Journey Along Lake Superior

Join me on a journey along the shores of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota.  I will take you to Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse, Palisade Head and Tettegouche State Park.  Watch a rainbow over the grand lake and see the last light of a beautiful sunset.

This is the text area for this paragraph. To change it, simply click here and start editing. You can also customize the color, font and size of the text by highlighting it and choosing from the various options. 

• TIP #1: Get out early before the sun gets to high.  
• TIP #2: Have the sun to your back ... behind you. 
• TIP #3: Find narrow parts of the lake or river.
• Tip #4: Calm days with little to no wind are best.
• Tip #5: Finding trees of varying kind and color as in this image adds character and allows certain colors to standout.

The vastness of western North Dakota the state where I was born in has many hidden beautiful places.  One of my favorites is Theodore Roosevelt National Park west of Dickinson near the small town of Medora.  In the park is a herd of beautiful wild horses.  I started photographing them back in 2011 when I took this image.  It was in the summer and right at the golden hour of the last light of the day. 

• TIP #1:  Be prepared and bring binoculars to search for the horses. 
• TIP #2: Get out and hike and give the horses some distance as they can be very skittish.
• TIP #3: Bring a long lens for your camera (minimum of 200mm). 
• TIP #4: Try and get the sun behind you so you can get deep colors of the surroundings and the light will shine on the horses.
• TIP #5: Stay in Medora or Dickinson, North Dakota.
• Visit THEODORE ROOSEVELT NP for more information.

Everyone should create a Bucket List of what and where they want to go in this special life that we are given.  On my list was Katmai National Park in Alaska.  Only way to get there is by boat or plane.  We flew from Homer, AK.  I took my son with me for a 12 days Alaskan adventure trip.  Katmai NP was the highlight of our trip.  We witnessed the special scene where a mother bear stood up as she caught our scent and her one cub stood up and embraced her.  I had seconds to capture the embrace.

• TIP #1: Find a great guide service to plan and get you to Katmai NP.  
• TIP #2: Bring multiple lenses but you need a minimum of a 300mm to capture the bears. 
• TIP #3: Mid-July and August are perfect times to go to Katmai NP as you get the longer days and little rain. 
• Visit KATMAI NP for more information. 

In the small town of Grand Marais, Minnesota is a harbor and lighthouse.  One day while I was there the sun was appearing after a rain shower.  There is a beautiful boat in the harbor that will give out rides.  I was on the cement pier near the lighthouse when the boat sailed by and the sun was trying to appear.  I was able to capture the moment and it turned out to be a special image for me. I spend about 2 to 3 weeks in this area each year.

• TIP #1: Visit the Worlds Best Donuts in Grand Marais.  
• TIP #2: Go north up the Gunflint Trail.  Stop at the Trail Center Lodge for lunch or breakfast.
• TIP #3: Stop at the Lake Superior Trading Post for any items you may have forgotten or that have wished for.
• Visit VISIT COOK COUNTY for more information on the Grand Marais, Lutsen and Gunflint Trail area.

Minnesota is blessed to have 66 state parks.  Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is one of my favorites in all four seasons.  The lighthouse up on the rugged bluffs is the center piece of the park. It has beautiful bays to explore.  Whether you are going to hike, picnic, rock hunt or go biking there are so many things to do here. 

• TIP #1: Accessible in all four season but the fall is most special to me.  With the abundance of fall foliage the photography options are great. 
• TIP #2: The park has a great clean campground so you can see a sunrise and a sunset at the lighthouse. 
• TIP #3: Off of highway 61 it is 47 miles northeast of Duluth, MN. 
• TIP #4: There are some great hiking trails and a few islands to explore for some great photography subjects.
• TIP #5: If you have a kayak it is a great safe bay to explore and get some different perspectives of the lighthouse and shore line.
• For more information visit the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.

In the midwest farming is core of family and business life.  It also has many subjects such as barns to photograph.  Growing up in North Dakota I always loved the sight of a huge grand barn at the center of each farm.  I have many barns in my gallery.  This one red barn is in Medina, Minnesota as it is covered in snow and frost.  I have photographed this barn about 100 different times over the years. 

