Ice Covered Stone on the Superior Shore Photo

Photographer’s Note

Ice Covered Stone on the Superior Shore
Brighton Beach
Gitchi Gami Park
Duluth, Minnesota

Superior sings In the rooms of her ice water mansion
- Gordon Lightfoot "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

My sincerest wishes for a wonderful holiday season to all.

A cold and empty twilight image from my favorite lakeside place in Duluth. I still have a twinge of guilt for leaving the trail of foot prints through the empty snow of Gitchi Gami park to get to my shooting location .. Like I have destroyed the silent tranquility of this place until after the next snow .. which luckily will be in a couple of days.

I still am twisted over my attitude toward this evening's work .. we have had thick cloudy skies and snow weather for days .. I jumped at this opportunity to race down to the shore for these rare clear skies. I raced up and down the shoreline shooting a bunch of locations as the light slowly fell behind the trees ... that was the good ... the bad .. maybe it was the cold .. forgot my remote shutter ... somehow set the camera on f11 (I thought I was at 16) .. I guess I cannot read or just missed it .. shot the first two sets of photos not noticing my lens was on manual focus .. raced back to get those locations again but the light was gone .. it was painful sifting through the set to find some acceptable ones ... even then ...

I was (as always) having a difficult time choosing which image(s) from this set to post here. This after sunset image seemed to me to most catch the reflection of my mood toward to TE at this moment .. a cold and empty twilight .. I hope I am wrong .. this has been a formative and wonderful place for me .. but the symptoms I see .. most recently with the issues of George Grabarczyk (Polonaise) .. and so well summed up by Jack R Johanson (jrj) do not provide me much in the way of hope .. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill but it seems with every visit to this site there is a new hill of moles.

The twin ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisonsin are behind me .. this park sits on the East edge of Duluth. You can see a bit of the Wisconsin shore on the far right side of the image .. we are on a point just as the lake is widening ... in 1975 the Edmund Fitzgerald would have passed through this place on its fateful trip into the stormy waters.

you can view a larger version of this at my photo site:
johnmclaird.com

at the moment it is at the front of the recent addition gallery .. as well as in a more permanent home in the winter and the seascape galleries.

more information on the Edmund Fitzgerald
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald
http://www.ssefo.com/

from some previous posts
This particular place has a legendary role in our family history .. during a family vacation here when I was a small child my younger brother leapt out of the car picked up a stone and threw it .. and himself .. into the water .. my father dived in fully clothed and fished him out ...

Superior is the largest of the great lakes .. the largest lake by surface area in the world ... it is 350 miles across and is 160 miles wide at its widest moment. The city of Duluth is linked to the Atlantic (a couple thousand miles distant) via the seaway through the Great Lakes .. Duluth advertises itself as the the Atlantic's westernmost deep water port city.

danos, parbo, stego, gunbud, riclopes, feather, Didi, gracious, papagolf21, alainh, adores, mvdisco, vmf-214, jafadabret, ChrisJ, asajernigan, dip, jorgi, Cretense, fserajian, avene has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rgarrigus (0) 2008-12-25 11:47

Hi John,

Beautiful cold winter morning along Gitchi Gami. Simple in content but it brings me home.

As for TE - stay the course brother.

Cheers!

Bob G.

danos (32116) 2008-12-25 12:18

Hello John,
nice the view of this snowy Superior shore that as you write is the biggest in the world.As i heard from TV the temperature in USA and Canada is -30C one of the worst Winters many years since.Well done.

I wish,you and your family a wonderful, peaceful and prosperous New Year,Danos

parbo (10966) 2008-12-25 14:49

Hello John,

You already caught splendid light. I like fantastic tones of blue all over frame with pink band and the ice covered stony shore is just speechless with its amazing textures created by cold weather. I think there is also some ice blocks on water. Wonderful, congratulations.

Thanks for best wishes and same to you and your family. All the best.

Best Regards,

Ertugrul

stego (22350) 2008-12-25 16:44

Hi John,
Amazing sense of expanse and... coldness... Apparently there were very few visual elements to help the compo, but you turned that in an advantage. The compo is spotless in its simplicity. The subtle gradients of textures, light and hues helps make it very, very attractive.
I hope you had a nice Christmas. I wish you a Happy New Year.
Cheers, José.

gunbud (27741) 2008-12-26 9:39

Hi John,
Splendid winter image of this cold vast inland sea.
The little bit of pink on the horizon gives this one effective scale and difinition.
I trust you and your family had an enjoyable Christmas and you enjoy a healthy happy new year.
Regards, Tom

batalay (20804) 2008-12-26 19:12

Hello John,

It is a very good image, complemented by one of the finest notes I've seen in years. I wish you and your family a wonderful Holiday Season, and a Happy New Year.

Bulent

riclopes (32951) 2008-12-27 0:08

Great note as usual, John. With so many interesting paragraphs I almost missed that this mood has to do with polonaise. And the title its perfect for that mood. So silent, so cold and so much space. Beautiful vastness.
Take care,
ricardo

Graal (57571) 2008-12-27 1:30

Hi John,
very nice landscape, good panoramic format and quality of photo. I like the pastel colours and peaceful atmosphere. Good note also.
Happy New Year 2009 to You and family!
Aleksander

Buin (37326) 2008-12-27 2:06

Hallo john!
All parts of your photo transmit winter, cold, pure air - but they show it in an appealing way. I especially love this tiny bit of orange above the horizon, a tiny bit of warmth in this wideness...
Greetings from cold (-4°C) but very sunny Germany - and a Happy and healthy New Yer to you and yours!
Frank

feather (49858) 2008-12-27 5:54

I live on the North Sea coast, so when I see this amount of water I envisage the sea, not a vast lake. That is what is so special here as I would rarely see this much snow and ice on the sea coast, as of course it would be melted by the salt water at our temperatures. The colours are beautiful, and the pink of the setting sun has cast a very subtle tint on the snow. Excellent shot.
I am sure most of us have experienced the wrong settings many times so can empathise with your plight.
Kath

