Twenty Five Years in the Life of a River Photo

Photographer’s Note

Twenty Five Years in the Life of a River - for Latiff

or alternate title 1:
Rapids on the Kettle River
or alternate title 2:
Procrastination and Forgetfulness

Kettle River
Banning State Park
near Askov Minnesota

In September TE member Latiff Ttdi (ls7902) posted a scan of
this 1983 image of the Kettle River, MN

When I found Latiff's image it immediately hit me that I knew that exact spot. It was in what is now Banning State Park.. between the towns of Askov and Sandstone, Minnesota ..

The park includes an old quarry now reclaimed by the forest and this beautiful section of the Kettle river full of rapids and water falls .. as Latiff said the area is very popular for white water rafting

The park is an hour from my home in Duluth and near my wife's Aunt and Uncle's home .. Andrew and I hiked here often last summer ..

and not only did I realize I knew the spot .. I realized I had an image taken from where the family is resting in Latiff's image ..

and then I procrastinated .. got distracted .. and forgetful .. but hopefully after 25 years another couple months won't be a big thing ..

so with deep respect and thanks for my friend Latiff .. I hope your afternoon here was as wonderful as ours. I think it is wonderful how little has changed in this place.

s_lush, Cricri, parbo, plimrn, snunney, feather, gunbud, Charo, stego, Dot2008, ls7902, danos, Didi, saylan-cb, powoj, Jakab, mvdisco, dip, gracious, papagolf21, jhm, paololg, bakes888, vbbreizh, paura, JCG has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

s_lush (1864) 2009-01-06 10:14

Hi John,
Picturesque place and perfect capture! Interesting POV and very high quality of both FG and BG. Thanks for the informative note!
Best regards,
Sergiy

gildasjan (23257) 2009-01-06 10:20

Bonjour John
Très beau rendu de l'eau par un bon choix de vitesse,de plus ce paysage est magnifique.
Have a nice day and a good year 2009
Friendly
Gildas

Cricri (42735) 2009-01-06 10:35

Hi John
Belle image de cet endroit ou les souvenirs sont rester..
J'aime le rendu de l'eau en forme de vagues, une trés belle lumiére et POV, trés jolie note aussi
Friendship
cricri

parbo (10936) 2009-01-06 15:48

Hello John,

Yes, I remember after clicking your link to Latiff's photo too that I critiqued it when he posted. You are very watchful, excellent encounter and most interesting part is you know the families where they in the photo 25 years ago and you captured similar scene same POV, lived same scenario... This is just amazing, and I can't imagine its pleasure and humanity side of it.

Your sign is also easily recognizable with fantastic effect of long exposure on water flow while adding enviable blue sky and green forest. Congratulations.

I wish you and your family a healthy, prosperous and happy new year.

Best Regards,

Ertugrul

plimrn (19552) 2009-01-06 18:27

Hi John,
Or you might call it 25 years in the development of photography!! I can see why the pair of you enjoyed the place. While Latiff's scanned photo is lovely, with the fishermen adding nice contrast, it can't begin to touch the wonderful detail and color shown here. The name reminds me of Yusef Latiff, who is still a wonderful musician in his 80's.
HLJ, Pat
HLJ, Pat

snunney (33988) 2009-01-07 4:41

Hello John,
A perfect capture of this fast flowing river. I very much like the low point of view which contributes much to the feeling of dynamism. The cloud sewn sky makes for a very pleasing ambient light around the trees. Superb natural colours and excellent clarity.

feather (49848) 2009-01-07 7:00

It is a strange coincidence; life is full of them I find. I love how the slow shutter speed has softened the water, and the diagonal of the rapids works well in the composition. The image is enhanced by all the tiny little clouds decorating the sky.
Kath

gunbud (27515) 2009-01-07 19:22

Hi John,
Stunning sylvan river landscape with the milky blue waters racing past the lush evergreens that contrast so brilliantly with the lovely blue sky.
Lovely bit of unspoiled wilderness.
Regards, Tom

danyy (67882) 2009-01-07 22:43

Bonjour mon ami John,
comme tu le sais, je suis fanatique de la nature et plus elle est vierge, mieux je m'y sens. Et c'est dans des endroits comme celui-ci que je me retrouve le mieux.
Phoot estivale d'une zone sans doute sous la neige actuellement.
Une photo aux superbes couleurs et un filé très réussi pour la rivière.

Take care.
Daniel.

Jackos (3391) 2009-01-08 4:00

Hi John
This is a very pleasant image. Very good POV and composition. It must be beautiful place.
Regards
Jack

jemaflor (38801) 2009-01-08 13:00

Hi John,
Very well taken, great dynamism with the effect of the water, good result bravo !

