Fleeting Moments Over Nanabijou

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 18mm
ISO 100, f8 @ 1/8 sec.
Photo created at 7:33 a.m.

On the morning of September 14th, while on my recently concluded trip along the north shore of Lake Superior, I awoke in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park on the Sibley Peninsula, near Thunder Bay, Ontario. I was staying at the Marie Louise Lake Campground within the park, which provides an excellent view of the “sleeping giant.” Ojibway legend describes the “giant” as Nanabijou, the spirit of deep water that turned to stone when the secret location of a silver mine in Silver Islet was revealed to white men. I had set my alarm to be up well before sunrise as I had hope for some early morning imagery before packing up and heading to my next destination on the north shore. When I arose the sky appeared very cloudy and I was facing a westerly direction so I decided to start packing and make an early getaway. As I was packing I turned and noticed a faint glow on the Marie Louise Lake. The sun had found a clearing in the clouds as it was rising and was starting to illuminate the clouds in the west quite nicely. I grabbed my gear and made my way down to the shoreline of the lake.

The images in this blog post were created within 13 minutes of each other, with the last image being created as most of the color had faded from the scene. The best lighting on this scene really only lasted for 9 minutes and the changes of the light’s intensity can be seen in each of the images as the minutes roll by. Please note the time that each image was created in the captions for each image. Splendid moments like this are fleeting, but when witnessed leave a lasting impression. Being in the right place at the right time and being prepared allowed me to capture this amazing display that Mother Nature revealed on this morning.

This scene also reminded me of one of my most favorite quotes by photographer Ansel Adams – “Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.”

Please do remember to click on each of the images to see the larger sharper version and please take a moment to let me know which is your most favorite of these daybreak scenes on Marie Louise Lake.

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 35mm
ISO 100, f8 @ 1/5 sec.
Photo created at 7:36 a.m.

 

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 26mm
ISO 100, f8 @ 1/8 sec
Photo created at 7:38 a.m.

 

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 35mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 0.3 sec.
Photo created at 7.42 a.m.

 

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 18mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/4 sec
Photo created at 7:46 a.m.