Didi (35920) 2008-12-27 8:01

Hi John
Interestibg sharing between the Iced bank and the lake.
Very good soft evening lights with a deep foreground; it's a very grat place for meditation.
Greetings from Orléans while waiting the new year.

gracious (20017) 2008-12-27 10:04

Hello John,
the f/11 is fine here with the good exposure and focus achieved!
I really loved the soft and gentle lighting over the shore!
the fg elements really nice that covered with the snow!
thank you for your effort for the shot!
wishing you and family
A VERY JOYFUL AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR2009!!
cheers
tony

Nicou (44407) 2008-12-27 10:44

Hello,

mangigique tous ces caillous reconvert de neige et de glace avec le beau bleu, superbe contraste très belle image.

Bravo et amitié

Nicou

papagolf21 (56096) 2008-12-27 11:48

Bonsoir, cher John,
Cela me fait grand plaisir de revoir vos photographies, toujours aussi belles ! Un grand merci de nous offrir de si belles images.
À l'aube du Nouvel An, acceptez de tout coeur les voeux les plus chaleureux pour une année exceptionnelle : santé, bonheur et prospérité !
Amitiés.
Philippe

alainh (35357) 2008-12-27 12:43

hello John
splendid picture for this end of year ! soft and quiet as i wish for you and your family 2009
friendly, john
alain

adores (15447) 2008-12-27 15:18

Hi John!
I think you did a great job, don't be so disappointed with yourself!You captured an amazing scenery. I just love this wide empty space with the frozen rocks on the left - they make a great pattern. Colours are also great, you got a really clear sky.I just can't imagine how cold it must be there:)!!

mvdisco (11440) 2008-12-27 20:43

Hi John,
Very nice composition and presentation,
great colours and sharpness,
Nice tone and light,
very well taken and done.
Happy new Year..09
Michel

vmf-214 (1622) 2008-12-27 21:47

Hi John,

Beautiful nature shot you captured just by looking at the photo you can feel the cold, Well done on the capture in the twilight wonderful color in the sky and lake. Great job John.

Regards
Jason.

jafadabret (39263) 2008-12-28 2:34

Bonjour John.
C'est une photo qui est superbe avec les nuances de bleu sur l'eau, la neige et le ciel.
Un paysage rempli de calme et de beauté !
Bonne fin d'année !
Jacques

Miha2ou7 (4891) 2008-12-28 14:38

Hey John,

I actually like a couple of Gordon Lightfoot`s songs, including the one you`ve described. A nice and informative note, and definitely a beautiful photo. A bit minimalistic, but well composed and I can feel the biting cold. I also like the subtle sunrise (set) in the distance and the way that the horizon and the sea merge in the distance. Well thought of and executed.

My best regards and a happy NY, to you and your family.

ChrisJ (69941) 2008-12-28 16:21

Hi John

I like the soft, pastel colors, & tranquil mood, in this superb winterscape. Good sharpness & diffused lighting. Tfs!

asajernigan (14054) 2008-12-28 18:28

John,
This is a very nice sunset shot with nice layers of color through out the scene. The line of pink in the sky sets up a nice scene for the photo.
The lighting is fine and you sharpness and DOF are great.
Stick it out with TE, as with everything we have to accept the bad along with the good.
TFS,
Asa

dip (12520) 2008-12-28 23:41

Hello John,
beautiful winter atmosphere with amazing blue tones and nice contrast in the foreground of the snowy stones,well done,
I wish you and your family a Happy 2009!
Dimitris.

jorgi (3798) 2008-12-29 0:05

Hi John,

it is interesting...how can photos provide us with completely different mood.
I read your note and how you feel about certain recent events on TE and how this photo somehow reflects them in your mind.
When I look at it all I see is pure serenity nad peacefulness...a trully calm divine place to set one's mind free and with just enough warmth for a heart to have its enjoyment too.
Warm peace. That is my feeling.

Wish you, your family and friends best possible 2009!
Jeri

Cretense (55528) 2008-12-29 7:23

Hi John!

This is really a timeless place, like coming out of a fairy tale! Beautiful in its "simplicity", the atmosphere is fantastic!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I wish to you and all your loved ones a Happy New Year!

Hercules

Angshu (33493) 2009-01-02 0:31

Hello John
A sublime scene & this you say is not quite right. I guess if you did capture the light, how glorious this would have looked like. Pretty much a sensation of cold & emptiness, which is illustrated in your notes. Optimistic that this new year would give us new hope...and good news in GG has started posting again!
Wishing you, Andrew & your dear ones the very best for 2009
With Best Regards
Angshu

fserajian (4453) 2009-01-06 10:31 [Comment]

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avene (10930) 2009-01-06 20:32

hello John,
I had the same uneasy feeling about TE, for various reasons it felt that we are not really welcomed here. but I've learned so much here and made so many friends that I keep coming back and keep finding the reasons to keep coming back. on a cynical note - it can always get worse. and if it CANNOT get worse, it can only get better.
but back to the phot - love it, especially the combination of pink and blue in the pale pastel sky and how the curve of the shore leads the eye towards the horizon. and perhaps towards new horizons :)

wishing you a happy new year,
Kristine

angela926 (1882) 2009-01-10 20:21

Hello John,
wonderful shot, excellent composition and pov, b eautiful colors and lovely light, well done.
TFS
Angela

jemaflor (39167) 2009-01-13 10:02

Hi John,
Nice view with a soft light, cold impression, well managed and good sharpness.