A couple of weeks back, I posted my favorite wildlife moments of the past year. I took a lot of wildlife pictures, but when the critters aren’t cooperating or active, there is always something worth taking a look at, especially during the magical morning and evening light hours. I made a number of landscape photos I was quite happy with. We had a few incredible nights of northern lights this year that kept me out for hours in the National Forest. Minnesota has some of the darkest skies in the nation and Mother Nature and the night sky did not disappoint. I’ve included a few images from various nights. Lake Superior gave me a few favorite moments as well, as it always does, so there are quite a few of those included in this post. Last spring I took a road trip to another one of my favorite places, southern Utah. It’s really a paradise for photography. I’ve grown to enjoy the desert, mesa and canyon country of Utah almost as much as northeastern Minnesota. Almost 😉 There are a handful of photos from this year’s trip, which includes my personal favorite photo of the year! So from snowy scenes to sunshine, from forested landscapes to desert scenes, from the northern lights on northern nights, to southern sights on southern nights, the rivers and lakes and woods and hills, these are my favorite scenery shots from the past year in no particular order. Thanks to all for subscribing and following along and supporting me through print sales and calendars.
April 2022 – Winter lingered on for a spell last spring. The thaw was slow to come. Superior National Forest – Minnesota A blue hour sunset along Lake Superior at Temperance River State Park. The variety of rock colors on the beach here can be pretty wild. And it changes with every storm. Summer serenity at Sugarloaf Nature Center near Schroeder, Minnesota A rare SAR arc, or sub auroral red, during a wonderful display of aurora borealis. The northern lights and a SAR arc lighting up the sky over the Temperance River in Superior National Forest, Minnesota. Those gorgeous Lake Superior rocks. Those first few snowfalls of the season always have more beauty than the next few, it seems. This was early November. The rushing river added to the magic of the first real snowfall. A few inches of rain, dropping temps and a little snowfall. Perfect recipe for a stunning landscape. November 2022I was a little light on sunsets and sunrises on The Lake this year. I was usually chasing wildlife if I was out taking pictures. I did luck out a few times. This particular evening was out of this world. The eyes of fall watching with a stony brow. Potholes and fallen foliage at Temperance River State Park Autumn paddle in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Lakeside path in autumn splendor. It really was a remarkable fall color season. Sawbill Trail, fall colors and Lake Superior – Minnesota Calm reflection in Superior National Forest. One of the most serene scenes I captured this year. A light dusting of snow and a touch of fall gold. The view from Carlton Peak in Tofte, Minnesota A nice aurora arc over the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The calm waters of Sawbill Lake and some of the darkest skies in the lower 48 enab6us to experience the northern lights quite often here in the Arrowhead. This night, another skywatcher was lighting the fog from a dock up the shore. I liked the way his headlamp lit the fog. An amazing, early September display of the northern lights along Lake Superior. Tofte, MN September 3rd aurora borealis. This was a memorable night in Superior National Forest. This display started as the moon was setting, still casting shadows and the ground fog over the creek set the scene off. Same spot different day, it’s a favorite location 🙂 Sunrise color over the Temperance River in Superior National Forest – Minnesota 🌲Lake Superior is out there… This view from Carlton Peak in Tofte, Minnesota was ethereal with a blanket of fog breaking up and rolling over The Lake – summer 2022A climber nearing the top of his climb at Palisade Head – Tettegouche State Park Crescent Lake morningSummer sunrise at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. This was an extra special visit, photographing sunrise with family during our summer family reunion on Lake Superior. The Bears Ears – Bears Ears National Monument – Cedar Mesa – southern Utah is another special place for me, so I’m including a few photos from this year’s trip. Ancient Puebloan petroglyphs, snakes and spiders? And Orion in the dark, Utah skies. This peninsula of land held ancient Puebloan dwellings and ruins. One of the most memorable days of the year for me was hiking and exploring Road Canyon. Mt. Ellen in the Henry Mountains with the uplift of the Waterpocket Fold viewed from the east side of Capitol Reef National Park – Utah. Maybe you had to be there, but this is my favorite photo of 2022. I’ve really embraced using my Canon RF 100-500mm lens for a lot of non-wildlife landscape pictures. The compression and scale and distance it can cover, especially in places like Utah’s canyon and mountain country, brings a great perspective to the scenery. I love the drive on the east side of Capitol Reef. The Notom-Bullfrog/Burr Trail roads offer some of the best photography opportunities I’ve encountered. This particular day I had wind, sleet, snow, rain and a bit of sunshine. The light was pretty good at this stop. I’m always intrigued by these Henry Mountains when I see them in the distance. The Moki Dugway in southeastern Utah. A little steep, a touch terrifying, but well worth the effort. The Big Crane – Butler Wash/Comb Ridge. Half the fun was getting there. I had an adventure finding this one. I didn’t have a map or gps, and almost gave up after a few failed side trips. I’m glad I found it. One of my favorite trip memories and photos. Ancient Puebloan dwellings in golden canyon light. I was fortunate to visit some special places and ruins on this trip. Good light and photo conditions didn’t hurt! Cedar Mesa – UtahSpring thaw and rains gave us rushing, raging rivers last spring. This was early May along the Superior Hiking Trail. Waving curtains of light in Superior National Forest. This was a beautiful July night of aurora in the woods. It was the calmest of summer days. I made a lot of cards out of this one. It makes a good print too 🙂 Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center. Schroeder, MN Pre-dawn light and color on the beach in Schroeder, MN.
