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:
