Photos
Mystery Photos #36-38: Three Women
One day you’re glamorous enough for a fancy Duluth studio portrait; one-hundred years later, no one knows who you are.
At least the photo on the left comes with half of a name: “Mrs. Mohler.” Other than that, what you see is what you get for clues. Anyone who recognizes one of these women or can provide further details will be declared winner of the internet for a day.
Duluth Photography Exhibit: Let’s See What You See

Juror Ivy Vainio asked the crowd (as more shuffled in) to raise a hand if this was the first time they’d been a part of an exhibit. Photo by Ivy Vainio.
It’s been a few weeks since the opening of the Let’s See What You See Duluth photography exhibit, and already it’s time for the photos to come down from the wall and for the American Indian Community Housing Organization to start planning its next function. The exhibit was a huge success, garnering hundreds of cellphone photo submissions and attracting over 200 people in a line that extended out onto the sidewalk and down the street shortly after 6 p.m. (more…)
Plant of Zenith Furnace Company at West Duluth
Zenith Furnace Company was organized in 1902 and located on St. Louis Bay at 59th Avenue West. The company manufactured pig iron and byproducts of coal gas, ammonia and coal tar. In 1931 the company was acquired by Interlake Iron Corporation and was a source of steel during World War II for use in government defense equipment. It closed in 1962. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Pokémon Duluth Day
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
Pokémon Go has invaded everywhere, including Duluth, as anyone who is somewhat conscious can tell you. Our social media feeds have been flooded with familiar people in familiar places with weird creatures. Your job in this quiz: identify the person, place, and Pokémon pictured. Gotta catch ’em all.
Thanks to members of the Pokemon Go: Duluth MN Facebook group for their photo contributions.
The next quiz will be a review of the events of July 2016 and will be published on July 31. Send submissions to lawrence @ perfectduluthday.com by Wednesday, July 27 to get your question in the quiz!
Mystery Photo #35: Frank Lundgren and Joe Marceau
This mystery photo was sent by Ryan Sanders, a distant relative of the man at left in the photo above, Frank Lundgren. (Yours truly, Paul Lundgren, is no relation.) Standing next to Frank Lundgren is his brother-in-law Joe Marceau. The photo was shot somewhere in Duluth around 1918. The mystery we are looking to solve is where specifically the photo was shot. (more…)
Underwater Optics Slideshow
Some early underwater photography experiments, Lake Superior 2012. Pictures taken with a Kodak Playsport.
Call for Duluth Alligator Attack Video Testimonials

Since I don’t appreciate the sass I am getting from the Mayoralty on this issue, I would like to issue a call for citizen video testimonials. Have you been attacked by an alligator in the Duluth city limits? Tell your story on PDD. Let’s MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD.
Where (and What) in Duluth?

I have walked by this marker for years and the other day stopped to take a closer look, and a photo. Anyone know what it says and why it is here?
With a half hour spent on search engines I found this explanation.
Still doesn’t explain why the marker was placed there originally.
Duluth Mayor Larson MIA on Alligator Attacks
A plea for action. After all that Mayor Ness did to keep Lake Superior shark-free, now is the time for the Larson administration to finally step up and tackle the growing alligator problem. We demand RESULTS.
Selective Focus: Tim White

This week in Selective Focus, we feature Tim White, who curated the previous iteration of Selective Focus – photo submissions based on a weekly theme. Tim is a photographer, writer, and proponent of the arts, and has worked on several collaborative projects in his short time in Duluth.
TW: I’ve been making photographs for about the past seven years, having lost my previous practice as a painter to solvent exposure. There were a few dormant years during this time that followed a series of personal crises, and I recently returned to photography after moving to Duluth almost two years ago. I appreciate filmic images (both moving and still), but work mostly — due to the chemistry — with digital capture, then mediate these until they better reflect what I felt when taking the initial shot. I don’t believe in pursuing a personal “style,” though I’m glad when viewers note a poetic quality to my pictures. I admire poetry’s ability to employ elements with conventional meanings (words) toward more ephemeral ends, and hope in a similar way that my work isn’t limited by the literality of the objects I depict. (more…)
Postcards from Cascade Park
Duluth’s Cascade Park still exists, but it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. In the late 1800s a sandstone pavilion and bell tower overlooked the city, with Clark House Creek running through it and down toward a pond and lush gardens. The bell tower was destroyed during a storm, and Mesaba Avenue eventually ate up part of the park, pushing the creek completely underground. These old postcards offer a look at what was once Duluth’s most extravagant park. (more…)
“Minnesota Moon” Album Cover Design Contest
Local musician Matt Ray plans to release his newest album Minnesota Moon this fall and is seeking help designing the album cover. Submit photos, paintings, drawings, etc. of your “Minnesota Moon” to matt @ mattray.org by July 1. Ray will select one image for the album cover. The winner will be awarded promotional posters, and Matt will probably throw in some CDs and swag as well.
Solstice Sunshine Cam

For those of you stuck inside working (like me), I invite you to gaze at today’s nearly 16 hours of glinting sunshine with Glensheen’s Lake Cam. Bump it into full screen and imagine the drink into your hand. I called your bosses, and they don’t mind.
Aerial Bridge from end of Ship Canal
The message on the back of this postcard, mailed April 3, 1909, might require an interpreter — as often seems to be the case. (more…)
Selective Focus: Nate Lindstrom
You may have seen Nate Lindstrom’s photography at art festivals or through his annual calendar. For this week’s Selective Focus, Nate tells us about his landscape photography.
NL: It felt like it took a lot of experimenting, some minor frustrations and a heap of learning to make landscapes my photographic focus, but in hindsight that interest developed a long time ago. I’ve always had a love of nature and being outdoors and moving to a very outdoor-centered area of Minnesota helped me look at my surroundings in a different way. I was spending more time on trails, on the shore, sleeping in our many state parks, living through the hottest 10 days of our summer and diabolical winters. All of these things inspire what I look for in a subject or composition, and shape my overall style. (more…)



























