Category Archives: Year 3

Crescent Moonset

November 5, 2016Year 3MN North: Duluth Harborrichardhoeg@gmail.com

Last night at 10 pm it was 55F (13C), clear and no wind. Early November in many years means the lakes in northern Minnesota are beginning for form ice, but not 2016. The result of the this ridiculously warm weather means the late migrants are staying up in Manitoba and Ontario, where the lakes are also ice free.

Given the heat wave and lack of birding opportunities, I have started to stalk the harbor front at night. I took this photograph of the Lee Tregurtha, a great lakes freighter, as it loaded coal at Midwest Energy in Superior, Wisconsin with the crescent moon setting behind her. Kind of neat that I just heard a presentation yesterday about the Tregurtha and her sister ships at the Gales of November Conference . This event is sponsored by Duluth’s marine museum, and is always a fine event.

A “Superior” Morning … Photoshop is not a Dirty Word!

November 4, 2016Year 3MN North: Two Harborsrichardhoeg@gmail.com

A lone fisherman looks out over Lake Superior shortly after sunrise as the Edwin Gott steams past the Two Harbors, Minnesota breakwater. The James Oberstar may be seen in the distance, having left Duluth earlier in the morning. A “superior” morning!

Now … yes, I did use Photoshop Elements for this image.

Did I change the color? No.
Did I change the exposure? No.
What changes did I make to this image?

My edits to this photograph were minor, but important. Other than some small sharpening to increase clarity of the image, my main edits were judicious use of cropping. If you have digital zoom turned on for your camera, please turn it off! Post processing with an “in focus” image allows the photographer to decide via cropping to better tell the desired story, or a different story. Thus, why use digital zoom, when one may always crop later in post processing better tell your story. Remember, a good image tells a story … thus a “superior morning” (as in Lake Superior 15 minutes after sunrise)

Here are two different crops of my image. I like the first crop better as it brings out the fisherman, the second freighter in the distance, the ore boat’s wake and birds. The second image still is nice … with some foreground and a buoy.

Image #1

Image #2

Talons!

November 3, 2016Year 3MN North: Lakewoodrichardhoeg@gmail.com

Even though Hawk Ridge is “closed” for the year, some of the best raptor watching occurs in November. As in the past, I find that one finds quite a few Bald Eagles, Red-Tailed Hawks and Rough Legged Hawks migrating along the North Shore of Lake Superior.

I particularly like to bird the Two Harbors Expressway between Duluth and Stoney Point, Old Superior Street, and Scenic 61. The raptors tend to hunt 1 to 2 hours after sunrise, and for the same period before sunset.

This photo of a Bald Eagle was taken this morning on Scenic 61. As a fyi, I wateched this eagle for exactly six minutes with my finger poised on the shutter. It was not concerned about me, just about finding a late breakfast.

For a pic of a Red-Tailed Hawk which I found two days ago on the Expressway a bit before sunset, follow this link.

For you non northern Minnesota types, it is perfectly okay to pull over on the Expressway. Just pull way off the road (the shoulder is big) and bird from the grassy areas. Traffic now that all the leaf peepers have gone back home to the Twin Cities is not that bad!