The Way We See It: minnesota

Showing posts with label minnesota. Show all posts

Saturday, September 28, 2013

September 22, 2013

Autumnal Grasses - Tamarack Nature Center, White Bear Lake
Canon 1D Mark III + Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro

Saturday September 22^nd was the autumnal equinox. The week preceding this first day of fall was unlike the pre-autumnal weeks to which I’ve grown accustom. Minnesota is known for its temperate weather where summer transitions to winter, and fall is a wish that rarely comes true. Bracing for the worst, this harvest season seems to be more summer than winter. Warm winds and dry air continue to bathe the parched landscape, and fall is hiding somewhere in the shadows. I don’t object to this extension of summer, but I can’t help wonder if our departure from the norm is a harbinger of the future.

To read more and see more images please visit our NEW SquareSpace gallery at http://btleventhal.com and blog at http://btleventhal.com/bruceleventhal/.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Box of Chocolates...

High key Lake Superior Sunrise - Kitchi Gammi Park, Duluth
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 17-40 f4.0L w/ a Tiffen Variable ND Filter

You never know what you’re going to get.

Sunday had the potential of being an epic day. Wolf pups were frequenting a hamlet near the North Shore, and I was in need of an adventure. After a bit of arm twisting and plan-shifting, I convinced my good friend Brian to join me on one final summer shoot. Having spent two weeks together photographing Costa Rica in July, and countless days in the field throughout the years, I knew that this wild idea had traction.

We left our respective homes at 3:30 a.m. and coordinated a rendezvous near the northbound freeway. Bleary-eyed and unrested, we were in a race against dawn. First stop,... Lake Superior.

Nearly three hours after consolidating the gear in one vehicle, the sun began its daily ascent. Masked by the big lake’s atmospherics, we knew that there was little time to find the optimal vista. As we sped through Duluth, we hit the Superior Scenic Highway and pulled off the road at Kitchi Gammi Park. The sun was now our enemy as it made its way through a shallow bank of clouds. I overestimated the cloud cover and knew that we now had less than twenty minutes of good light.

Water and Rocks - Kitchi Gammi Park, Duluth
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 17-40 f4.0L w/ a Tiffen Variable ND Filter

Brian and I scrambled across the rocky surface to find “the spot” where we could each craft “the shot.” As if hiking along a forked trail, he banked south and I ran north. The light was less than magic, but the surf was rough and splashed aggressively at my feet. The wet rocks caught my eye as the sun broke through a thin layer of clouds. This was far from ideal, but I was not going to let bad light damper my excitement. Rather than seek some perfect exposure, I chose to shoot both high-key (overexposed) and low-key (underexposed) images. Here, the mood was more important than the subject. Being there and experiencing life trumped my trivial desire to achieve perfection

Low key Lake Superior Sunrise - Kitchi Gammi Park, Duluth
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 17-40 f4.0L w/ a Tiffen Variable ND Filter

We never saw the wolves that day, nor made the great American landscape, but we didn’t let sleep interfere with the opportunity to seek out an adventure. This Great Lake is like a box of chocolates, sometimes you get the rich nougat and sometimes you get the mystery cream center than nobody likes.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Of Two Minds

Evening Storm - West Side of Manning Trail
Canon 5D Mark iii and Canon 17-40 f4.0L + 3-Stop ND Filter

Physical or mental state... lately it seems that I'm at opposite ends. The school year is rapidly coming to a close. To prepare for the frenzied moments of the final week, grading has been a priority and art lays quietly waiting for inspiration. Ten hours in two days... interpreting data, reading about energy, judging student thoughts. The mind wanders as I navigate through the infinite pile of papers and watch the passing of storms. I am of two minds; I am ready to free the artist, but I'm beginning to mourn the end. Photography is my passion, but teaching is what I do. Schizophrenic in the literal sense, I am an introvert walking through a jungle of patterns and space; I am an extrovert, a showman on stage relating stories that make the abstract tangible. It's almost over, but I think I am sad... I am a teacher who takes pictures and a photographer who teaches. My students stoke my passion for biology, and I will miss them during this summers' sabbatical.

As with my thoughts, these images are of two minds. The first captured at dusk on June 1, 2013 was taken during an approaching storm. The second image (below) was made at dawn just one week earlier. Less than 400 m and quiet country road separate the two perspectives, a photographic metaphor for my state of mind.

