Hello,

After photographing lights from a plane in Door County and the San Juan Islands, I decided that I wanted to take aerial shots of Split Rock in the fall. After searching online for several weeks and contacting several different companies and the Chamber of Commerce in Duluth, Two Harbors and Superior, I gave up. Apparently some of the aviation companies offering scenic plane rides have stopped doing this due to an increase in insurance.

Two days before we were scheduled to leave for an extended weekend at the North Shore, a pilot contacted me. He said that I'd e-mailed him a while back, and he was just catching up on his e-mail. So, a one hour plane ride was scheduled for Monday, October 4.

When I woke up on October 4, it was a crisp but beautiful fall day in Tofte, Minnesota. As we started heading for Duluth, the clouds rolled in. By the time we got to the airport, it was only partly sunny.

The pilot asked me if it was OK if we stopped in Silver Bay to pick up someone who wanted to photograph two houses along the shore. He said that this person would split the cost of the plane ride, and it would give me more time take photos. (I would have to sit in the back during this time.) I told him it was OK and went to tell my husband Randy that I'd be back in two hours instead of an hour.

After we took off, the pilot asked me if I had problems with motion sickness. He said that it was going to be bumpy the entire trip. Anyway, the ride was bumpy, and it turned into a 3.5+ hour ride. But I'll save the rest of the story for the next post card exchange.

Here are a few of the photos. Because it was bumpy and overcast much of the time, my photos weren't as sharp as I would have liked...definitely not as nice as my San Juan Island photos. (I did get a few nice 8 x 10's though.) When I reduce the file size, they look even less sharp. So, I'll just post a few.







Besides having the chance to photograph Split Rock and Two Harbors, we also flew over Canal Park and Park Point. I had the chance to see the Minnesota Point Lighthouse ruins for the first time. With the exception of about 15 minutes of the ride when I felt a little queasy, it was a fun time, and I hope to have another chance to do this again soon.

Tammy

Absolutely FANTASTIC, Tammy!

So often we focus so closely on the lighthouse, that we don't get a sense of it's setting and the surroundings.

I had no idea there were three homes there at Split Rock. And that one shot really emphasizes the edge of the rock that Split Rock sit's on.

Thanks so much for sharing them.

They are GREAT!

Tammy,

PLEASE DON'T APOLIGIZE FOR THE PICTURES. THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! I for one see nothing wrong. Wish that I could do half as good.

Bob

You got some good ones of those lights! Are all the buildings at Split Rock open to the public?

Stephen, welcome to the forums.

You can climb to the lighthouse tower from mid May to mid October. The foghorn building and the keeper's building on the far right are also open to the public. There's a visitor's center that is open daily during the season and weekends in the winter. They have a large gift shop, and you can watch a video of the history of Split Rock.

On November 10th each year, the light is lit in memory of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The tower is open again to the public. It's fun to climb the tower when the light is lit. Of course, there is a line... We have gone the past 3 years. Last year we didn't climb the tower. Instead we sat on the shore, keeping warm with hand and feet warmers and old sleeping bags. We may have been the last ones to leave. We stayed until the light went out. I don't know if we can go this year because my husband has to watch his vacation.

Anyway, it's a great place to visit.

More beautiful pictures Tammy! I love the aerials. So many photos of Split Rock are from the shore looking up. This is such a different view that I have never seen before from the air.

The 3 houses were the keeper houses. When John and I were there the first of Aug., we toured the house closest to the lighthouse. It has been refurbished and is open for tours.

The lady we talked with in the house said they had 3 families at a time to work at the lighthouse. They didn't want one keeper to feel like the others had better accomodations so it was decided that all 3 houses would be built identical. Split Rock lighthouses preservation is trying to get enough funds to have all 3 of the homes restored and open for touring.(according to the lady we talked with in the first house)

Tammy, those are some of the best pictures of Split Rock I've ever seen. You have given us a view that many of us have never seen before. Thank you so much for sharing them! Got any more?

Bob

Fantastic is the only way to describe your pictures. WOW! Thanks for sharing.

Bert :p

Beautiful pictures, Tammy! Split Rock is my favorite lighthouse and it's great to see pictures of it from a plane! We were there a few years ago and tried to find an airport which had small planes that would take us up for some pictures, but had no luck. My wife and I have done this many times over the years.

You get a very different perspective from up there!

WELL DONE!!!!!

What gorgeous pictures of Split Rock and what an interesting angle!! Thanks so much for sharing them!

Eskilady

Tammy,
These are possibly the best pictures I've seen of Split Rock and Two Harbors. Thanks for sharing!

Tammy,
Thank you...these photos are beautiful!

Pam

Fantastic shots, Tammy! Looks like (and perhaps I'm worng) you were using your 100-400 lens...I can see some nice quality in those shots. How blurry are they? Would PS sharpen them up for you? The ones you posted look decent.

Tammy,

I never saw those angles of Split Rock before.

Thanks for posting them ... they were great.

Barry

Jen, The first photo is cropped. I did this because it looked better cropped when I reduced the pixel dimensions. Most of my aerial photos include all of the cliff. I was actually using my Canon 70-300mm Diffractive Optic zoom lens. My 100-400 mm lens is so heavy that I seldom use it without a tripod. I haven't tried to use it on a plane even though it has an image stablizer. The guy we picked up in Silver Bay to photograph some houses along the shore was using a 100-400 mm lens with a Canon 10D. I'd like to know how his photos turned out. Since we went by Split Rock several times, I wish I'd had that lens with so that I could have tried it once.

I only have PhotoShop Elements, and I haven't had much luck with sharpening my pictures. I printed some 8 x 10s of a few of the best photos, and they look decent, though not as sharp as my San Juan Island aerial photos. Is it worth investing in the full PhotoShop?

We were probably about 700 feet above the water when we flew by Split Rock on one pass. Since it sits high on a cliff, it makes it easier to photograph, even if you don't have a great zoom lens.

Randy or to anyone else who is interested in a scenic plane ride on the North Shore, contact me. I can give you the name of the pilot. (His rate was much cheaper than Door County and San Juan Islands.) I wish I had time to get up north for another opportunity to photograph Split Rock from the air...

Tammy

Your 100-400 IS lens would have been the winner. IS would have helped with the bumpy ride, along with turning up your ISO to 400. You would not have wanted to shoot less than 1/400 of a second or so on that bumpy of a ride with a telephoto, either lens. Also, a monopod might have helped with the weight - you can shorten them to 18 inches and you could have braced it on the seat. Check out a Slik quick release monopod at B&H for $30.

I have been using Photoshop CS and won't use anything else. There is a learning curve with it, but once you realize what can be done with it, you'll wonder why you used Elements as long as you did. Can you email me a couple of your so-so shots (ones you think are passable or ones you cropped for better resolution) and I can see what I can do with them for sharpening?

I started out shooting at 200 ISO and switched to 400 after the first pass at Split Rock. I had a chance to view the photos briefly when we landed in Silver Bay to pick up someone. When I have the opportunity to shoot with the window open, I like to hang out the window if I can. So, I don't know if a monopod will work. But I'll check into it because I can see that it would be handy.

I'll continue this discussion via e-mail tomorrow.

Thanks for your help. If you're ever in Minnesota, maybe we can do an aerial flight together.

Tammy

Great shots! That is a view I've never seen. Thanks for sharing!!