Dawn Piercing Morning Storm Photo

Photographer’s Note

Dawn Piercing Morning Storm
Stony Point
Near Knife River, Minnesota

As much for the image this post is about the story ...

As you leave Duluth heading North East up the coast of Superior you can take scenic highway 61 .. just before the small town of Knife River there is a gravel road that takes you around a small bit of land called Stony Point .. A great place to photograph from .. where you can be off the main road and still parked right along the shore ..

Unfortunately there are a large number of signs along the Stony Point road stating "No Parking 10 pm to 6 am" .. presumably so the locals can get some sleep .. well sunrise was at 5:21 am ... so I quietly waited as long as I could .. although I figured if I was quiet and didn't wake the locals the chances of the police hunting down dawn hungry photographers in this isolated spot was pretty slim ..

I hauled my gear down onto the "beach" .. I decided to forgo perhaps the better foreground stones to catch the sun .. set up my tripod got the camera mounted when ......

I noticed I had set up right next to a very fresh leg of a deer .. looking around .. I was in the middle of a recently deceased deer that had been dismembered all along the stretch of shore I happened to choose ..

needless to say that made me a bit edgy .. I took my shots and didn't hang around for very long ..

My hope is that it was just a road kill that had been taken down to the beach by coyotes (which are thick) .. but the area is also home to bear and wolves among other things ...

I did manage to get this image without being rained on or eaten ..

cunejo200, danos, jhm, paura, asajernigan, Charo, gunbud, Cricri, Didi, parbo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

feather (50144) 2009-07-10 11:18

Scary story John! There is an unusually small bit of red where the sun is coming up, but our eye goes directly to it. The reflected red on the wet rock is very odd too. What I like best is the misty atmosphere created by the slow shutter on the moving water at the edge of the lake. Another good dawn image for your collection
Kath

tola_ch2004 (496) 2009-07-10 11:37 [Comment]

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cunejo200 (7243) 2009-07-10 13:14

Hi John,
Amazing what you had to go through to photograph this beauty. I certainly like the predominance of greyish/bluish hues with splattering of colors from the setting sun. A high quality image, it is well composed. Greetings!
Danilo

Buin (38258) 2009-07-11 0:09

Hallo John!
A most impressive and beautiful photo! This must have been a breathtaking, nearly overwhelming moment. The impression of "a new begin" can't be shown more beautiful and impressive. A photo to marvel ...
Greetings - this time from Austria!
Frank

jhm (83328) 2009-07-11 1:33

Hello John,

A picture for a dream image, you can long look at about the lake and the morning foggy
What I like best is the misty atmosphere created by the slow shutter (F14) on the moving water at the edge of the lake.
Captured and composed are superb.
Very well done, TFS.

Bon weekend,
John.

danos (33272) 2009-07-11 1:37

Hi John,
nice the sunrise with the sun to be an eye catcher of the scene.I believe that if you could remained a little bit more, the capture of the sunrise would was still more fascinating. Informative your note about your difficulties about the Stony Point.

Have a nice weekend,Danos

paura (39258) 2009-07-11 5:28

John,
Very very beautiful photography here. You take your shot through your soul. Excellent photo job.

Regards

Paulo

asajernigan (14284) 2009-07-12 6:28

John,
This is a great sunrise shot. The threatening sky adds contrast to the bright spot of sunrise. The long exposure works well giving us a well saturated image. The lighting is great and the photo has nice sharpness and DOF.
TFS,
Asa

pablominto (41354) 2009-07-12 8:02

Hello John,

The huge lake seems to stretch into eternity, and there is... the setting sun!
Amazing colour palette, and the moment is skillfully captured...

Greetings,
Pablo -

darek1978 (11499) 2009-07-13 9:54

Hi John,
I like this an fantastic effect, created by the long shutter speed with this superb mood. It was worthwhile to get up so early, but I'm not jealousy about the little surprise you got there. A deafening silence and a wonderful display of emptiness.
Best regards,
Darek

Charo (31803) 2009-07-13 14:47

Hello John,
An image almost unreal. Magnífico the effect of water with these small reflections of the sun.
Great atmosphere and perspective.
Best wishes,
Charo

gunbud (28161) 2009-07-13 20:08

Hi John,
This shot really illustrates the vastness of Lake Superior.
Love rich foreground textures and the bit of rising sun reflecting on the rocks.
The misth along the shoreline is magical as it the bright orange along the horizon.
Regards, Tom

jafadabret (40323) 2009-07-15 2:32

Bonjour John
Cette photo est surprenante par l'ambiance de fin du monde qu'elle dégage. Le soleil et son reflet éclairent cet ensemble aux couleurs bleu foncé.
Du grand art !
Jacques

amaryllis (17816) 2009-07-16 8:10

Bonjour
une superbe réalisation bien réussie de ce lever de soleil et tempête, une atmosphère bien rendue ici; un travail de qualité
juliette

jemaflor (39759) 2009-07-16 10:43

Hi John,
A great contrast, well captured and interesting composition with this fg and the blurry effect, well managed.

Cricri (43738) 2009-07-20 13:03

Hi John
D'abord bravo pour le courage, je pense, meme je suis certaine que je ne serais pas restée a cet endroit,
l'ambiance particulière est bien rendue, l'effet de l'eau et le petit reflet du soleil, une image très rèussie, bravo
Good evening
cricri

Waylim (11157) 2009-07-22 10:54

Hi John,
I saw this iamge when you first posted it. I decided not to comment on it because it sort of took me back to a time of bad memories. Though that is definately not your intention here, but in contrary, the slow shutter speed give the water smooth and misty texture with peaceful and tranquil essence. the sunset in the distance and the little bit of reflection is also very special, however that is the element that disturbed me. It reminded me of bomb going off in the distance, like I remeber when I was a child back in Loas, in the dark cloudy sky, there was that little flash of orange flare and then the thunderous sound followed, if it get any closer, we would have to evacuate our little town.
Now I said it, don't feel bad about it. It's my personal memories.
Anyway, great shot regardless. At least it makes me feel something good or bad.
Way

danyy (69447) 2009-07-22 23:25

Hello John,
c'est très audacieux comme prise de vue, mais elle nous plange dans l'ambiance de moments très rarement photographiés de la journée.
All the best.
Daniel.

Didi (36442) 2009-07-30 11:04

Hi John
Very nice touch of fire on the far horizon.
I think you were travelling in an another dimension.
Great picture.
Take care.

parbo (11014) 2009-08-06 17:39

Hello John,

What a story in an early morning. The reddish parts are just fantastic in your almost single colored scene. Creative choice also for reserving more space to water side. Congratulations.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

lorenzetti (1329) 2009-08-09 7:32

Hello John,

All is grey, only the little point of the sun that appears gives color to the photo. Wonderfull !

Kind regards - Franco

rasto1893 (1803) 2009-08-10 5:35

Hello John,
beautiful simplicity with great effect, very nice...

My best regards
Rastislav

fserajian (4569) 2009-10-07 10:06

Hi John,

What a timing....this is a beautiful shot, well framed with such an interest all around specially in such low lighting condition. well done

Regards

Fara