Finishing the day at Vermilion Falls

[Steve Foss]

Uncharacteristically for late August, the BWCA and surrounding regions seem chock full of water, and the Vermilion River was no exception.

I spent the day with Jeremy (aka Spearing Maching on the HSO/FM forums). We spent the morning touring out to the end of the Tomahawk near the Pow Wow Trail, and headed up the Echo Trail in the p.m., finishing up near dark by Crane Lake at Vermilion Falls.

We wanted long exposures and fuzzy water, and the sheer volume and speed of the flow through the Vermilion Falls chute helped with that. Since we didn't both have neutral density or polarizing filters to artificially darken the scene and allow for very slow shutter speeds, we waited until near sundown, when the chute got dark and we were rewarded with shutter speeds from 5 to 13 seconds.

Here are a few of the results.

All three with the Canon 1Ds Mk3 and Canon 24mm f1.4L Mk2

Iso50, 6 seconds @ f22, tripod, remote shutter release

Iso50, 10 seconds @ f22, tripod, remote shutter release

Iso1000, 1/30 @ f2.8, handheld

[USRanger]

I like that last one, Steve. Great mix of texture and I love all the colors of the foreground, foliage, water and background.

[wishing for walleyes]

I really like the first picture.Very very nice.

[Dbl]

Dreamy work!

[Nymph]

That first one is sweet.

[MN Shutterbug]

The first one is magnifico.

[Birdsong]

I love these--especially the first two. Some day...

[Jim Almquist]

Those are some sweet shots Steve. Sure looks like a great outing with some outstanding weather.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Excellent work Steve.

If you are shooting the full res. 21mp,how does the puter handle it? any difference?

[Spearing Machine]

Well I finally have a second to sit and rest. I contacted Steve Foss early last week wondering if he had any openings to go on a photo excursion with him and to my luck he did. We arranged for this past Monday. I headed up to Ely from Little Falls on Sunday and visited the Soudan Underground Mine SP before getting to Bearhead Lake SP where I tented out for two nights. I also visited the North American Bear Center in Ely Sunday as well. Monday Steve and I headed out for probably one of my favorite summer days this year. I can’t even start listing the amount of things that Steve taught me and helped me with. He is an incredibly knowledgeable man and has some great stories and wildlife encounters to talk about as well. I am in the process of purchasing PSE7 so I am not able to edit my photos so they do appear slightly different than those that Steve submitted. Yet still not bad for some new techniques that I learned. Thanks Steve for an awesome outing and I look forward to catching up with you over Winter break to try for some Lakers and maybe get out and shot a few more photos.

Anyone looking to enhance or increase their photography knowledge and have a great chance at getting a couple of "wall hanger" photos should highly consider booking Steve for a photo excursion. You will see some parts of NE Minnesota that are absolutely stunning. Steve makes things very understandable for a newbie and is very patient while making the day full of stories, excitement and brilliant photo opportunities. Thanks again Steve!!

I finished up my trip Tuesday by visiting the International Wolf Center and then heading out of Ely down #1 to Tettegouche SP, Manitou SP, Split Rock SP, and Gooseberry SP. About all I can say is it was probably one of the best trips I have taken in a long time and well for the missed work.

Here are just a couple shots from my excursion with steve and other spots I visited on the journey.

[roughfish29]

stunning

[Birdsong]

Nice!!! I love the wolf and berries, especially.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks Jeremy! Sure was a fun day, and you posted some cool images here. Any questions you have on post-processing when you get PSE7, shoot me an e-mail or post your questions on here.

[eyeguy 54]

Nice stuff guys. Shovel point is close to where we camp.

[Steve Foss]

Excellent work Steve.

If you are shooting the full res. 21mp,how does the puter handle it? any difference?

Sorry, just saw this.

It handles it slower than an 8 Mp capture, but otherwise, no. And since I'm shooting large jpeg, it's not too much of a slowdown. If I was shooting RAW and converting, it would be quite a difference in computer speed.