2009 November
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009
CLOUDS 9355
"Cloud Flames"
Just a couple of quick images that I snapped on the way home from work today. As I drove over Mt. Josephine I spotted these clouds and couldn't resist pulling over to shoot them. It's not very often that you see clouds sweeping vertically through the sky! The color difference between this image and the one below is simply representative of how much the light changed over a 10-minute time period.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm
Focal length: 300mm
Shutter speed: 1/500
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 200
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009
CLOUDS 9359
"Cloud Flames"
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm
Focal length: 330mm
Shutter speed: 1/400
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 200
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009
SPIRIT TREE 9433
"Dreamscape"
Tonight we had quite a treat: beautiful moonlight combined with fast-moving clouds, which makes for great photography! I couldn't think of a better place than the Spirit Tree to shoot the beautiful clouds and moonlight. This exposure was a few minutes in length to accentuate the movement of the clouds. I hope you like viewing it as much as I enjoyed capturing it!
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 17mm
Shutter speed: 3.5 minutes
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 250
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
MOONLIGHT 9387
"The Ghost Maple"
This tree is a maple tree that I like to call "The Ghost Maple", since (to me at least) the silhouette of the tree resembles a rather "ghostly" looking figure. Each year after the leaves fall I like to make images of the "Ghost Maple". When the leaves are on the trees the profile of the tree just doesn't stick out the way it does after the leaves have fallen. This year, I wanted to get some shots of the stars behind the tree. This image and the following 2 images represent separate nights of shooting the tree. My original desire was to get a star trail image of the tree. Upon arriving at the tree the first night, the clear skies that were prevalent over Lake Superior were nowhere to be seen deep in the woods and I had to deal with a very overcast sky. So, I took the opportunity to try and get a little creative with the lighting. I waited until the moon was up (of course, I couldn't SEE the moon because of the clouds, but there were some thinner areas of cloud where on occasion the moonlight would sort of come through) and I made some exposures with the tree illuminated from the brake lights on my car.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 17mm
Shutter speed: 30 seconds
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 1600
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
MOONLIGHT 9417
"Ghostly Galaxy"
On the second night, the sky looked a little more promising for some stars. Again when I arrived at the tree the clouds had moved in, however they were much thinner than the previous night. Star trails weren't going to work on this night, either... too many thin clouds... so instead I shot a high ISO "short exposure" image of the stars and the hazy clouds as the moon was rising in the distance.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 17mm
Shutter speed: 30 seconds
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 6400
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
STAR TRAILS 9500
"Star trails over the Ghost Maple"
Third night... I got what I wanted. Crystal-clear skies and not a cloud in sight! So, I lined up my composition, dialed in my focus, and locked the shutter down for a one-hour exposure. I had great fun each night I was up there, and I guess the whole point of this is that even though you may not get what you are hoping for, don't get too discouraged because you may end up with some neat images that you weren't expecting!
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 17mm
Shutter speed: 53 minutes
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 100
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009
STAR TRAILS 9511
"Remembering the Fitzgerald"
Every year on November 10 at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park the light is lit as a memorial to the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The Fitzgerald was an ore freighter that sank in Lake Superior near Whitefish Bay during an intense storm on November 10, 1975. All 29 hands on board were lost. While a part of me has always wanted to visit Split Rock during the memorial lighting, I never saw it until this year. While I got there a little late due to a dentist appointment in Duluth (the lighthouse is lit at dusk, and I arrived about an hour and a half later), I did still get a chance to see the light sweeping across the lake, as they leave it on for a couple of hours after it is lit.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm
Focal length: 47mm
Shutter speed: 30 seconds
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 1600
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009
STAR TRAILS 9521
"Star trails over the Tettegouche Arch"
After watching the light for a while I met up with a friend of mine and together we decided to head up to Tettegouche State Park and try shooting some star trails over the rock arch that is on the Tettegouche shoreline of Lake Superior. We spent a couple of hours shooting a fantastic night sky over the arch. It was an incredible night to be outside! There was no wind and the lake was as flat as a pancake.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 53 minutes
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 100
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
SOUTH DAKOTA 9666
"Badlands Camp"