Spring Sunrise - West Side of Manning Trail
Canon 5D Mark iii and Canon 17-40 f4.0L + 3-Stop ND Filter

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Good Morning From Stillwater

St. Croix Scenic River - Stillwater Area, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii + 17-40mm f4.0L @ f16

A postcard from home...
Spring has sprung. Missed you all winter... welcome back!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

High Key Deer

Young Buck (Odocoileus virginianus) - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 50D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

On Saturday morning I took a hike looking for signs of spring. The crisp pre-dawn air bit at my hands as if to remind me that this winter was less than a distant memory. With each step I sunk into the saturated earth rich with autumnal leaves discarded and relegated to the decomposers of the world. There is a smell to early spring, and while it is mid-May, the late snow and unseasonable cold conspired to stretch winter beyond its normal limits.

So as I walked, I watched for the signs. Migratory birds sang throughout the leafless forest as crows mobbed an owl pair looking for shelter. The animals were on the move. Herds of deer froze as I crossed their paths. Stealthy in wolf country, they seemed more like pets than something wild and untamed. I would stop, stare into their obsidian eyes and project their thoughts into my own. Nearly 20 deer later, I challenged myself to see them in a different way. The sunrise bathed their weathered bodies from behind, so I chose to capture the dawn of spring juxtaposed by broken bodies that struggled to survive this winter.

Backlit and Wary (Odocoileus virginianus) - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 50D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Chasing Chickens

Chicken Dance (Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

I tend to be a minimalist when compared to most wildlife photographers. My ego might claim that this constraint is by design, a way to force creativity, but reality is less kind than the fiction. I am a minimalist because I live within a restricted budget. Teaching offers great flexibility to a creative, but financial success is not one its perks. Were it not for the budget limitations of being a public school educator, I’d probably be a walking camera store rather than a minimalist. So whenever I plan a wildlife shoot, I’ve learned to dwell on the details... details are the difference between producing something good and making something great.

Head On (Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

Prior to leaving for Moorhead MN, I studied the maps of the Bluestem Prairie SNA and searched the web for photographers who have worked these blinds in the past. Since my dates at the lek were scheduled well beyond the peak mating period, I was less than confident that this experience would be much better than my shoot at the grouse blind in 2008 (See: I Laughed in the Face of Chaos Theory).

Truce (Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

Climatic chaos (the late Minnesota spring) was my only consolation. Historically, the prairie chicken lek is most active in mid-April, and the interesting territorial behaviors diminish as daylight hours grow and the temperature warms. It turns out that this year’s unseasonably late snow might have been an unexpected bonus. The cool weather delayed the hens, so the males were forced to maintain their territories until the females were in the mood. By the time I was able to get to the blinds, the males were out in full force booming, hooting and fighting for a piece of turf. If these males intended on propagating their genes, they had better stick around to strut their stuff. In the end, it was the combo-platter of preparation and luck that conspired to create an unprecedented opportunity to capture the drama so late in the season. Lucky or good, I don’t care... May 4, 2013 was a great day to photograph prairie chickens in Northwest Minnesota.

Get Out! (Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

In the next post, I’ll focus on the gear and techniques I used to get the shots.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

I Laughed in the Face of Chaos Theory

After the Dance (Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

I spent the pre-dawn hours of April 20, 2008 in an observation blind at Crex Meadows Wildlife Management Area. It was predictably cold, and as daylight approached, I feared that we were in for a tough shoot. A heavy sky blanketed the prairie with gray, and the grouse we hoped to photograph appeared to have all but abandon their lek. Four cloistered hours later, we managed to produce a few “keepers” (see Tip #63), but I was far from satiated.

Booming(Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

Expectation is the wildlife photographer’s curse. While there have been occasions that I have happened upon an interesting nature event, most of my good work is the result of research and repetition. Pre-planning a trip and documenting annual ephemeral patterns is the only way I can manage to shoot with some degree of predictability. However, as pessimistic as it sounds, it is important to prepare for the disappointment. While animal behavior can be defined by statistics, and climate data can suggest a trend, chaos (“the butterfly affect”) influences the patterns we see on any given day.

Choose Me! (Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

Preparing for a shoot requires a plan to cope with the unexpected. Just when a pattern becomes evident, you’ll find that predictable events of the past may not be easily predicted in the future. Unlike a studio shoot where light can be controlled and a model can be posed, ecological systems dictate nature’s events. One perturbation to life’s chaotic web often results in an unintended consequences. It is the unpredictability that draws me to this craft. If it were easy, I’d be bored and the pursuit of my art would relegated to someone else.

