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.

 

A Cold Morning

This is the last winter shot, promise. The recent temperatures, change in time, and cardinals singing confirm that winter has been beat. They may be a few inches of snow before the grass turns green but I can handle it. All I can say is, Goodbye Winter!

North Shore Color

I spent the morning looking for color along the North Shore with Gary Leeper (who is the author of an excellent North Shore guide book) and for the most part did not find any along Highway 61 to Tettegouche State Park. After sunrise at Palisades Point we headed back toward Two Harbors. Near there we climbed a short hill to find the best color of the morning which also highlights the green shoreline. Good color seems to be in pockets surrounded by brown or green.

Last Color

I was hiking along Knife River yesterday and came across the last color of the season.  The ground leaves had already faded leaving this bush with the only color to be found.  The photo doesn't relay the noise from the overhead traffic on the Highway 61 Expressway bridge.

Technique

This view off Stoney Point created a dilemma.  The extreme contrast just does not translate to the screen although I could easily see the colors.  HDR seemed unnatural when put together.  A split density filter could have worked if I had thought of it.  My solution was shooting for the highlights and using ND filters in Lightroom at both the top and bottom to bring the contrast into acceptable range.  About 2 stops were reduced from the top and 2 stops added to the bottom.  A long explanation for a process that took less time than this typing.

More Than Red

I'm reviewing on my trip around Oberg Mt. last week and reliving the morning.  With the bright colors gone, it is nice to remember the brilliance of autumn as long as possible.

Clearing Fog

As we worked our way around Oberg Mt. the colors became more intense as the fog lifted.  This was one of those days when the eye and camera had a hard time working together to put an image in the frame.  So much to see and so little space in the frame!

Morning Fog

Sometimes the conditions are just right.  I went on a North Shore trip with Gary Leeper yesterday and we were treated with morning fog that burned off as we raced from overlook to overlook around Oberg Mountain.