Yet another from this past autumn that I just got scanned...hopefully I'm not boring everyone to death. This is probably one of deeper river gorges that I've found in my home state, and has become a favorite place to photograph. This particular composition was found earlier in the summer, but it seemed that fall would be a more logical time to photograph it. I was pleased to arrive at the spot and find the overhanging tree starting to turn color. Enjoy!
Posted by Paul Wrobel on December 5, 2006 at 8:02 AM
I just love this. No complaints here.
Paul Wrobel
Romulus, Michigan
Posted by Tim Mulholland on December 5, 2006 at 12:34 PM
Joel, this is another great photo! I'm always amazed with how crisp your images look on my computer; I haven't been able to find that crisp spot in PS, yet...
Tim!
Posted by Jack Graham on December 5, 2006 at 3:47 PM
Looks like Utah to me-----one of my favorite places to shoot.
This is really nice work n the lighting on the water.
JG
Posted by Robert Helms on December 6, 2006 at 6:32 PM
This does remind me of Utah as well. Wish I had a canyon this deep close to me. Nice shot, Joel.
Posted by Robert Helms on December 6, 2006 at 6:33 PM
This does remind me of Utah as well. Wish I had a canyon this deep close to me. Nice shot, Joel.
Beyond his basic instructions, I noticed a problem with color loss and shifting when downsizing high detail images. So, my approach has been to create two layers. The top layer, I treat as he describes. After downsizing I will take the bottom (unsharpened "background") layer, rename it to "layer 0" and then move it above the sharpening layer. I then convert the layer blending mode of the unsharpened layer to "color" which will restore saturation and do away with color shifting. I have recently begun duplicating that "color" layer and setting it back to "normal" and setting the opacity at about 30% to reduce some of the sharpness to some extent. I found the pixel effect to be a bit heavy, especially on certainl LCD monitors. Anyhow, hope that helps. Feel free to let me know if any of that needs clarification.
Posted by Danny Burk on December 9, 2006 at 10:47 AM
Beautiful image, Joel. My first thought on seeing it was that it's very Zionish. Obviously others are thinking the same! Great reflected color.
Posted by David Staff on December 10, 2006 at 2:20 AM
Great picture. I love the way the stream meanders through the image. You can also feel the depth of the gorge. What part of Minnisota is this in? I have only been along the Mississippi.
David, this river flows into lake superior and is located along Minnesota's north shore, just beyond Grand Marais. It's not a state park or anything, so access is tricky (the road entrance is private property)...but I have a few tricks up my sleeve as to how to get access to the area without problems. It took me some time to figure out honestly. I really haven't seen hardly any photos of this river, and found it with a friend when scouting on a topo map.
Posted by Steve Foss on December 11, 2006 at 5:35 PM
That's a very nice image Joel. I have a spot on the Stewart River a few miles outside Two Harbors, also along the North Shore, that reminds me a bit of your image, though my spot is not as dramatic as this. As an additional note, the streams along the North Shore of Lake Superior cut through the rock escarpment that lines that region of the shore, and the red, which echoes some desert sandstone hues, is because the rock is rich in iron ore.
What a great subject for a lineup of four seasonal images, composed identically. With the slow moving water, it'll be iced up now, and there'll be snow all over. The cedars will still be green. In spring, the leaning tree will be budding, and in summer it'll be a total study of greens, reds and tannin-stained water.
Hi Steve, good to hear from you. Thanks for the kind words. Funny you bring up heading back to this gorge during the winter, I actually was just talking about it with a buddy of mine. The plan is to give it a try. I'm not sure of a precise date yet, but most likely it will happen in January after the holidays. My only potential concern would be that the parking lot (a superior hiking trail lot) wouldn't be plowed. Do you have any idea if they plow them regularily? Anyhow, if you'd be interested in meeting up and doing some photography at some point, by all means let me know. If not, that's of course alright, but the invitation is open.
I haven't been along the Stewart river. Though I have a vague recollection of where it's at. Part of the trouble that I have with the area is that access is really determined by what type of land the river/parking falls on. Thankfully, the superior hiking trail allows access to most major area's without to much of a problem if you know what your looking for. Still, the more time I spend up in north-eastern Minnesota, the more I realize that I have a lot left to find and explore. I just need to move up there so it's not such a long drive!
Posted by Steve Foss on December 17, 2006 at 9:24 PM
Joel, I'm up for a meet. I don't do much landscape work, but I do now and then. I've got the week between Christmas and New Year off, otherwise am limited mostly to weekends. I'm hopefully shooting winter owls with another photographer on the 28th (there are darn few winter owls down from Canada so far), but I'd be open for a day in there somewhere.
Just shoot me an e-mail at stevefossimages@yahoo.com.
As for moving up here, a move to Duluth/Superior could be profitable, depending on your career. A move to Ely would be very tough. We moved here from Duluth four years ago, taking big pay cuts to do it, but the cost of living is every bit as high here as it is in Duluth. Living at the "end of the road" has its price.
Discussion
13 repliesPaul Wrobel
Romulus, Michigan
Tim!
This is really nice work n the lighting on the water.
JG
Tim, I use a modified version of Marc Adamus' web sharpening technique (can be found here: http://pacificnw.naturephotographers.net/tips/photoshop.htm)
Beyond his basic instructions, I noticed a problem with color loss and shifting when downsizing high detail images. So, my approach has been to create two layers. The top layer, I treat as he describes. After downsizing I will take the bottom (unsharpened "background") layer, rename it to "layer 0" and then move it above the sharpening layer. I then convert the layer blending mode of the unsharpened layer to "color" which will restore saturation and do away with color shifting. I have recently begun duplicating that "color" layer and setting it back to "normal" and setting the opacity at about 30% to reduce some of the sharpness to some extent. I found the pixel effect to be a bit heavy, especially on certainl LCD monitors. Anyhow, hope that helps. Feel free to let me know if any of that needs clarification.
David, this river flows into lake superior and is located along Minnesota's north shore, just beyond Grand Marais. It's not a state park or anything, so access is tricky (the road entrance is private property)...but I have a few tricks up my sleeve as to how to get access to the area without problems. It took me some time to figure out honestly. I really haven't seen hardly any photos of this river, and found it with a friend when scouting on a topo map.
What a great subject for a lineup of four seasonal images, composed identically. With the slow moving water, it'll be iced up now, and there'll be snow all over. The cedars will still be green. In spring, the leaning tree will be budding, and in summer it'll be a total study of greens, reds and tannin-stained water.
Got any plans to head back there this winter?
I haven't been along the Stewart river. Though I have a vague recollection of where it's at. Part of the trouble that I have with the area is that access is really determined by what type of land the river/parking falls on. Thankfully, the superior hiking trail allows access to most major area's without to much of a problem if you know what your looking for. Still, the more time I spend up in north-eastern Minnesota, the more I realize that I have a lot left to find and explore. I just need to move up there so it's not such a long drive!
Just shoot me an e-mail at stevefossimages@yahoo.com.
As for moving up here, a move to Duluth/Superior could be profitable, depending on your career. A move to Ely would be very tough. We moved here from Duluth four years ago, taking big pay cuts to do it, but the cost of living is every bit as high here as it is in Duluth. Living at the "end of the road" has its price.