Photos

Forest, Stone, Falls, and Rapids
St. Louis River
Jay Cooke State Park
near Carlton, Minnesota

Another shot from the swinging bridge over the St. Louis River in Jay Cooke State Park. From the bridge you are looking down on two converging channels of the River. My previous post was from the right side channel .. this image is from the left hand channel.

I have tried to get close to this particular place on the river for some shots but have yet to be able to navigate all this stone to a good shooting location so I finally decided to use telephoto from the bridge.

When people visit the Duluth area they are understandably drawn to the North shore of Superior .. but they miss the hidden gem of a park. Scenes like this are relatively common in Jay Cooke. I have a long list of little spots like this along the river to try to capture someday.

Actual exposure info: 1.3 seconds f/16 ISO 50

The note to the previous image (with more detail on this place):
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