Gunflint Trail

A nice video clip produced by writer/producer Lisa Wagner on the Gunflint Trail. This clip is an excerpt from her more complete video for the Gunflint Trail Association.

Click on the title above: GUNFLINT TRAIL

Many of the areas discussed in this video will be part of our new book, PADDLE NORTH due out November 2010.

Enjoy!

PADDLE NORTH-ORDER NOW!

The new book, PADDLE NORTH, featuring the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provincial Park is now available for pre-orders. The book will be released November 1st, 2010.

In The End

Every once in a while I hear actors telling interviewers that they never or rarely watch their performances on TV or film.
I always thought this was just hogwash and an attempt to humble themselves in public view. But, I have also learned
over the years that they make a good point too.

I once read about a photographer, an accomplished one, who prints his work, then hides it for a year before looking at it again.
This, I understand. Its no different than the actor really. One needs to step away from work sometimes to allow it to settle. Its not a question of whether the work is good, strong, or significant. Those moments surrounding the capturing of time can affect how we view an image. Putting it away, allowing new experiences to build layers on top allows us to see it in fresh terms.

Today I met with the MHS Press Production Manager, Daniel Leary. He called to inform me the page proofs were in. This is always the exciting part for me. I've stepped away from the project long enough now that I was looking forward to reviewing the pages fresh and hopefully, with less than a overly critical eye.

My job today was to see the pages, examine color, errant marks, ect. and make notes of those for correction. 95% was in good form. The scant few color transparencies seemed to give the separator the most difficulty. I'm concerned, but confident these will all be fixed. Dan Leary was on the same page and had already made notations on those. I feel my back is covered. Amazing how transparencies, now throw the wrench into the machinery. These times, they are a'changin.

My favorite part of the book is no question the Chapter openers. Such a wonderful mixture of image, layout and fonts. I got pumped up to dive into each chapter. I did experience concern over several images that were used too small to be effective. This is true with a lot of photography and one of the worst practices I see in visual communication.

Demands for layout space, other images, type, ect, all play a role in how a page can be designed. Still, the power of a photograph can be killed by using too small or too large. Thankfully, it was minimal in this book.

You'll find when you see the book (due out in October 2010) the images are laid out playing a role in telling the story of each chapter page by page. Greg Breinings' text tickles the imagination and hopefully you'll find the images build on that. I enjoyed the flow and build up of imagery with double spread spreads knocking your socks off with images that begged you to load the canoe on the car and go. See, I stepped away long enough to get excited!

A few weeks ago I was a guest speaker at the North House Folk School (http://www.northhouse.org/) annual Wooden Boat Festival. A great event and perfect for me to shamelessly plug the new canoeing book. I focused my talk on the making of a book on canoe country. The biggest point was the discussion on the cover choice. It brought out lots of comments and I think the choice of these canoe enthusiasts confirmed my gut reaction (see earlier posts here). I found it enlightening and educational to listen to those people whose lives are centered around paddling. I showed them the entire book on the big screen and the flyers given to me by MHS Press marketing guru Alison Aten at the were all but snatched up. A smile ran across my face. What I considered to be the toughest crowd, gave it their thumbs up!

Aside from the glow of their acknowledgement, and fear they might not like it, the moment I will remember most came from a 93 year old man in the crowd. This gentleman came up to me and gave me a hug before we spoke. He pulls back and tells me he also was caught in the Ham Lake Fire. He said he was putting the sprinklers on the roof of his home on Seagull Lake when the DNR came by issuing mandatory evacuations. He had to leave in ten minutes.

I stopped him from going on. "Are you the man who was in tears on NBC being interviewed about not having enough time to put the sprinklers on your neighbors cabin?"

He told me that was him. I remember the TV News that night. I had just returned to the Twin Cities from the Gunflint Trail where Gus Axelson, Lee Frelich and I were also trapped by the BWCA fire. I watched this sweet old man cry as he told the story of how he was able to save his cabin but didn't have time to set the sprinklers on his neighbors. His neighbors cabin burned and it was torturing him. He cried. And I cried watching him tell this story.