I Dare You to Cross the Line (Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

So it was with my prior experience in the blinds at Crex Meadows and the recognition that there is no “sure thing,” that I embarked on my weekend adventure. A rain/sleet mix accompanied me as I traveled towards the northwest. Arriving near sunset, I had enough time to check-in at the lodge, but lost the opportunity to check-out the blind. I set my alarm for 3:45 a.m., and laughed in the face of chaos theory.

Deflated (Tympanuchus cupido) - Bluestem Prairie, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

Watch the blog for future posts about the ecology of the Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) and discussions about the making the images.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Found It!

Fairy Falls - Stillwater, MN
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 17-40L @ f16

On March 23 my blog was a plea for some relief.
Winter 2013 had us all by the short hairs, its relentless grip was wearing on the collective psyche. While climate change deniers are likely to hail this frigid blip as evidence of global cooling, I'm not up for the debate nor the battle, I just want spring.

To celebrate a respite from Minnesota's longest season, I took a hike on this 64 ℉ day. Birds chirped a hesitant song in a way that mimicked my own trepidations. I've been the fool too many times this year, and I fear that its not over yet. Sure the trees were budding, but while walking up this river carved canyon, I couldn't help wonder if the weather gods were still planning a bit of fun.

I found spring... it's warm today, but I'm not predicting anything about tomorrow.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Deep Knowledge

Wet Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) - Banff National Park, Canada
Canon 7D + Canon 300 f2.8L IS

Cliché warning.... the world wide web is the great equalizer.

New information streams at a unattainable rate, so I resort to summary sources to fill the immense cognitive vacuum; born is the literate poser. Original works take too long to digest, are cluttered by their obtuse detail, and often mask the bottom line. A three hour investment on the source yields deep knowledge of minutia and little else. Science Daily and Science News are my crutch, I am a poser.

Crane Lake - Lake Country, MN
Canon 7D + Tokina ATX-II 12-24mm f4.0

Today’s world of bits, bytes, and data create an opportunity for many while diluting greatness that might be lurking among the throngs of web participants. In the near past, it was easy to sort through the trash and find nuggets of gold. Outstanding works of art, literature and science seemed to radiate from within the pile, but today’s trash heap is so dense that the singularities are buried too deep to see.

Spring Crane (Grus canadensis) - Manning Trail, MN
Canon 40D + Canon 300 f2.8L IS + Canon 2x Converter Mk II

Like many, I am web junky. I frequent the usual sources like the NYTimes.com, Politco, HuffingtonPost, ScienceDaily, TechNews, and DPReview. Far from knowledgeable, I know a little about everything and a lot about nothing. Knowledge is good, but deep knowledge is better. In teaching biology, I find that my years of investment in the field, lectures, and labs are the platform for my classroom creativity. Deep knowledge serves me well when working with neophytes, but the farther I am removed from my formal training, the shallower I become. I try to leverage my losses with a voracious appetite for the ubiquitous glossy summaries available to us all... the web is the great equalizer for a homogenizing society.

Gondola Sunrise - Venice, Italy
Canon 5D Mk I + Canon 24-105 f4.0L IS

The context for my lament points directly towards my passion for seeing nature and being a participant in this world. The skills I developed with film are the foundation from which I now work the digital platform. Exemplary work, once relegated to the few willing to invest the sweat to learn, is now readily available to the masses. Like the world wide web, digital is the great equalizer. Average shooters become experts in months instead of years, and images that once took years to conceive are produced and shared freely every day. Deep knowledge serves us well when striving to be the best, but remedial skills coupled with amazing technology now makes fools gold glitter with brilliance.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Impressionism V (End of Series)

The Lake's Edge
Canon 5D mark I + Canon 20mm f2.8 @ f16

It's April 11 and we are in the middle of a "Winter Storm Warning." I awoke to sleet, snow and reckless drivers. Stories of spinouts, flipped trucks and gridlock greeted me during the morning commute. We are hardy folk in MN, but we're ready for the respite the accompanies spring. This has absolutely nothing to do with impressionism, it's simple a brief vent in the midst of another endless winter.

Bokeh
Canon 40D + Sigma 120mm-300 f2.8 HSM @ f2.8

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Impressionism IV

Reflections of the St. Croix - St. Croix River, MN

See the leading post about Impressionism HERE

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Impressionism III

The Drake and The Swan (Anas platyrhyncos & Cygnus buccinator)
Canon 5D mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Winter Diary (Post VII)

Feet First
Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) are an ideal subject for the winter naturalist.
White bodies contrasting with black extremities seem produce a form that seem
to captivate my imagination.

Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

"Spring" break is over today, and with it ends this winter diary... The "A-Job" takes priority and pays the bills, so this blog will return to its weekly rant about travel, ecology, evolution or anything photographic that comes to mind...
Embrace the cold and shoot the winter, it's that rare treat that always comes too soon and leaves too fast.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Winter Diary (Post V)

Mallard Roost (Anas platyrhynchos)
Disappointed after an eagle spooked two otters, I wondered where the waterfowl went.
Found Them!
Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Winter Diary (Post III)

After the Owls
Shot on February 23, 2013 this photo was made as the sun was setting.
With nearly 500 miles on the Jeep we saw very few owls
but many amazing landscapes.
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 24mm f3.5L TSE

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Winter Diary (Post II)

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) - Minnesota
Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS w/ Canon 1.4x vi

Many nature photographers and enthusiasts take a hiatus during the winter months. To be honest, I can't blame them. Years of shooting in the bitter cold takes its tole on the extremities. My fingers, toes and tip of my nose now fears the frost. It's hard not to question my own sanity, yet... I persevere. I console myself with the naive belief that I am unique in this craft and that few are willing to capture the harsh months like I do.

In a few days I turn 48. As I approach 50, I am increasingly curious about how these experiences impact my longevity. Does the solitude during a winter shoot save me as many years as the cold takes away? I doubt I'll ever know, just like I doubt I'll ever stop.

In my last post, Fool Me Twice, I shared a treasured experience with otters that emerged from an ephemeral break in the ice. During the next five posts I spare you my words and just share some of what I've seen this winter. It's been a good year so far, now I'm looking forward to what follows 47.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Grus canadensis

It isn't often that I choose to do a photo essay without words to accompany the imagery. I often use this blog as platform to educate readers about evolution, ecology, image-making or Minnesota. In breaking with my traditional pattern, I'll let the photos speak for themselves and hope that you enjoy this migration story.

Grus canadensis - Crex Meadows, WI
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Jekyll and Hyde

Stony Point in Black and White - Hwy 61 Scenic Drive, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii & Canon 24mm f3.5L TSE

A story about the stark contrast in one’s humanity, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde symbolize both the best and worst in any situation, moment or time. Say their names and the imagination runs wild. They are good and evil, Yin and Yang, light and dark all wrapped into a single package; he is the misguided man who wants it all.

Owl Landscape (Aegolius funereus) - Hwy 61 Scenic Drive, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii & Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

February is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A time of stark contrasts where daylight grows and temperatures fall. Void of life, its leafless forests reveal the gems who hide in a summer’s shadow. The mass Exodus that began in August leaves the hardy behind, where survival is intimately linked to a well managed energy budget.

Contrast - Hwy 61 Scenic Drive, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii & Canon 24mm f3.5L TSE

Yet the dearth that is February includes small nuggets of gold. One’s barren woods is another’s cornucopia. While resources are depleted to the north, ours are free for the taking and opportunistic migrants seeking easy food will see the Jekyll in my February’s Hyde.

Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus) - Hwy 61 Scenic Drive, MN
Canon 7D + Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Fowl Weather....

Winter Wood duck (Aix sponsa) - Vadnais Heights, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300 f2.8L IS on a 5 deg F Day

Just a few promised images produced on February 3, 2013. The product of "The Hammers," these pics were definitely worth the pain!

Agitated Drake (Anas platyrhynchos) - Vadnais Heights, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300 f2.8L IS on a 5 deg F Day

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Celebration?

On Solid Water - Gooseberry State Park, MN
Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 100mm L Macro IS

It was 41℉ (5 ℃) during yesterday’s commute. Less than 24 hours later, the temperature has plummeted 34 degrees. We now expect that tomorrow’s daytime high will be -17 ℉ (-27 ℃).

Winter on Lake Superior - Grand Marais, MN
Canon 1D Mark II + Canon 17-40mmL @ 17mm

2012 was the warmest year on record in Minnesota, and January 2013 has continued the trend until now. Broad climatic shifts now seem to be the norm. A state known for its predictably cold winter now seems more like the moderate East Coast weather that I recall from my youth. While the current bitter temperature challenges my ability to expose, compose and shoot, it is a welcome change. Minnesota ice is back... and I hope that it sticks around for a while.