Cascade River State Park
Finding Inspiration and Wonder without Perfection
I try to make a yearly photography trip to Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. I’ve always found it to be so inspiring, and it seems to call to my soul. There are so many opportunities to photograph moving water, which I am especially attracted to. The air is almost always fresh and cool in the evenings, and beautiful sunsets and sunrises are commonplace.
When the water runs high after winter’s grasp loosens, these tight channels heave and churn, making for some rugged photographic opportunities. Even though we were at the beginning of May when I recorded the following video, we actually got a foot of snow that evening, so it’s helpful to be prepared for everything.
However, I also find that overpreparation for a day trip can really create a stressful environment that can hamper my creativity. With all the planning that can go into an artistic endeavor, it’s easy to be mired in the schedule and the mundane.
I find that when in nature, I leave it to nature. She knows best. All known beauty derives from Her, so who am I to place my preconceived notions and schedule to the whims of anything, really. I know that where I go I can find a shot, so why not leave the stress of timing aside and be an observer instead of a director?
Sure, I want to have a general idea of where I’m going and what the weather will be like, but when I’m heading into the world, I have no realization of what constraints will be put upon me as a photographer. And that is precisely why we do it. There has to be a challenge, a sense of discovery, and a childlike creative wonder that makes the scene special enough to press the shutter. All this is especially true when I head up to Cascade. I never have a goal to capture something specific.
I like to work with what is given to me. If it’s foggy and rainy, I try to use the glorious natural softbox and use long exposures to create milky white water flows churning over stones and boulders.
If it’s sunny and bright, I’ll shoot macro closeups in the shadows or use neutral density filters to cut the light and blur the waves out of existence.
If it’s Golden Hour, I’ll look to grab the sky along the rough shores where the river and Superior collide.
I’m usually able to find photographs that speak to me. The challenge is to translate my visual intention through my printing process, thereby capturing my subject through my physical and emotional lens.
I always feel my images are best viewed more passively in print, instead of projected at the viewer by screen. Here are a few prints I have available featuring the glory that is Cascade State Park:
The water of the Cascade River was charging that day. As I was walking up the path, I could feel the pounding through the stone and the spray that was hanging in the air settle on your face. The water was churning, flashing its well known root beer color collected from the nutrient rich peat bogs that surround the river to the north. The scent of damp earth, pine, and cedar was carried on the crisp North Woods breeze.
Archival print, matted in white:
7” x 10” print matted to 11” x 14”
12” x 16” print matted to 16”x 20”.
The piece is titled and signed on the matting.
Contact me directly for international orders and custom options.
The crisp days of a Minnesota autumn always point my thoughts to the North Shore, and cool misty streams dotted along the path to Grand Portage. The scent of the cedars and charging water purify my body and my thoughts. For all of it’s savage beauty, the North is also a reminder of the vigilance of life against the unforgiving brutality of the landscape that Nature provides. All our time allots us is a glance of a battle in the eternal war between root and stone.
Archival print, matted in white:
10” x 7” print matted to 14” x 11”
16” x 12” print matted to 20” x 16”.
The piece is titled and signed on the matting.
Contact me directly for international orders and custom options.
I was making my way up the trail and the clouds drifted in fast. The temperature dropped on the already chilly afternoon, to where by breath expelled in a thick cloud. The cedar and soil scented air was so damp that my entire body felt soaked to the core. As I prepared my gear, he skies opened up, charging the root beer colored waters as they raced down the craggy steps to Lake Superior.
Archival print, matted in white:
7” x 10” print matted to 11” x 14”
12” x 16” print matted to 16”x 20”.
The piece is titled and signed on the matting.
Contact me directly for international orders and custom options.