Familiar Places and New Faces.

Hollow Rock

I had been struggling to create images the last couple of months. It's been a warm winter with very little snow and everything is brown. It's not quite ideal for landscape photography and doesn't really inspire me to get out and shoot. A few months ago, I had reached out to a few photographers I follow and admire on social media and asked if they wanted to join me for a few days photographing the north shore of Minnesota and they all said yes. The photographers are Mick and Jimmy of brotherbrotherphotopgraphy and Dan from d2photographic. Mick and Jimmy share an Instagram account. They both have very similar style of shooting so feels quite coheasive. Dan shoots on various film cameras, mostly using larger format and some medium format.

The trip got off to bad start since since Dan got sick just before were about to leave and Mick and Jimmy's van was possibly nearing the end of it's life and Dan was going to be their ride. Alas, they still made the trek up with their van. Both Mick and Jimmy have been up to the north shore numerous times, way more than I have. The work they do up here is beautiful. There's nothing flahsy about their style, it's just real and honest photography. It's something I wish I would see more of on social media, but I guess it just makes them standout more in my eyes.

I have been to the north shore five times now. Twice in the fall and three times in the winter. Every time I've been here, I am always humbled by the beauty. The entire shoreline is my favorite place I've ever been. From the rugged coastline, to the numerous waterfalls, there's no shortage of beauty. It's a place I hope everyone can experience at least once in their life.

Cascade River State Park

On this trip, I wanted to photograph some of the places I've been before but also be open to experiancing new places. I also didn't want to make concrete plans for the locations each day. Instead, I wanted to just go with the flow and keep an open mind. Sometimes making too many plans can be a distraction and since I've been in photography rut, I didn't want to think too much. Mick and Jimmy had just the solution for that. We visited classics like Black Beach, and Hollow Rock, but we also stopped to photograph along Cascacde River State Park, George Washinton Pines, Crystal Bay, and my personal favorite Mt. Josephine. While it's not a very long hike if you park near the top, it is quite steep in spots. When paired with the snow and me being out of shape, it's quite the hike. But once you reach the top, the views are spectaluar. If you look closely, you can see a small strip of land off in the distance. That strip of land is Isle Royale.

The view from atop Mt. Josephine

This was my first time at this location and we actually made the trek up here twice on the trip. Once during the mid morning after photographing Hollow Rock. The skies were partly sunny and we were hoping there would be some selective lighting on the islands off in the distance, but that didn't happen. It was still worth the climb. The last morning we were here, the weather called for party cloudy skies around sunrise so we woke up at 5:30 and left the hotel around 5:45 to make it in time for sunrise. There were moments when we thought the light could really kick off, but this was the best it could do. While the sun was hitting Isle Royale off in the distance, it never quite reached the islands. That being said, I still quite like this image and it might be my favorite from the trip.

At the beginning of the year, I made it a goal to connect with other photographers. Landscape photography can be a solitary pursuit. Most of the time it's usually just me alone in nature, which I don't mind. I find that I tend to work better when I am alone. Not only are you limiting distractions, but you don't have to worry about getting in way of others composition. However, sometimes it's nice to be with like minded photographers. We can brainstorm together and offer support for one another.

I am glad I finaly got to connect with Mick and Jimmy in person. Not only are they incredible photographers, but they are also extemely nice guys. I'm thankful they wanted to join me on this trip and thankful for them showing me this new location that I will for sure be coming back to on my next visit, whenever that may be.

Cascade River State Park