Silver Creek Cliff

Anne and I decided to go see Arcade Fire perform in St. Paul, Minnesota this past weekend. The concert was their best yet that I have been to, and I almost want to see them again in another city. In any case, each time we do the drive to Duluth or Minneapolis, I always want to stop along the way to take photos at various spots. The problem is that we are always pressed for time and either want to get to where we are going, or on the way home, get back before it gets dark.

Well, this time around, we had plenty of time on the way home so we decided to make at least one stop at a location I always wanted to explore. That location was Silver Creek Cliff. Anyone who has been to Duluth and back should instantly know the tunnel, and area I am talking about. Each time I have driven by in the past, I have seen the path on the side of the cliff. It was fantastic to actually finally do it. 

Another bonus was that the weather was absolutely perfect, at least in my mind. It was gloomy and grey. I guess I'm just a sucker for overcast and even lighting. I think it makes for great moody photos. I brought my Fuji XPro2 with me, paired with the original lens I bought when I first entered the Fuji system, the 35mm 1.4. I have bought and sold various Fuji lenses over the years and this one lens, I have kept throughout. There is just something about it. 

We parked the car in the lot, dressed up warm and headed off along the trail. The view even from the trail was beautiful, as you could see the wide expanse that is Lake Superior. Also, because of the weather, it had an almost painterly feeling to it. Along with some landscape shots, I got my wife Anne to pose for a few photos too. She's so photogenic that I could have easily spent an hour there photographing her. 

In the end we just did about a 10 minute walk up and down the trail. It was neat seeing the cliff up close and I always find it amazing how they were able to build right through it. 

Before we got back in to the car, I made Anne (safely) stand in the middle of the highway as I captured one final photo of the tunnel in the background. It was one of my favourites of the bunch. 

I also included a few photos at the end of the batch, one from our brief stop in Grand Marais of the lighthouse, and another of the lookout just before the border. Thanks for viewing!

A Long Time Coming

I say in the title it has been a long time coming because it feels like ages since I just got outside and walked around to take personal photos, not something I'm paid to do. Don't get me wrong, I love paid work and I hope it only gets busier, but everyone now and again I need to get out and shoot for myself. That is exactly what I did this evening. 

Originally, I wanted my wife Anne to join me but she just wasn't feel up for it. So because it was just me, I decided to make it into a photo walk. I grabbed my trusty X-Pro2 which I have been neglecting for quite some time. I usually use my Nikon gear for all my paid work. I had the X-Pro2 paired with the 35mm 1.4, which is probably my favourite lens out of any I own. I just love the character and tones it creates.

As with most of my photo walks, I don't really plan a route. I did want to end up at Calico for a cappuccino, so that was my destination. The good thing about this time of year is that the sun is low around 5:00pm which makes for soft(er) light. So I was able to play with some shadows that weren't too harsh. I didn't really focus on people like I have done in the past, but my favourite shot of the walk was actually of a person. Go figure. The header image of the man on his phone against the wall, was literally shot from the hip as I was walking. I didn't want to stop and compose because I liked how he was looking down.

The rest of the photos in this series were just things that caught my eye, whether it was based on colour, pattern or sometimes shadows. Everything here was processed in Lightroom and the black and white images were done through Silver Efex Pro which I really hope doesn't fade away anytime soon as a program.

Thanks for viewing!

County Fair

The weather just keeps getting a bit warmer by the day, and since I had to work most of it, I knew I had to get out for at least a short while in the evening. That's just what I did. I grabbed my X-Pro2 and 35mm 1.4 lens and took a stroll through County Park. It only ended be being about a 30 minute walk, but I came away with some decent photos. 

I'm noticing more and more that anytime I see a playground outside I am always drawn to it. Of course, when there aren't children around. I think it's the bright contrasty colours of a lot of the outdoor playgrounds these days. I remember growing up, all we had was a tire on a chain and maybe a slide mounted on hard pavement. Kids definitely have it much better then I did. 

Once I made my way through the park I ended up in the County Fair Mall parking lot. There is still a lot of dirty melting snow everywhere so I tried to focus on the details instead, getting in nice and close. One of my favourite spots in this specific parking lot is the old Canadian Tire which has been closed for many many years. I always have fond memories of biking all the way up to County Fair when I was a kid just to buy tennis balls. I'm not sure why I remember that, but I do. Meanwhile, I can't remember what I ate for breakfast 2 days ago. Go figure. 

I didn't take as much time as I usually do during the walk to take photos. I'm still, somehow getting over a month long (and going) cold so I didn't want to spend too much time outside. The walk did allow me to get my fix of photography in for the day. Perhaps, tomorrow I'll feel better. 

Thanks for stopping by!