-facing shoreline. Standing on the rocky shore and pummeled by spray from the violent breakers crashing ashore, I felt an incredible amount of exhilaration, being so close to Superior's wrath, as I made several exposures with my mostly plastic bag-wrapped camera.

"Lighthouse Breaker"

A few of the breakers even reached heights above Grand Marais' breakwall lighthouse. On a typical day, people can be found standing next to this lighthouse. That was not an option that afternoon.

"Stormy Evening" - Artist's Point

The stormy conditions continued that evening and into the night. As evening approached, a bit of sunshine filtered through the clouds in the distance, making for one of the most memorable scenes of the day.

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.

Grand Marais is renown for its picturesque harbor, quaint downtown, and unique "northwoods" setting. On a recent visit, I noticed a few small fishing boats in the fog-filled harbor. In this image, I captured one of these boats as its fishing couple leisurely paddled toward shore, fishing rod extended above the water. As this couple enjoyed their last few paddles on the harbor, I appreciated this juxtaposition of elements that embodies Grand Marais and makes it a special place in many people's hearts: the boaters casually traversing the foggy bay, the harbor lighthouse signifying an era now gone, the Sawtooth Mountains projecting above the harbor in the distance, and a touch of boreal forest that is prevalent in the Arrowhead region.

This scene, along with some beautiful music from an adjacent festival, made this an evening to remember!