Tag Archives: Minnesota

Technical Details: Canon 5d MkII, Canon 16-35mm @16mm, ISO50, f/16, 2.5 seconds Singh Ray Warming Polarizer

Hi Gang,

I need to apologize.  Nothing heavy, but you must be  tired of seeing images from the North Shore of Lake Superior and for better or worse you’re going to get a good dose of them in the next couple of posts.  I don’t even have a good story to tell.  No run-ins with animals, no crazy weather, I didn’t drop any expensive electronics into the water, I didn’t risk life or limb to get a shot, didn’t get lost in the dark.  A fairly mundane outing by my standards.   Nonetheless, last weekend I spent 30 hours racing around some familiar haunts on the shore, mostly asking myself if I had anything new to share; anything that in one way or another might be new or fresh for all of us.  I was pretty sure I didn’t until I got home.  After going through the images I realized that there are so many new ways to show a tired subject and today’s is no exception.

This is the upper falls or Glen Avon, on the Beaver River.  Glen Avon is not in a state park, it’s not one of the quintessential falls like Gooseberry Falls, yet its one of the most intriguing falls I’ve shot on the north shore.  Some falls are a one trick pony.  Not Glen Avon.   I’ve posted several images from Glen Avon going back to last April, the first time I visited the area.  I’ve shot there many times since and  captured many fun images.

On this day I found myself doing something I often do in my photography; avoiding commitment.  I was gaming the weather, the clouds and trying to optimize an outcome.  I was not convinced that exciting cloud cover would be around for a shoreline sunset image, so an hour before I would be on the shore I ran up to Glen Avon to scout the water level.  Finding it at its lowest since spring thaw, Glen Avon had an entirely new personality and was literally in a new light!  The sun has moved quite a ways to the south, presenting the landscape very differently.  I shot for 30 minutes, chatted with some strangers that wandered into the area and then packed up to head to the shore for sunset.  Some days I hunker down on a spot and some days I keep my feet moving.  This weekend I just keep my feet moving – to remain productive, to remain fresh, to change routine, habits, and hopefully see things a little differently.

And I promise by next January I’ll have some new images from other parts of the county!  Not sure where yet, but its happening.