Tree. Upper Falls.
Gooseberry Falls State Park

On a whim, Terri, Bob, and I decided to drive up to the Duluth area. This is exactly the kind of spontaneity I like. Once past Duluth, we took the scenic drive along the north shore. Scenic. Lots of rustic charm. It has been a long time since I was up this way, and I was really enjoying the ride. Just past Two Harbors, we stopped at Gooseberry Falls. A very popular park, it has been modified with several man-made structures. For my initial hike, I decided on the digital camera. After a couple of images, I began to realize there is a lot of potential here for a more comprehensive shoot with the better equipment. Expanding on that notion, this is where I decided I could spent some of my free time shooting around Minnesota. >> The "spark", so to speak.

We lingered around the falls area for a while. A few families strolled by, noticed my camera equipment and must have figured I knew what I was doing, each group asked if I could take there picture so everyone is in the shot. Let it be known, I really like taking pictures so this doesn't bother me at all. In fact, since I'll never see the results of these images, I wonder how they'll turn out, if the families like them, etc. (but only for a moment...)

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Split Rock Lighthouse.
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

Traveling a little further north, we came to the Split Rock Lighthouse park. The lighthouse itself was closed, but the park was open. This time I broke out the 6x7 camera and got a few rolls off.

I wasn't too thrilled with the quality of light on this day, but I knew I would have to come back and explore this area further.

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Lake Superior.
Duluth, Minnesota

On the drive back, we stopped off by the shore of Lake Superior. This area reminded me of the type beach scene you might see at the ocean. Sand, wispy grass, things like that. Considering the lake is as large as an ocean, I'm not surprised.

Here is an example of my exploration of unexpected results without the conscious knowledge of what I'm seeing at the time of the shoot. There are certain things/scenes that strike my attention while I'm out shooting, usually patterns or contrasting colors. After reviewing the results, I'm running into these nice little surprises of things that are in the image. The "face" in the center-left section of the image at right reflect this.