Charo (31651) 2009-01-08 16:37

Hello John,
Fantastic view of the river and very good effects. A beautiful landscape under a great sky.
My best wishes for the new year!
Best regards,
Charo

stego (22318) 2009-01-08 19:01

Hi John,
The place is really beautiful and looks amazingly well preserved, which is very nice to notice. It seems that there aren't many options to make a good compo, but you managed to make a great one, simple, but very well balanced, with a nice depth and sense of space. The spotless clarity, the well rendered colours and the achieved motion blur on the water does the rest, a very attractive image.
The resemblance with the other post shot 25 years ago is amazing. It wouldn't be bad if you had caught some fishermen also. :-)
Regards, José.

Dot2008 (290) 2009-01-09 6:05

HI John
Good note and a good rendition of the river.
I like the movement of the water caused by your shutter speed while the rest promotes the country to its best showing.
Dot

ls7902 (5996) 2009-01-09 20:36

Hi John,
Thanks for showing. Great to see this place a again with a more refreshing look. It looks & feels the same. You get the color of the water the way it should be. Lovely cottony clouds and saturation. Have a nice weekend John. And thanks for the dedication. I'm very honored. Regards. Latiff.

danos (31562) 2009-01-10 2:37

Hello John,
very nice the pause of the running water with all these trees to be in the watersides of the river.The vivid colours and the brilliant light make the scene so impressive.Well done.

Regards,Danos

Didi (35668) 2009-01-10 9:19

Hi John
Great picture with an interesting deep foreground who gives a nice impression of movement, thanks to the low speed
Best wishes for 2009 for you and your family

carper (63968) 2009-01-11 10:39

a fantastic one John,
very good point of view of this wild river, good speed and a fantastic balance in a good composition, a good one John, have a nice day.
regard jaap

bracasha75 (21560) 2009-01-11 14:01

Helo John
Very sharp picture and very plesant place in Minnesota your second home.I have watch little Duluth Google earth and i like this small city in Minnesota
Very good picture John!!!!!!
Take care,Bratislav

saylan-cb (12726) 2009-01-12 14:40

Hi John,
Superb image!Great capture and natural colours.
Excellent POV.
TFS/Regards

powoj (1655) 2009-01-12 15:17

Hi John,
Your POV is the same the POV of Latiff! After 25 years this place is allmost without changes. Wow!
In all Your pictures of rivers, and all kind of flowing water, i like its dynamics of motion.
Good job!

Jakab (3404) 2009-01-12 15:19

Hello John,
a beautiful landscape, I especially like the blurred soft waves of the river - from the exif data it is evident how consciously you took this photo. The composition with the running river as key element is excellent.
Congratulations!
Laszlo
P.S.: The reference to Latiff's posting is a kind gesture, now I visit his album as well.

Waylim (10667) 2009-01-12 15:25

John,
That is wondeful that you live so near by this beautiful nature. Very nice low POV capturing the river as it passed you by with the slow motion effect. Beautiful ton and light, Now you don't have to sit here for hours to wait for this cloud, you just come out here when it appear. Thanks for stopping by my gallery.
Way

mvdisco (11322) 2009-01-12 17:45

Bonjour John
Excellent POV. and landscape, with nice effet of the water, Exellent details and place, great colours and sharpness.
all my compliments
Michel

dip (12406) 2009-01-12 23:18

Hi John,
beautiful photo of the river and interesting note too,
well done!
greetings,
Dimitris.

gracious (20017) 2009-01-13 0:51

Hello John,
I loved this pov very much with such depth also the good effect from the f/22 on the river flow!
this is the most beautiful colour contrast of nature at it's best!
that cotton-liked clouds makes it so attractive in this beautiful composition
many thanks for the sharing
cheers
Tony

papagolf21 (55872) 2009-01-13 0:53

Bonjour, cher John,
Merci, John, de nous montrer ces paysages grandioses. La beauté de cette réalisation est manifeste.
Le mouvement de l'eau est excellent et donne à l'ensemble un effet saisissant.
Bravo !
Amitiés.
Philippe

Nicou (43771) 2009-01-13 1:14

Hello,

superbe image, quel effet de cette eua qui file, quel mouvement dans l'image, et ce cadrage a ras la surface de l'eau, grandiose.