It had been three years, almost to the day that fire started when I gave my presentation. It meant so much to me to meet him. We chatted about the BWCA, the fire, and life. The moment had nothing to do with the book. It had everything to do with what we shared, unknown to each other at the time it occurred. Do I dare expect I'll be lucky enough to hear from others as they share their BWCA/Quetico experiences through PADDLE NORTH?

Finally, a COVER!

When, after all the battles, creative conversations back and forth, a Cover emerges, its a true sign of relief.
The PADDLE NORTH-CANOEING THE BOUNDARY WATERS/QUETICO WILDERNESS project finally feels like
a book now. Its coming to a close. It is a wonderful overview of the BWCA/Quetico wilderness with chapters on
topics like canoe history, forest fires, winter, rock and portages.

For anyone who has visited this wilderness, this book will find its way into your heart. Greg Breinings' words are descriptive and alive. He makes you want to toss the canoe on the car and head North. From my side, it is my hope the photographs will offer you new insights and familiar moments while cruising the visual poetry of this amazing wilderness.

So, here it is! I'm happy with it. The back cover will be a photograph of a star studded night scape with
the Milky Way glowing over La La Croix.

I understand the book is already available on Amazon.com, but I'm not sure if the cover is even uploaded there yet.
The PADDLE NORTH project gets sent to the printer in the second week of June and will be available sometime in late
October or early November. Hey, just in time for the Holidays!

It will be widely available here in the Midwest and you can always contact the Minnesota Historical Society Press
(http://discussions.mnhs.org/10000books/) or me directly for signed copies.

More later..........

PADDLE NORTH

Its been awhile since making a post. My apologies. If I have nothing to say I see no reason to bore anyone with dribble.

But, now I have some exciting news. A cover has been chosen and finalized. The title is now etched in stone as well. What a relief to have these important hurdles behind us.

PADDLE NORTH-Canoeing The Boundary Waters-Quetico Wilderness

I'll have a copy of the cover soon and will post it. I'm pleased with the Title and the cover. It was quite a battle. Lots of thoughts & concerns thrown out on to the table and too many cooks in the kitchen at times. It never got ugly, but such an important detail needs the banter. All the bugs need to get worked out and everyone involved needs to be able to live with it. Its a huge and lasting mark.

Mind you, choosing a cover is no simple task. The artist needs to be happy, the editors, the marketing dept, book sellers, ect. To get all the planets to align, it takes time and open discussions.

The photograph I wanted for the cover didn't make the cut. After months of lobbying hard for this image, it came up short. However, from the early stages of designing and presenting cover ideas, I was never opposed to a cover that was better than the one I had pushed for. It just had to be better.

I still feel my instincts for the cover choice I pushed for are solid. But, there were reasons why it wouldn't work and as disappointing as that was, I can appreciate the logic behind kicking it off the table.

In-depth discussions about a photograph, it's content, message and appeal, are some of the discoveries made only by climbing the mountains of various perceptions. A photograph after all, is worth a thousand words...and each of those words can be seen differenty.

Through this effort, a cover was designed by Susan Binkley, Breeze Publishing Arts, that fit the bill. Its beautiful, informative and offers a sense of place. Susan is designing the entire book.

There is more to say about the topic of photography and publishers, but not today.
Seeing the cover for PADDLE NORTH and a few sample pages have calmed my nerves. I feel more at ease now. Its going to be an elegant and beautifully informative book on a special wilderness. It is filled with details, textures and spirit. Author Greg Breining has tied it all together with his thoughtful essays.

Nothing would please me more than finding there might be readers who have paddled this wilderness for 30 years or more, who will retrieve something from this book that ignites a spirit within them.

I'll be sure to get that cover posted soon. In the meantime, here's a photograph from the book on still, clear night on Agnes Lake in the BWCA. From across the lake I had spotted paddlers making their evening campfire. It was a beautiful scene. Can you hear the stillness?

One Man's Treasure......

It never seems to fail as soon as a book project gets put to bed, new visuals that would've worked perfectly for that project are dropped in your lap just a week too late. Its like trying to keep up with technology, you just struggle to stay on top. Well, I came to terms with that a long time ago. It just happens and I'm delighted I'm still able to be in a position to experience the thrills of new visual discoveries.

