Capturing Landscapes of the North Shore
The weekend of June 26 - 28, 2015, I took part in Don and Peter's North Shore Spring Workshop to learn some techniques to improve my landscape photography. This weekend included many beautiful locations, great food, and terrific outdoor photographers.
On Friday, Phil and I drove up and stopped at Duluth to have a nice lunch at a sandwich shop. Before reaching Silver Bay to check in, we stopped at Gooseberry Falls to capture some quick images.
Then we met up with another photographer from our group and went out for delicious local Lake Herring and beer at Camp 61 in Beaver Bay. After dinner, we all got together for an hour to go over some tips for the very long day ahead.
To catch sunrise near the summer solstice you need to get up very early. So on Saturday morning we met in the lobby at 4:15 AM. We headed to Sugarloaf Cove to spend a couple of hours trying many different sunrise techniques.
The next stop was my favorite, Baptism RIver - Upper Falls north of Silver Bay. Here is where I practiced using a neutral density filter and a long shutter speed to capture the flow of water.
Don and Peter never had their cameras with them at any of these locations. They were there to provide expert one-on-one advice and instruction.
Next stop, Cascade River State Park, featuring beautiful cascading waterfalls.
After having lunch at My Sister's Place in Grand Marais, we drove all the way up to Grand Portage to capture the Lake Superior Coastline.
Then we spent some time by the Kadunce River, where we learned that the lower you can place your camera, the more creative you can get with moving water.
Finally, we made it to Grand Marais to capture sunset.
After taking many magnificent images for the day, we had a 10:00 PM dinner at the only restaurant open in the North Shore, then finally back to Silver Bay by midnight. Don wanted us to meet in the lobby at 4:30 AM the next day. But only 2 determined sun-risers, not including me, joined Don to capture sunrise the next day.
After breakfast and a great Adobe Lightroom and image critique session, we headed to Gooseberry Falls. But it was pouring rain on the way there. When Phil and I got there it stopped. So we spent some time photographing the falls before joining the rest for lunch in Twin Harbors.
I'm extremely happy we stopped, because I couldn't wait to practice what I learned on Saturday. I think I passed the course.
After lunch we all met at Stoney Point to capture one last landscape before heading home.
The details in this old barn was a good opportunity to try a black and white.
On the ride back to the cities, Phil and I took the scenic route, which featured a couple of detours on dirt roads. However, as Phil mentioned, it must have been serendipity because we happened upon some Sandhill Cranes in a field alongside the dirt road. I stopped to capture one of them before they dissappeared into the woods.
Check out all of my images of the North Shore here: !
Comments
Kim A.(non-registered)
Nice blog writeup and pics, Alan. I agree...you passed! Not sure how I got to your page, but I'm glad I did. Nice to get to know all of the fellow photogs in the class. It was a fantastic group! Don sure knew how to tire us out! When I get to it, I will be putting some pics up in the flickr group site like you and Cindy have. Oh, and if you and Phil go shoot in Stillwater, let me know, as I'd love to join you!
Phil Daves(non-registered)
Alan:
I'd say you passed the course with flying colors. I plan to post some of my shots to the NSW Flickr site soon; work has distracted from photography lately. Your Gooseberry waterfall shot came out very well. Just one correction on your blog: It's Kadunce River. If you'd like to get together in the east metro to shoot some landscapes, I have my eye on a location near Stillwater. Let me know if you're free sometime over the next few weekends. Cheers, Phil
Bob Boucher(non-registered)
Very nice Alan, I enjoyed them all.
No comments posted.
Loading...
|