On an evening where the humidity was high and not too ideal, I wanted to visit Caribou Falls on Minnesota’s North Shore. I’ve stopped here at the wayside many times, but never ventured into the trail to explore the waterfall. I was spending a weekend camping at a nearby campground and was in search of some natural beauty to capture with a fresh perspective.
The mosquitoes were out, and the trail read about half a mile one way to get here. I was ready for the hike and began taking in the evening scenery. Upon arriving here, I was in awe of this waterfall, and I’ve seen countless images of this site, but to see it in person was a completely different feeling. We had some rain a few days prior, so the falls were flowing at a steady pace.
There were many tourists around, and I wanted something that offered a different perspective on this scene. I decided to get my feet wet(literally) and frame it up this way, as I had envisioned it. The stairs created a great sense of depth between the foreground rocks and the waterfall itself. I knew that I wanted to have it in the frame.
The Caribou River felt good on my feet, but knowing I was on some slippery rocks, I proceeded with caution. Once the tourist left, I had this scene to myself. It became an oasis of solitude for me. The sounds of the waterfall, along with nature singing in the distance, gave me a sense of feeling isolated deep in the forest, clearing my thoughts of anything throughout the day.
I knew a long exposure would do the trick here, and as the last bit of sunlight faded from the scene, I created this cool tone and set the mood for the final image. I was just amazed by how the final image came out. Once I got back to my campground and sat by a bonfire and had supper, I was reviewing this image and knew this was the one.
As often as I go up and down Highway 61 on the coastline of Lake Superior, I always come into something new and fresh. This was a prime example of that.