It was a fun, fulfilling year of picture taking for me. I hope you enjoyed the little recap of my landscape and night sky photos. If you missed it, take a look back at my favorite wildlife moments of the past year in a previous post. Have a Happy New Year and thanks for following along. See you in 2023. ❄️🌲
From Crazy to Calm – Lake Superior April weather really covered all the bases this year. We had snow, cold, warm, rain, wind and gorgeous. The big April Gale on the 14th and 15th was a highlight for sure. The northeast winds brought massive waves crashing along the shore. some of the best places to watch a northeast gale are in the Split Rock and Tettegouche areas. The cliffs in the area can make for dramatic scenes from the waves crashing and rebounding off the cliff faces. Even a smaller gale can be impressive against these walls. This particular gale wasn’t accompanied by much precipitation which made for a fun day of photographing the waves. Often times, these gales come with heavy rain or snow which can hinder photographing them a bit.
Crashing waves at Tettegouche State Park – 4/14/2018
Massive splash on the cliffs along Lake Superior. Wave height was in the mid teens but splash heights were reaching 100 feet, 150 feet and more in places.
The ice coated trees take a beating in this little lake side forest at Tettegouche State Park.
The calm clear views from Tettegouche State Park and Split Rock Lighthouse State Park one week after the gales…
Earth Day was a picture perfect day to be outside in our State Parks. I made it a point to hit three in my travels that day. The calm, clear day was a huge contrast to the chaos of the previous week. Keep a circular polarizing filter in your camera bag. They are great for days like these. They can help you see into the water even more by removing some glare. They will also help create more contrast between blue sky and white clouds. A valuable tool to use in many photography conditions.
Lone tree on Shovel Point – Lake SUperior, MN
Beachside at Tettegouche State Park
Clear, Calm, Beautiful
A view of Shovel Point
Split Rock Lighthouse
Kayaking on the calmest of lakes…
Split Rock Reflections
Kayakers passing by Split Rock Lighthouse.
The view from Shovel Point looking towards Palisade Head
Stack Reflections
April Northern Lights – An All Nighter
April Aurora And The Setting Moon – 4/20/2018
The night and morning hours on April 19th and 20th produced a rather remarkable northern lights display. What started out as a faint glow for almost two hours, erupted into shimmering sheets and dancing waves of aurora which lasted until morning light. I put in a 4 1/2 hour shift of sky watching and photographing the lights. The slideshow shows you the progression, in a way, from around 10:00 PM CST on April 19th until around 1:00AM on April 20th. When the lights are strong, I have a pretty good view of the dark, northern skies from home. I spent another hour or two watching from the deck and even out the windows.
