Selective Focus
Selective Focus: Icy Blue Gitche Gu
Via Instagram, select images of Lake Superior in wintry blue. (more…)
Selective Focus: Full Wolf Moon
Instagram
197 likes, 8 comments - mikemayou on January 28, 2021: "The "Wolf Moon", which is the first full moon of 2021, rose tonight over Split Rock Lighthouse, creating quite a spectacle. It was fun to see how many photographers showed up at the Split Rock beach to capture this moment!".
instagram.com
The January full moon is referred to as the Wolf Moon. Here are some local views of last night’s show. (more…)
Selective Focus: Put a Bernie on it
Bernie at Miller Hill Mall
Selective Focus: Moose
Instagram
2,385 likes, 63 comments - benjaminolsonphotography on August 23, 2020: "A sneak peak from my time on @isleroyalenps. Thanks to @adobe and their Creative Residency Community Fund for funding my project on Moose in Minnesota and Isle Royale. I have another 9 day stint on the island in three weeks for the rut, and I have three camera traps out working on moose. On October 5th I will be releasing a series of videos covering my whole creative process from packing for remote wilderness trips, working in the field without access to computers and electricity, the various gear I use, my entire workflow process using @lightroom and @photoshop, and finally bring the work to life both virtually and in print! #adoberesidency".
instagram.com
So funny looking but still majestic. This week, photos of friends from Frostbite Falls. (more…)
Selective Focus: Hoar Frost / Rime Ice
Instagram
231 likes, 14 comments - netsmad97 on January 7, 2021: "❄🍂
#duluthmn #minnesota #mnnice #visitduluth #duluth #tasteofduluth #exploreminnesota #perfectduluthday #befromduluth #minnstagramers #captivatemn #captureduluth #duluthandconfused #northcountryminnesota #authenticduluth #mnoutdoorlife #minnesotaexposure #destinationduluth #duluthwinter #frostfile #mnwinter #minnesnowta #frostytrees #frost #hoarfrost #rimeice".
instagram.com
The ice crystals have us surrounded. Surrender to the frost.
Collected here are select Instagram photos celebrating the wonder of water vapor condensation freezing to cold surfaces (hoar frost) and/or cooled water in the fog turning to ice (rime ice). Probably more the latter than the former. (more…)
Selective Focus: A Very COVID Christmas
Instagram
1,553 likes, 33 comments - ashleybredemus on December 21, 2020: "Wishing you and yours all the love, light, and wintery goodness I can muster on this extra special Winter Solstice 🌟
#thegreatconjunction #christmasstar".
instagram.com
Select photos from Instagram of people from the Duluth area doing their best to keep spirits high and the COVID-19 infection rate low. (more…)
Selective Focus: Kitties
Instagram
855 likes, 66 comments - mikemayou on December 17, 2020: "Surprisingly, the bobcats were also very comfortable sitting still, allowing me able to snap a few photos along with the video I was taking yesterday. Here are a few of my favorites. See if you can spot all three!
EDIT: I have purposefully chosen to not answer any questions asking for the specific location these were shot at to protect these animals from the potential of being bombarded by large groups of people. In addition, I would like to mention the ethics of filming wildlife with drones. As we all know, drones can potentially scare animals, especially if the drones are larger in size and get close to the creatures. After looking into the ethics of drone photography around wildlife, I realized I may have gotten too close to the bobcats for comfort, and looking back, I would not have gotten as close as I did. If the behavior of the animal changes, the drone is too close. While taking the video and photos of the cats, I attempted to maintain distance until one actually approached the drone. I will add that this wasn't a planned drone flight and I wasn't near the cats for more than a few minutes total.".
instagram.com
From household pets to wildcats, a look at Duluth-area kitty cats via Instagram. (more…)
Selective Focus: Kathy Johnson Anscomb
Artist Kathy Johnson Anscomb has used the new perspective she had during the pandemic — stuck inside, looking out the windows at the same view day after day — and turned that into inspiration for new work this year. This week in Selective Focus, we hear how this series came to be.
KJA: Lately I’ve been painting with acrylic or ink on canvas, I’ve also been having a flirtation with watercolor and have some new things on the back burner. I’ve worked with acrylics for more years than I will tell, but going way back to junior high when my ninth grade art teacher got me interested in art. It was all about abstract art when I was in the art department at UMD in the 60s, and I’ve loved the freedom and simplicity of working in that style since.
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Selective Focus: Jeff Brown
This week we hear from a behind-the-scenes artist, literally setting the stage for others, creating environments and moods where actors can practice their craft. Jeff Brown is a scenic designer, lighting director and technical director who has worked with the Duluth Playhouse and other theater groups, and expanded his work into designing for museums and other public spaces. Oh, and he loves grilling.
JB: As happens with so many big things in life, I was introduced to the world of theater almost by accident. After some years as an Army paratrooper, I had enrolled at a community college and had one big choice left in order to finish my associate’s degree… A Public Speaking course, or a Stagecraft course? I was not at all interested in Public Speaking, so Stagecraft won by default. I couldn’t have guessed that the course would feel so natural to me and that it would introduce me to people and a field that I had never even considered before.
After being involved backstage in a couple of productions there, I decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in technical theater, and I transferred to Minnesota State University Moorhead. MSUM had a very active theater department with a strong technical standard, and I benefited greatly from learning scenic design and lighting design along with construction and production techniques.