• TIP #1: bring both a wide angle lens and a larger zoom lens to get the best photographs.  It depends how far off of the road the barns are.  You never want to go onto the farm property. 
• TIP #2: When you take a picture of a barn find the location on your phone mapping app so you can easily remember where you took the photo from.  I use my iPhone photo app and take a photo so the GPS tracks the exact location when you swipe up in the Photo app. 
• TIP #3: Adding horse, cows or other farm animals into the image adds some character to them.
• TIP #4: having winding country road that leads to the farm and barn always adds a depth perspective to the grandness of the image.

Photography gives you so many options to be creative.  Some days maybe cloudy or too much sun that blows out the image.  I will adjust my camera mid-day and have the sun behind me and I will use my larger zoom lens such as my Sony G70-200mm or G70-300mm to create a wall of fall colors.  As the leaves change each type of tree is in a different stage of turning colors and can create some beautiful images.  I love to print them on metallic pearl paper.  The colors pop an the paper gives depth to your image.

• TIP #1: Use a larger zoom lens to create a wall of fall colors.  
• TIP #2: Bluffs, hills and mountains can create some grand images. 
• TIP #3: I use a warm circular polarizer glass filter to capture my images to give them a warming effect and the polarizer helps with light. 

A memory of a trip is so much more than just the image of the subject such as an elk.  In the fall when elk rut they give out a haunting bugle call which floats through the canyons.  Elk are one of my favorite to photograph.  This was taken in Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado.

• TIP #1: Use a large zoom lens of 300mm or larger to keep a safe distance..  
• TIP #2: I like to wear camouflage clothing in non hunting periods so I can blend into the environment and not stand out or startle the elk. 
• TIP #3: Watch where the elk are headed and try and get at least 40 to 50 yards ahead of them so they come to you.  The less movement you do will keep them from running away. 
• TIP #4:  Try not to talk or slam your car doors while photographing them. 
• TIP #5: Make sure to take some video in between your images. 
• For more information click the link for Rocky Mountain National Park

In northern Minnesota near the small town of Lutsen is a great hiking trail up Oberg Mountain with a view of Oberg Lake.  In the fall the maple trees that surround the area are wonderful.  You get 360 degree views which include Lake Superior, Moose Mountain and numerous small lakes.

• TIP #1: You can hike this trail in all four season but the fall is my favorite. 
• TIP #2: It is a moderate 3 mile hike. . 
• TIP #3: From highway 61 turn on Onion River Road and drive 2 miles to the large parking lot. 
• TIP #4: You can hike up the LeVeaux Mountain from this parking spot.
• TIP #5: You can hike a portion of the Superior Hiking Trail from here.
• For more information about OBERG MOUNTAIN TRAIL click the link.

I could get lost and spend many hours on Forest Roads.  They will provide many opportunities to stop take images and to go on hikes as you explore.  I must have 1,000's of images off of country and forest roads.  In my Gallery and STORE you will find many images to dream of your next adventure.

• TIP #1: I carry 2 cameras for my images on roads.  I carry a 24-70mm and 70-200mm lens. 
• TIP #2: A larger zoom lens like the 70-200 allows you to take multiple images with different depths to create some intimate images. 
• TIP #3: When you process your images in your software post taking the image you lighten the road leading into the image to give it a great effect of depth and a journey. 

I have photographed these mountains and barns many times over the years and each session with them has different moods and color.  Early light in the summer with grand clouds above the Teton Mountain range is always epic for me.

• TIP #1: Great to photograph in all season but the summer months are my personal favorite.  
• TIP #2: Arriving at 5am before the sun rises gets the sun to your back and provides deep blue skies with beautiful color from the sunrise reflecting into the clouds.
• TIP #3: Include the old Mormon barns in the images to give them western feel and add some drama to the mountains in the background.
• For more information click the link Mormon Row Barns.

In Gooseberry Fall State Park Minnesota the waterfalls are beautiful in the spring, summer and fall.  My favorite is the fall when the surrounding cliffs change colors in the trees.  The parks has camping, hiking, biking and kayaking available.

• TIP #1: Adjust your shutter speed to give the waterfalls a dreamy look to your images.  
• TIP #2: I like to take images from the left side of the falls to give the image a wide grand view of the waterfalls and the cliffs.
• TIP #3: Include some video to compliment your images so you will have the sound and the flowing water to bring you back to the moment.
• For more information click the link GOOSEBERRY FALLS STATE PARK.

Stay Connected

Follow me on Facebook.

Follow me on Instagram.

Check out my videos on YouTube.