While there is no way to truely predict a good aurora display, you can do a few things to help alert you. Space Weather dot com is a great resource which can alert you via email when solar activity may cause aurora. They have a great photo gallery and information on all things space and sky related. Another resource are regional aurora “hunter” groups. These groups are full of entusiasts who will report in real time when the aurora are visible in your area. Great Lakes Aurora Hunters is a good one for my area. As far as viewing in Cook County, one needs to know that viewing with the naked eye and photographing the aurora can be two entirely different experiences. I won’t go into detail in this post, but our cameras see in the dark much, much better than we do, to make it short. So for viewing, you’ll want to get over the hills and into the darkest areas, away from towns, resorts, cabin lights. The overlook just past the Britton Peak parking area on the Sawbill Trail, just a few miles off highway 61 is a fantastic place to watch from a car or lawn chair. It has the best, widest northern view you can drive to that I know of. If you aren’t in Tofte, go up one of the “trails”, Gunflint, Caribou, Arrowhead, Cramer Road, and find a north facing lake, boat landing or hillside. Our dark skies won’t disappoint during a northern lights storm. For photography, I like to find a river, lake, or other point of interest for foreground attention and a sense of place or location. The scene becomes more important to convey the feeling, maybe, moreso than seeing the entire sky and display. If you have never seen the northern lights, and are not interested in taking photos, you’ll want to just stay put once you find a big, wide northern view. Hope this helps you see the aurora someday on the North Shore!
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April Wildlife
It was a good month in the woods for wildlife. From grouse to lynx to moose and loons!
Spruce grouse could be found most mornings pecking for roadside gravel. I have heard some drumming this spring, but not much. Moose sightings were few. I did manage to snap a few recent photos though. Two very healthy looking moose together at the end of the month.
Female spruce grouse – April in Superior National Forest
Male spruce grouse – Superior National Forest
Whiskey Jack or Canada Jay – Superior National Forest
Turkey vulture and the nearly full April moon.
Though I had heard loons the previous week, this was the first one I actually saw close enough to get a photo. Always a fun spring “first”.
A pair of moose on the run in Cook County.
And gone, into the woods.
One would emerge, briefly, and gone again!
I had a late afternoon encounter with 3 lynx in earlier April. I saw each one alone, about a mile apart from each other. Something tells me this was 3 of the 4 kittens I had been seeing earlier in winter with the mother. Once the mother mates again, the kittens are set off on their own to figure out how to hunt and survive alone. The size and proximity to one another tells me this is the same family, now entering the next phase of their lives as solitary animals.
A lone lynx prowls for an afternoon meal
Grouse – Superior National Forest
Male Spruce Grouse – Superior National Forest
Last year at this time we had already been on the lakes for almost two weeks. Now, we are still waiting for the thaw. The lakes still have a foot or more of ice on them in some areas. Recent warmer weather is helping to speed things along and I think we will see open lakes in the coming days. Fishing opener is near and I hope you’ll tune in again for all things May in my next post. Please subscribe so you’ll be notified when I post again.
Current conditions on local lakes as of 5/2/2018 – Little ways to go for that Fishing opener! 😉
Winter is in full swing and the thermometer has really shown it in recent weeks. Sounds like we are in for a reprieve from the sub-zero and windy conditions for a spell, though! The recent cold has been fantastic for winter photography along the lake and in the woods. Here are a few favorites that you may or may not have seen from recent hikes, drives and trips to The Lake.
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The High Falls on the Pigeon River in Grand Portage State Park. A MUST see in any season, though I prefer the winter ice that forms and the contrast of the snow on the cliff faces. Although, spring melt is a fantastic time to be there… and after a summer rain…
A winter hike up to Palisade Head near Silver Bay, MN. Some billion years ago, rhyolitic lava flows formed these impressive formations along Lake Superior.
The freighter Walter J McCarthy Jr. passes Schroeder, MN. The ships have been a regular site as the season comes to a close and the final loads are delivered around the Great Lakes. The locks will be closed in just a few days until the ice lets up in March.
I came across a the remnants of an otter party! These playful critters love to run and slide in the snow and on the ice. They had made a hole near a spring and appeared to have had a great time sliding and slipping!
Winter moose!!!! I have been happy to catch up with a group of moose quite often over the past few months. Glad to report that I am still seeing a few of them out and about. I hope you get to see one of these fantastic animals on your next visit to the North Shore.
And finally, the Full Wolf Moon rising through the sea smoke on a VERY frigid January evening. Put a Lake Superior moon rise on your bucket list! I try not to miss one when I am around The Lake at the right time. There is a great moon/sun app called The Photographer’s Ephemeris that I would highly recommend to any sky-watcher.
This year I will keep you updated on the changing seasons and the changing light with frequent posts, so stay tuned! 🙂
Thomas J. Spence Images 