Hovland - Past & Present

When visiting Hovland, north of Grand Marais, I stopped at the waterfront. I was struck by the well-used buildings and dock that represented the past. Clearly I was a few decades late for the frenzy of activity. I also saw remaining vibrancy of the current residents in their colorful buildings. Each of these images tells the different stories that I saw that afternoon.

 

Watching the Sky

 

I watch weather forecast and radar apps all the time. One morning in early August I pulled into a field driveway and watched the clouds for several minutes.  Looking up renewed my appreciation of them and reminded me of my place on earth. There is something to be said for the real world.

Grand Marais Sunset

 Sometimes you have to chase the clouds and other times they come to you. We were exploring the harbor last week and noticed color shaping up so we found a bench and enjoyed the sunset.

Prairie Sunset Quotation

 One of the joys of donating images is seeing them put to use and learning how someone else has interpreted the image. This image was donated to the MN DNR Scientific and Natural Program for use on its Facebook page.

Duluth Lift Bridge

While in Duluth we walked the Canal Park side of the jetty to see Duluth's night lights from a different perspective.  It was also one of the only places we could find a parking space. On our way back the bridge was raised for a sail boat. This side of the canal is quiet and has very few visitors on it, try it the next time you are visiting Duluth.

Duluth Tall Ships

We planned a North Shore trip earlier this year and were disappointed to hear there were no rooms in Duluth this weekend, only to find out it was the Tall Ship Festival. We made our plans and came back through Duluth on Thursday just in time to see ships coming into the harbor. The crowd was thinned out by a drizzle and we had a leisurely stroll through the art show and got to see the ships up close.

Walks on Water

 

It's amazing what 1/6400 of a second looks like. I usually stretch time for several seconds but freezing time made these dogs seem to have the power to walk on water. This guy is keeping his eye on the prize to the very end.

Happy Rottweiler

I have never thought of rottweilers as jumping dogs this guy loved it. You can see his total concentration on getting the prize.

Making a Splash

I watched dock jumping dogs at the fair yesterday and had a blast! The dogs' enthusiasm was hard to contain and they couldn't get enough air time. Rain kept the crowd size down so photos could be taken from poolside.

Chaos

This sums up my view of the "derby". Fun to watch and a challenge to photograph, good practice when the animals are scarce but not my cup of tea. Going to the fair for a little quiet fun today.

Between Races

August is fair month in Minnesota and I couldn't resist going to the demolition derby last night. Sitting in the smoking section, seeing all American testosterone in action, and coming home near deaf was a great way to spend a summer evening. Sitting in the cheering section for grandma with her wife added a 21st century flavor to the event.

Grassland Sunset

I'm struggling to get out in the hot, humid prairie as I always do in August. When I do get out it is usually in the evening when the wind has calmed and the light is sweet. The western fires have been great for red sky prairie sunsets.

Technical: HDR processed in Lightroom

Yellowstone Drama

This is another brief video from my May trip to Yellowstone. I watched the bison for what seemed like an hour but really only was about 20 minutes. As is almost everything in Yellowstone this was recorded at a pull out and passing traffic made capturing the subtle sound so bison calling to each other difficult. Even eating grass can be a dangerous in Yellowstone.

Country Road

This country road is more than an element of composition, it tells a story.  The overhead storm clouds are ominous and the road leads up a small hill.  What is your story in this image?  Are you optimistic or pessimistic?

Passing storm

Watching clouds change reminds me of my size and position on this big Earth.

Two cameras are set up for time-lapse and the iPhone was used while waiting for sequence to be captured.  This is a grab shot from a sequence that has been converted to B & W in Lightroom. The sky is so much more foreboding in black and white.

Milkweed and Friends

One of my goals this summer was showing the interaction between insects and prairie flowers. Common milkweed is a perfect plant to show insect drama on the prairie. While it is not native it has been adopted by resident butterflies as a preferred food source. Slow motion recording is the perfect medium to show butterflies and bees around these flowers.

Technical: Insects are shown at 1/8 normal speed, recorded with SonyRX10ii.

Stars over Flandrau

Moon rise was about 2 AM so a late night was the only way to get Milky Way images. It moves toward the west through the night and next time I'll try early morning to get different ground lights. I used framing to hide ground light and put a brief burst of light on the overhanging trees. WB at 3400k

Technical: highlight and white slider used to enhance Milky Way, no local adjustments used