Tag Archives: MN North: Canal Park

The Strawberry Moon Over Lake Superior

June 20, 2016Year 3MN North: Canal Parkrichardhoeg@gmail.com

Now arriving tonight at Canal Park in Duluth, the freighter Whitefish Bay under the Strawberry Moon! (and some lighthouse photos)

The first image is a particular favorite of mine. I was almost ready to call it quits last night, when I noticed the Whitefish Bay approaching the entrance to the Duluth harbor. I then positioned myself and hoped the moon would not get too high. During the wait I played around with higher ISO settings because I knew I would need a faster shutter speed to insure the ship was not blurry due to motion. In addition, I worked my zoom lens in and out, trying to insure the moon did not get too small, but also allowing me to zoom out for a wider image. I settled on 1,600 ISO. Normally I like to photograph the moon with an ISO of 100 which will yield less noise in a finished image. Finally I set my aperture open wider than normal for a moonrise (5.6) to capture more light. The end result was I was able to have an exposure of only 1/200th of a second and render the Whitefish Bay motionless.

Lake Superior Moonset!

April 22, 2016Year 3MN North: Canal Park, MN North: Rossini Roadrichardhoeg@gmail.com

Not many people can say when they arrive back at their house at 9:15 am that they’ve already been out for 4 hours! However, such was the case for me, and my morning. Awakening shortly before 5 am I realized there would be a beautiful moonset down at Canal Park. I jumped quickly out of bed, threw on some clothes, grabbed a Diet Coke and I was off a few minutes after 5 am. These three images were the result! In addition, it was fun to talk with the early morning fishermen on the South Pier. The smelt are running along Park Point, and with it the larger salmon and lake trout … which brings out both the fishermen and diving birds.

After Canal Park I drove north to the Rossini Road Wilderness. The clear skies and good light deserted me, but I still had fun watching all the ducks, increasing amount of shorebirds and one river otter … everyone was intent on catching breakfast. These two stops took me the noted four hours … back at home by 9:15 am for a late breakfast!

Moonset at Canal Park in Duluth Minnesota (Aerial Bridge)

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Rossini Road Bufflehead

Dumb Luck Birding: Ivory Gull

January 21, 2016Year 3MN North: Canal Parkrichardhoeg@gmail.com

As many of you know, an Ivory Gull has been hanging around Duluth, Minnesota for two weeks. On the second day it was present, I was privileged to view and photograph the bird including some neat flight images.

I had a few minutes before a business meeting this morning and I decided to stop by Canal Park. Not a single bird was in sight when I arrived. Suddenly I spied motion directly above my head. At that point, the rarest bird in the lower 48 lands ten feet away from me and proceeds to walk even closer. Apparently I was standing next to an offering of fish which I had not noticed, but the Ivory Gull knew the fish was on the pier.

Sometimes it just pays to be lucky! LOL!