Forest, Stone, and Rushing Water Photo

Photographer’s Note

Forest, Stone, and Rushing Water
St. Louis River
Jay Cooke State Park
near Carlton, Minnesota

This is shot from the swinging bridge over the St. Louis River in Jay Cooke State Park. I am saving the vast landscape view from this bridge for when I get it right (I have failed twice now) .. this time due to a thick rain cloud that came over and blacked out the sunset .. It was dim enough that I didn't need to use a filter to get the 1.6 sec exposure .. I did turn the camera down to ISO 50

Getting a shot from the bridge is tricky .. it is a popular landmark and the entry to one of the park's main trail systems. It is just wide enough for two people .. which means if I sneak out onto the bridge with my tripod I am blocking traffic .. and of course people make the swinging bridge .. swing .. especially the pack of teenagers attempting to make it swing as much as possible that were on it this particular evening .. So the technique is to wait for an empty and stable moment to gently get out on the bridge (keeping it as steady as possible) .. etc. add to that my paralyzing fear of heights .. anyway who knows at what point I will get to this place with the right light and no crowds ..

Jay Cooke State Park is one of the hidden gems of the Minnesota park system. The park is about a half hour drive South of Duluth (about 2 hours north of Minneapolis) near the small town of Carlton. The main feature of the park is the St. Louis river raging through a system of channels, rapids, and falls before it enters Lake Superior in Duluth.

Jay Cooke State Park Page:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/jay_cooke/index.html

main Minnesota State Park Page (try the "by map" option:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/index.html

Didi, bakes888, jhm, feather, stego, danos, dip, Cretense, paura, Cricri has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Didi (36136) 2009-06-25 17:07

Hi John
You are still close to nature
Wonderfull greens and interesting low speed on the milky waters.
Take care

danyy (68802) 2009-06-25 23:20

Bonjour John,
un endroit bien choisi pour le passage de l'eau au travers du roc et l'intensitré des verts des arbres, intensité un peu forte à mes yeux.
Une photo 'pleine nature'.
Regards.
Daniel.

hay_kes (28562) 2009-06-25 23:32

Hi John,
Very beautiful photo vith great colours and exposure.TFS.
Regards,

hAyAti

bakes888 (18221) 2009-06-26 0:53

Hi John. Perhaps a gyrostabiliser may help?? ;-). You have to watch those teenagers full of bravado also. Nice catch, wonderful spring colours with a hint of a fresh in the water also. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good weekend, Paul.

jhm (82577) 2009-06-26 4:15

Hello John,

I can almost hear the small waterfalls between the big stones, make these picture very attractive.
Lovely image with superb composition and beautiful details.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

feather (49860) 2009-06-26 6:44

I smiled reading your note. ;D In my case I also set the timer when the shutter is going to be slow. Many's the time conditions were right when I pressed the button, but not right by the time the shutter opened!
You might have missed the sunset you were after, but the conditions were perfect for running water with a slow shutter. The lovely tones of green are a perfect complement to the grey/brown of the rocks.
Kath

stego (22352) 2009-06-26 11:28

Hi John,

A great compo of... Forest, stone and rushing water... Simple, sunless, but very effective and beautiful. I like the wide V on the FG, that "opens" the image to the stones and the water that seems to move in every direction instead of coming from the right, as I would expect at first sight. Then there is the green backdrop of the thick forest...

I like it very much in general and I notice that you were one of those rare persons that has nothing against square and non standard formats. I never understood why so many people don't those layouts.

Regards,
José

danos (32512) 2009-06-26 12:07

Hi John,
nice and creative this great scene with the forest,stone,and rushing water in a perfect harmony.The long exposure that paused the running water make the scene even more impressive.Well done.

Have a nice weekend,Danos

dip (12584) 2009-06-26 13:34

Hello John,
beautiful image with natural colors and good point of view,
the motion effect of the water is also very nice,
well seen and captured,
Greetings,
Dimitris.

Cretense (56192) 2009-06-27 1:58

Hello John!

Your favourite theme, forests and running water, at its best! Great nature photography, great use of the square frame, excellent composition and light managment! congratulations!

Hercules

paura (38432) 2009-06-27 3:02

John,
Linda a paisagem, tomada de um bom ponto e apresentado em fotografia de eficiente e bonita composição. Beleza de trabalho.

Abraço

Paulo

Nicou (44867) 2009-06-27 9:28

Hello,

Merveilleuse iamge, quel effet cet eau avec le flou blanc au mileu de cette belle roche, une merveille.

Bravoe t amitié

Nicou

Subhogen (17) 2009-06-28 4:16

Superb shot! The rock and water combination in the foreground is very well captured and the woods in the background looks so refreshing.

Regards,
Subho

Giedra70 (564) 2009-06-28 5:18