Bravo et amiti

Nicou

jhm (81637) 2009-01-13 4:06

Hi John,

My compliments for use F/22, a lot photographers want this never use.
Lovely picture, quality as sharpness are very well.
Beautiful river with such a beautiful surrounding of vegetation.
Lovely green colours and very nice composition.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

Miha2ou7 (4887) 2009-01-13 5:16

Hey John!

I looked at the picture shot by Latiff, and I have to agree: very little has changed. As usually nature stays a constant. :) In any case, a lovely photo, with loads of interesting elements. I like the contrast between the flowing stream and the blue skies, covered by the fluffy clouds. A fine motive as usual. Moreover this looks like a great place to take a stroll. Thanks for sharing.

Best regards.

paololg (13130) 2009-01-13 14:11

Ciao John,
Amazing POV that allows us to admire the effect of the water to the same level of the river. You have captured the whole beauty and the suggestion of this place in an excellent way. You are really a good photographer, compliments!
Ciao
Paolo

Graal (57208) 2009-01-13 23:37

Hi John,
beautiful view, nice presentation of nature.Excellent quality of photo. I like it a lot.
Gr., Aleksander

cam (8880) 2009-01-15 18:54

Hi John
A good impression of speed in this image well composed.
Did you get wet feet, you seem to be so close.
You had a beautiful day
Charles

darek1978 (11097) 2009-01-16 7:56

Hello John,
Great effect of streaming water and good sharpness. I like this composition and the well saturated colours. Well done!
Regards,
Darek

bakes888 (18055) 2009-01-18 14:15

Hi John. I guess twenty five years is but the blink of an eye to lifespan of a river. Mans impact is a whole lot quicker unfortunately. Must be a well trodden POV ;-). Well captured, great colours and wonderful sky. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good week, Paul.

Atousa (3434) 2009-01-24 7:21

Salam John,

Its really interesting to see 2 shots of a place in different periods of time.. it seems the amount of water has increased ..here I like your chosen pov n the vivid colours ..great light management .. lovely earth n heaven.. thank you.
Best regards, A

bosskokoss (1582) 2009-01-24 7:33

Hello John. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and detail. Regards Piotr.

fulvio52 (8314) 2009-01-24 12:49

Hi, John,
striking angle, vintage colors, your trademark long exposure... awesome! Also : I greatly appreciate your recent visit to Balanced Rock. I wish you and your family a wonderful weekend, I'll be seeing you soon. Hugs,
Fulvio.

Angshu (33215) 2009-01-25 19:32

Hello John
Nowadays whenever I see a picture like this, I know that there’s a high probability that it would be yours. You've almost trademarked the superb use of slow shutter speed on moving water...beautiful diagonal created by the rapid, with the water like silk threads. Like the curved 'road' of the sky with those cotton clouds as well. Beautiful!
Interesting to see Latiff’s picture from exactly the same place 25 years ago!. The water flow seems to be a lot gentler in his picture.
Take care!
Best Regards
Angshu

vbbreizh (2622) 2009-02-14 4:39

Hi John,
Beautiful shot of this nice landscape. Astonishing contrast between the "fast-flowing" river and the "slow-flowing" clouds.
Composition, light, sharpness, colors...everything is really nice !
Regards, Gilles

Hellas (5089) 2009-02-14 9:27

Beautiful place, my wife said when noticed your post, John!
As I told Latiff, I like the compliments given to each other in the spirit of competition! Especially for two photos taken at the same place but in different time.
The saturation is great while the control of apperture and shutter's speed gave a fine effect on water.
Warm regards to all of you,
Athanasios.

pablominto (39872) 2009-04-02 1:54

Hello John,

This is a very attractive composition!
The emphasis on the river works well, and the diagonal movement adds dynamics...
Good light and fine colour reproduction, attractive fluffy late summer clouds!

Greetings,
Pablo -

paura (37722) 2009-06-22 17:58

John,
The low point of view and the long exposure time reults is a very very beautiful image. Very well done!

Regards

Paulo

fserajian (4451) 2009-06-23 10:50

Hi John,

Lovely shot, once again you have captured the moving water so well I almost feel I am there.... very well composed and good framing too.
Thanks for your comments on my recent shots and your observation about the current situation in my home country. May God help the Iranian people specially the young generation in these difficult times...

Regards,

Fara

JCG (24783) 2009-06-29 21:59

Hello John,

I hope to be able to make this kind of photograph this summer in Brittany… I like much these effects of the long exposure which gives to these photographs a certain poetry. Very beautiful harmony of the colors on this wild landscape and a pleasant soft light. It misses nothing any more but the song of the river, thank you John.

With all my friendships of Versailles and with soon,

Jean-Charles