Last week, I went North to Ely, Minnesota where I conducted my 16th Annual Wintergreen Dogsledding Photography Workshop. We have a blast dogsledding in and out of the BWCA and Superior National Forest telling stories with our cameras. The maze of trails through black spruce bogs, dense forest and across frozen lakes offer numerous peeks at life in the North. Wolf tracks imprinted in the snow were everywhere and the treat of a full moon Saturday provided the icing on the cake. I'm told through some unusual moon orbit, the moon was 30,000 miles closer to earth this full moon phase than other months. It certainly looked larger! We had a very cold week with morning temps each day at minus -25 F and only warming to minus -10 F. Only on our last day the temps rose to 7 above zero and it felt like Spring! Funny how that works.

The day before arriving in Ely, the area was truly void of snow pack and new snow was desirable....and necessary for most winter activities. Well, they got smacked with a substantial snowfall. The problem was freezing rain came first before turning over to snow. It looked like a winter wonderland and post card picture perfect everywhere you turned. Tree's were coated in snowfall, globs of at least eight inches of snow clinging to everything. And, with the rain beforehand, like an ice storm, everything was leaning or bending over with all that weight.

What became so beautiful to witness blocked access to our dogsledding trails. Trees were splitting and breaking, and new buds were torn off with the weight of the icy snow. Indeed there was a price for this beauty. The area's woods were crippled. The rain had literally glued the snow to the trees. Even the winds that normally blow off fresh snowfall too quick for photographers to capture it remained frozen to everything.

Ever the creative genius, arctic explorer Paul Schurke, owner of Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge, Paul designed a snowmobile equipped with sled runners shaped like a dune buggy frame. It was designed to protect his face and arms from the icy branches hanging over the trails as he inched his way down normally open dogsled trails. I can't think of anything more stinging that getting whipped in the face with a thin branch when its minus -25 F outside. New cuss words find their origin in times like this. When I arrived at Wintergreen, Paul already had a bloodied face, evidence of a tree whipping. I immediately understood his reason for building this unusual snowmo spaceship. He also installed cut birch trees attached to the sled behind to knock off snow from the trees with hopes they might respond by reaching for the sky once relieved from the weight of the ice and snow. Most trees do not so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.


Such is life in the northland. We continued to take photographs and capture the results of snow and ice, below zero temps, and the dogs loving the cold weather. We were forced to travel over open lakes on the ice with only a few short cuts through the forest cleared by Schurke and his expert staffers.

I had thought several times, Ohhhh, that image would be great for the winter chapter in the PADDLE NORTH book coming out next Fall. That one would be too, and that one!!

Enjoy the included pix from last week in Ely. One, guide Kate Ford's beautiful new stain glass window installed in the new Wintergreen sauna.

Chapter on Cold

Last night I was able to read author Greg Breinings' chapter on cold for our upcoming book,

"Paddle North."

Great timing!

Today we will be experiencing another arctic outbreak here in the upper midwest. Failing to address the issue of extreme cold in our neck of the woods would be a mistake when covering the BWCA. Breining has brought home the concept of cold in his words and descriptions. You'll enjoy his musings. Since I spend a great deal of my winter out in the wilderness cold, selecting images for this chapter will be a treat.

Some of my fondest winter moments seem to happen after a fresh snowfall. The reasons are obvious I think. There's a softness and calmness that comes with a fresh, cleansing snowfall.

Making fresh tracks in the snow make you feel like you are the first to leave your mark on winter. Observing tracks of wildlife, like fresh wolf tracks is exhilarating. A story seems to unfold right in front you. When were they here? What did they see? Were they chasing something? Or, just traveling by?

Getting a glance of a wolf is akin to a celebrity sighting. Its pretty rare and almost always memorable. In an earlier blog here, I had spotted a cluster of five wolf pups when my daughter, Austin and I were looking for Erik Simula completing the last leg of his epic journey last summer along the Grand Portage. Austin and I still talk about that thrilling moment in the woods.

Winter can warm your soul.