Brule River

This is another shot from my snowshoeing trip up around Grand Marais, MN about a month ago. The lighting during that trip was absolutely horrible, but I tried to make due with what I had!

This is a shot from Judge C.R. Magney SP. We snowshoed the trail down to Devil's Kettle, and my friend slipped on the stairs on the way down, he ended up sliding on his butt down 5 flights of those stairs, laughing the whole time! It reminded of a little kid doing that at home and making that weird laugh from the constant bouncing! So instead of trying to hike back up those with camera gear, we hiked along the frozen river, what an amazing hike! This is about halfway through that hike!

I'm not very pleased with the lighting here, especially on the trees, I tried my best to bring the color out but I still don't think it does the trees any justice.

Comments and critiques appreciated.

Thanks,

Ben

1D Mark III - 35-135mm @ 35mm - tripod/cable release

ISO 50 - f/16 - 0.4 seconds

The ice and snow formations are quite interesting. I've been there/done that in terms of sliding down frozen staircases along the north shore - and that particular staircase is a long one to do it on! I don't know what you're using for snowshoes now, but my current 'shoes are so heavily cleated that it's be virtually impossible to have that happen short of there being a lot of fresh powder. Hiking frozen rivers always makes me nervous, but it can certainly be rewarding. The more intimate composition is effective here, and helps make the ice formations the focal point of the image. In some senses, I think this may have worked better without the trees on top. Granted, it would have less sense of place, but it'd simplify it a bit. I've been itching to get up along Superior myself, and probably will give it a shot as soon as my tax return is in (soon!). Thanks for sharing this.

Oh...where did you sleep? Did you winter camp, or did you opt for warmer arrangements?

Joel,

I use the MSR Lightning Ascent 30" snowshoes, so mine are completely serrated around the edges and have built-in crampons, I had no issue with the stairs fortunately! I just got these snowshoes this year and they are amazing, by far the best I've ever used! We stayed at the Best Western in Grand Marais, I would've like to camp, but I'm a poor college student and unfortunately I can't afford the winter gear that I need! I plan on having the gear next year so I can do a two week long trip in Voyager NP! I also plan on getting up there once I get my tax return, so hopefully in a couple weeks! I also get nervous about hiking on frozen rivers, the only reason we did was because there was fresh cross country tracks that went all the way from Devil's Kettle to the bridge, so we just follow the ski tracks back!

I like this shot, Benjamin, nice colors and it leads my eye to the rear nicely. I have aquestion and it is; Is this the same Brule River that flows in NW Wisco (Bayfield Co.)?

Interesting scene. I concur with Joel's suggestion to make this even more intimate by eliminating the trees from the top of the image; I also might consider a very small crop from the bottom to limit the FG a bit.

Looks like an interesting place. I might have also tried a landscape shot from the same location. Hard to tell if that would have been better.

Very nice image. I like the composition you have presented, but wish the shadows weren't as deep in the trees. The image tells an interesting story in and of itself, but I also enjoyed the story about the image as it unfolded. Thanks for sharing this very compelling photo.

Bruce,

Honestly, I do not know. I know it flows through the Gunflint trail, but thats about it! I could look into it when I find my map of that area!