North Shore, part 1

On April 16-17, I drove up the North Shore of Lake Superior, camera in hand.  I'm not a bird photographer.  It's not an area of interest for me, and I don't have the right lenses for it.  That said, when you see a big bald eagle sitting on top of a deer carcass 50 feet off the road, you make due with the gear you've got.  I made these photos with a 55-300mm consumer grade lens, and it shows.  The photos are good, but they are heavily cropped and the resolution is lacking.  Editing was performed in Adobe Camera Raw.

I was stationed about 250 feet away from the feast.  After a couple minutes of tolerating me (and another car that was parked closer but seemingly oblivious to the eagle) the bird took off to perch in the woods behind its meal.  I don't recall the exact location, but I think it was somewhere near Grand Marais, MN.

High Falls and Gitchi Gammi

I took a drive to the Grand Portage, MN area to see the High Falls on the Pigeon River, the border between the US and Canada,  Here is a shot of the falls from Grand Portage State Park, and a photo from Hwy 61 looking down on Lake Superior at Grand Portage.

A new camera

As luck would have it...  Famous last words.  A couple weeks ago, during the course of my daily work duties, I met a man who is a hobby photographer.  My work related purpose to be in his company last just a few minutes.  Then the important talk began.  "Excuse me, good sir, but what is that nifty looking little camera sitting upon your counter top?"

A week later I became the owner of a Sony A6000 camera.  A much smaller version of my Pentax K-3, similar, though, in that the digital sensor is the same in each camera.  I've wanted a smaller camera to carry along with me primarily while traipsing the trails upon my bicycle.  My Pentax camera is a wonderful piece of machinery, but a bit larger and heavier than I want on the bicycle with its rather limited carrying volume.  The Pentax is still my go-to camera for more artistic work when weight of the gear means nothing, like walking the rocky shore of Lake Superior.  But this little Sony is going to be a winner for cycling duty.

Here are some test images from over the past week.  No bicycling, yet.

Southwest Wisconsin.

Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Christine, Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

House on the Rock, near Spring Green, Wisconsin.  Weird.

Silverwood Park, St. Anthony, Minnesota.

Thanks for visiting.