This is the first entry of many to come over the next 6 weeks as I explore some of the western United States. I am also expanding the reach of my blog a little bit, as the journal entries from this trip will be shared with the students of Oshki Ogimaag elementary school back in my home town of Grand Portage, Minnesota. I have lived in Grand Portage my entire life, and it certainly is one of the most beautiful places in this world. It is where I choose to live to this day. Outside of the bounds of our little reservation, however, there is a big wide world of wonders to explore. It is my hope that by viewing the images in my blog the students of Oshki Ogimaag might gain a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world outside of the reservation. In many ways it is a very big world, which can be intimidating. But when you travel you realize that it is also a small world, and that we are indeed all connected in some way. I love exploring and seeing the beauty of other places while trying to capture some of that beauty with my camera. However, my heart always returns to my home on the shores of Lake Superior. Grand Portage is home, and while I am tempted sometimes by other beautiful places, my heart always longs to be back in Grand Portage. It's always a great comfort to return and see Grand Portage Bay and Pete's Island again.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 17mm
Shutter speed: 30 seconds
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 6400
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
SOUTH DAKOTA 9766
"Sunset Rocks"
This trip begins with a week spent in Badlands National Park and the Black Hills of South Dakota. This area is very close to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations, home to the Lakota Sioux people. My friend Roger and I spent the first week of my 6 week trip together in the Badlands and Black Hills. Our first two nights we camped under incredibly starry skies in Badlands National Park. It was a little cold at night, but we were plenty warm inside our sleeping bags. Each night we spent some time photographing the stars and the night sky and during the day we looked for wildlife and other interesting things to photograph.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 19mm
Shutter speed: 1/13
Aperture: f/16
ISO: 100
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
SOUTH DAKOTA 9803
"The Magic Hour"
The Badlands is an area that does receive some rainfall over the course of the year but most of the time it is pretty dry. In many ways it is a stark, desolate landscape but if you look a little closer you find many interesting things. Prairie Dog towns dot the landscape, and Bison, Sheep and Mule Deer can often be seen. Sunrises and sunsets can be incredible here!
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm
Focal length: 65mm
Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/16
ISO: 100
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
SOUTH DAKOTA 9663
"Star Trails over the Sage Creek Wilderness"
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 17mm
Shutter speed: 24 minutes
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 250
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
SOUTH DAKOTA 9848
"South Dakota Spirit Tree"
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 17mm
Shutter speed: 30 seconds
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 2500
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
SOUTH DAKOTA 0425
"Sunset, Spearfish Canyon"
On our way out of the Black Hills area we stopped in Spearfish Canyon to shoot a beautiful sunset over the river.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 17mm
Shutter speed: 3.2 seconds
Aperture: f/16
ISO: 50
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
SOUTH DAKOTA 0301
"Windmill Moon"
A small windmill that we found during the day and decided to come back to later in order to shoot the stars and the moonlight.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm
Focal length: 33mm
Shutter speed: 30 seconds
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 800
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2009
MONTANA 0670
"Mountain Moon"
This picture of the moon off the top of a mountain peak was taken just outside of Cooke City, Montana.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm
Focal length: 220mm
Shutter speed: 1/800
Aperture: f/10
ISO: 400
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2009
WYOMING 0745
"Mammoth at night"
Since most of the roads in Yellowstone National Park are closed in the winter you are pretty limited when it comes to what part of the park can be explored. The only road within Yellowstone that is open year-round is the road from Gardiner, Montana to Cooke City, Montana. Gardiner is known as the "North Entrance" to Yellowstone National Park.
I arrived in Gardiner in the early afternoon with enough time to make the drive from Gardiner to Cooke City. I was hoping to see some wildlife (mostly Elk), but all I saw were a few Bison that were way off in the distance in a field. Oh well, it was still an interesting and beautiful drive. The scenery in Yellowstone certainly is worth the drive. The Lamar Valley in particular is especially pretty.
I spent the night in Gardiner and after my drive to Cooke City and back I got a bite to eat then went back out to try shooting some of the Mammoth Hot Springs in the moonlight. It certainly was pretty cool to see the bubbling and steaming hot springs at night. The steam takes on a whole different mood at night than it does during the day. I also found a nice viewpoint which gave me a wonderful view of the valley and the "town" of Mammoth (which is basically a town where all the park service employees live). It was a very chilly night (I think the low that night was around 15 degrees), so I kinda froze my rear off but it was worth it!
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm
Focal length: 55mm
Shutter speed: 20 seconds
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 800
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2009
WYOMING 0717
"Ursa Major (The Great Bear) over Mammoth Hot Springs"
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm
Focal length: 35mm
Shutter speed: 25 seconds
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 800