Fall Colors arrived early, September 2023

The fall colors started early and all of a sudden there was a lot of reds, oranges and yellows but also still lots of greens. We made a spontaneous trip to the north shore of Lake Superior, Minnesota. The campsites at the State Parks are mostly booked way in advance but I was lucky to find a spot at the Temperance River State park - one of my favorite parks as it is close to the lake and is one of the best spots to see the sunrise. 

We watched and photographed two sunrises - each day was very different. Lake Superior has so many moods!!

The weather was perfect and we walked the very popular Oberg Mountain loop near Lutsen. It was actually so warm that Shanti had troubles - he doesn't like the heat but there were so many people and dogs he could greet!! I have taken many photos of Oberg lake but never with such pretty clouds in the sky! Of course there is Photoshop that allows you to replace any sky with something better but I prefer whatever nature offers me. After that we climbed up to White Sky Rock, a short but steep hike but breathtaking view of Caribou Lake.

On the way home we checked Heartbreak Hill (near Tofte) - a popular fall color drive through the Superior National Forest but there was still a lot of green trees. 

The last day started out with a beautiful sunrise but as we headed home we ended up in a lot of fog. We took a hike through a forest which was very enchanting but the overlook (Marshall Mountain near Finland) was so foggy we had no view of the lakes and forest surrounding us.

Enjoy the photos and thanks for looking, Susanne

Click on the photos for a larger view.

Interested in purchasing a print? go to my website: www.soulcenteredphotography.net

 

Sunrise at the Temperance River state park

Sunrise in black and white

A tapestry of fall colors, Oberg Mountain loop

The joy of autumn

colorful maple trees

red maple tree surrounded by green

view of Oberg lake

Oberg lake with white puffy clouds

Caribou Lake, view from White Sky rock

Caribou Lake, view from White Sky rock

Temperance river

driving through the Superior National Forest

driving through the Superior National Forest

Dawn at Lake Superior

Colors of Dawn at Lake Superior

Lake Superior sunrise

Best Buds - Bill and Shanti

Foggy forest walk

Clump of birch tree in fog

Foggy forest walk

Foggy forest walk

Siskiwit River, Cornucopia, Wisconsin

A few days ago we had a very hot and humid period in our area and I decided to escape the heat and head up north. I was dreaming of cooler temperatures at Lake Superior and possibly experiencing and photographing a sunset/sunrise. I did find the cooler temps, actually so chilly that I needed to wear a jacket and was freezing when I ate ice cream at the beach. 

Unfortunately no sunset/sunrise as it was overcast the whole time (2 days) I was there.

I found myself spending most of my time in the forest and along rivers/waterfalls in the area. As is often the case things don't work out as planned! But no complaints as I feel right at home in that environment.

I had heard about the Siskiwit River near Cornucopia and was delighted to finally spend some time there. The cloudy day was perfect for river/waterfall photography. What a charming and magical place to explore. 

There are trails on both sides of the river and I checked them all out. The view points of the following photos are from  both sides. 

I was curious about the name Siskiwit and found this definition:

A freshwater fish from Lake Superior in the Great Lakes, a variety of the lake trout.

Enjoy my hike and thanks for looking, Susanne

Interested in purchasing a print? go to my website: www.soulcenteredphotography.net

 

An Unexpected Sunrise

I had been wanting to go kayaking for a while now but either the weather didn't cooperate or I was busy otherwise. Friday, July 14. looked promising so I loaded up the kayak the evening before and left early around 5:15am. As I was driving to my destination (Audie Lake in the Blue Hills, Wisconsin) I noticed how thick the clouds were but there was fog in low places.

My thoughts were, if there is no sunrise at least there will be fog and a calm lake with beautiful reflections. When I got to the boat landing I was surprised to find no fog and it was already breezy. For a moment I wasn't sure if I even wanted to go kayaking but now I was here so let's go for it! I almost didn't take my camera, thinking the cell phone is good enough for a cloudy morning. 

Sure glad I had my camera with me when all of a sudden the sun appeared as an orange red ball in the sky. As the sunrise progressed the colors changed and an unusual light permeated the whole landscape.  I figured the smoke from the canadian wildfires had entered our area again.

So it turned into a beautiful morning paddle after all with a very unexpected and unusual sunrise and morning light. I did not see or hear the loons as in other years.

The last 4 photos are from an evening 3 days prior. When I arrived the sun disappeared behind clouds. I liked the green and blue colors and texture of the sky/clouds. As always, things rarely work out as planned but it is beautiful to be in nature and get surprised.

Enjoy, Susanne

Click on the photos for a larger view.

Here are links to other blog posts with the loons: https://soulcenteredphotography.blogspot.com/2020/07/loon-watching-at-audie-lake.html

https://soulcenteredphotography.blogspot.com/2021/07/kayaking-on-audie-lake.html

Interested in purchasing a print? go to my website: www.soulcenteredphotography.net