Stand Up Paddling!

Finally got a chance to check out stand up paddling, or SUP this weekend at the Great Lake Sea Kayak Symposium in Grand Marais, Mich.

Sweet sport. Probably adding it to the repertoire, much to my saving account's chagrin.

Here are the first few quick edits:

Yep, that's right, got wet on this one. Shot from the splash zone and underwater in the shallows using a waterproof housing for my Nikon D700. Learned a bunch, mostly how much I still have to learn about shooting subsurface. And that shooting underwater in Lake Superior for about three hours will bring on mild hypothermia even in a wet suit. And that a gin and tonic (or several) is not an approved remedy for hypothermia :-\

Recent Work-Superior Outdoors

The summer issue of Superior Outdoors magazine features two of our sea kayaking images from Lake Superior Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada.

Superior Outdoors is a great little publication with a big heart based out of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The husband and wife team of Darren and Michelle McChristie have dedicated their publication to active outdoor pursuits and environmental concerns in the Lake Superior region of Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Here's the mag in their own words:

"Superior Outdoors magazine is a high quality magazine for outdoor enthusiasts packed with stunning photographs and engaging stories. Our focus is Lake Superior, with coverage that includes central Canada and the Midwestern states. We cover a wide range of topics from outdoor adventure, news and events to environmental issues and the largest, most comprehensive event listing in the region. Each issue also includes an eight page photo gallery of the best images from around the lake."

It's that last part, the eight-page photo gallery that I like best. Eight pages! If you love life on the Big Lake, you should give Superior Outdoors a read.

Here are the images Superior Outdoors is using this issue:

Till Creek Falls dwarfs a curious paddler.

Lifting fog and a gorgeous day ahead.

And here are a few more from the rugged and remote shoreline of Lake Superior Provincial Park, on Lake Superior's north east coast, in Ontario, Canada. One of my favorite places to work, play and just disappear...

Quiet campsite at twilight on a sheltered cove.

The ancient pictographs of Agawa Rock depict Lake Superior demigods.

Sunset at Agawa Beach.

Lake Superior fog, eerily beautiful to paddle in.

Stretching legs after a long day in the boats.

Waves and boulders grind pockets in the sandstone at Grindstone Point.

Evening paddle in a quiet, sheltered bay.

A bouldery bay at Cape Gargantua.

The ladies dance around the fire to stay warm.

Recent Work-Gun Dog Magazine

We're in the July issue of Gun Dog Magazine, a respected upland bird and waterfowl dog publication. The image is of my friend Kyle Miller's little Springer spaniel Lilly with a ruffed grouse during our annual Bird Camp hunting trip down in Dickinson County.

Lilly's photo accompanies an article about care for senior hunting dogs, which is appropriate because she is getting up there in years. But it's also funny to me, because she still acts like a spoiled little puppy. If I had a dollar for every time we've shooed her smelly, muddy and wet doggy butt off our sleeping bags, clothes and cots at bird camp, well then I wouldn't have to sell pictures of her to make a living!

Anyway, it was nice to work with Gun Dog, and thanks Kyle and Lilly.

Here's the shot in the mag, as well as a few others from bird camp.

Independent, self-evident, equal and unalienable

I love words, and these are some of my favorites:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...

Hard to believe Thomas Jefferson was only 33 years old when he jotted that down, isn't it?

I also love flag photos, and these are some of my favorites:

New Cover for Old Friends

My mountain biking images are featured on the cover and inside the new July issue of Silent Sports magazine. I work with the fine folks at Silent Sports quite often, you gotta love those long term positive relationships developed over several years. Check the issue out now on stands near you for the best, most in depth reporting and features on active outdoor ventures in the Midwest.

Here's a peek at the July cover, and several other recent ones too.