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Selective Focus: Pandemic Persistence
This week, a quick update on two artists we’ve featured earlier this year. Carolyn Olson and Annelisa Roseen both started projects at the beginning of the pandemic, and are still regularly producing pieces based on the theme and guidelines they set for themselves. Carolyn Olson paints and draws essential workers in their settings, and Annelisa Roseen takes a selfie each day in make-up and costume of an interesting person born on that day. (more…)
Selective Focus: November Snow Scenes
Instagram
137 likes, 0 comments - daveriewe on November 16, 2020: "Early winter ❄️ on the north shore
#winter #winteriscoming #nature #naturelover #naturephotography #waterfall #river #duluth #flyhighduluth #water #rugged #outdoors #hike #hikingadventures #minnesota #mn #exposure #explore #destinationduluth".
instagram.com
Select images of pre-winter via Instagram. (more…)
Selective Focus: Uncle Clutch’s Video Horror Shop
In the tradition of campy late night B-movie monster and horror hosts like Elvira, Svengoolie and my personal favorite from Omaha, Nebraska, Dr. Sanguinary’s Creature Feature, the Twin Ports now has a B-movie host to call its own. Joe Klander (previously on PDD) plays the part of Uncle Clutch, his pro wrestling, baby-eating alter ego. He now grumpily operates one of the last video rental stores in the world. (more…)
Selective Focus: Nan Onkka
Printmaker Nan Onkka makes images inspired by scenes on the North Shore. She starts with a wood block, and step by step, removes material from the block in order to add more color to the images she prints. It’s a time consuming process, and she says it’s a lot of backward planning, but a process where you can’t step backward to change something. That challenge and risk is what draws her to the process.
NO: I am a printmaking artist who specializes in reductive woodblock printmaking. This form of printmaking involves hand carving an image into a woodblock and then printing it onto paper one layer of color at a time. I add multiple colors to the image by carving away more of the woodblock and printing the next layer of color on top. (more…)
Selective Focus: Holley Morgenstern
Holley Morgenstern of Sparrow & Berry is carrying on a family tradition of making dolls. Her designs are modern and whimsical, giving a fun spin to heirloom dolls. The critters, faces and even the materials she uses vary wildly, and each doll has its own personality and is one of a kind.
HM: My name is Holley Morgenstern and I am the face behind Sparrow & Berry. I make handmade modern heirloom cloth dolls. There are several categories of doll makers, I fall into the soft sculpture category and would also fall under fiber art.
My work is made primarily of cotton, linen and wool. I do use some synthetic fibers for the shaggy/furry, more traditional stuffed animal type dolls. I frequently use bits of vintage trim, fabric, buttons and upcycled components as well. (more…)
Selective Focus: Hannah Palma
Hannah Palma is a potter who has blended her love of woodcut printmaking into her process of working with clay. This week she talks about that combination, and how our big lake inspires her designs.
HP: I work with earth; I work with clay. I feel like all my life ceramics was calling me to it in one way or another, but it wasn’t till my time at the university that I found it would be my deepest passion.
I was born and raised here in Grand Marais, where my love and curiosity for the wild and nature was fostered. I grew up in a little cabin on big land where when the leaves left for the winter you could get the slightest peek of the never ending view of Lady Lake Superior. (more…)
Selective Focus: Fall Colors 2020
Instagram
102 likes, 5 comments - schmiescary on September 23, 2020: "Oberg Mountain Scenic Overlook
#fallcolors #captivatemn #cschmies #obergmountain #northshoremn #exploremn #capture_minnesota #destinationduluth #lakesuperiorcircletour #lakesuperiormagazine".
instagram.com
The Arrowhead region is awash with color once again. Track the progression of fall and peak color with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Fall Color Finder.
Featured here are select images from Instagram showcasing this year’s fall color display. (more…)
Selective Focus: Superior Hiking Trail
The fall tradition of folks of hitting the 310+ mile Superior Hiking Trail continues. Featured here are select photos from Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CE3EKvtlQMh/
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Selective Focus: #perfectduluthday
The weather has been spectacular, we just had a long weekend, it’s time to check in on what people considered a #perfectduluthday
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Selective Focus: Signs
This week, Portia Johnson and Cheryl Reitan provide thoughts and images regarding the often homemade signs around town supporting Black Lives Matter.
PJ CR: In Duluth, many of the signs arrived soon after George Floyd was murdered but new ones crop up from time to time. They appear on residential streets and throughfares. Most of them say, “Black Lives Matter,” but there are other words too, “No peace, no justice,” the chilling, “I Can’t Breathe,” and others.
The message appears, often hand painted and imperfect but always betraying a fierce determination. The signs make people look. They say, “this is important, Black lives matter.”
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Selective Focus: UMD Bathroom Reviews
Students and faculty may not be on UMD’s campus for a few more weeks due to Coronavirus concerns, but you can enjoy a virtual tour thanks to the UMD Bathroom Reviews Instagram account. (more…)
Selective Focus: Rainbow Over Lake Superior, Again
Instagram
63 likes, 2 comments - a_nichols23 on August 12, 2020: "Rainbow into the Lift Bridge. #duluthmn #duluthliftbridge #destinationduluth #authenticduluth #perfectduluthday #lakesuperior #lakesuperiormagazine #rainbow #canon #weather #visitduluth #10kviewsminnesota".
instagram.com
We’ll get tired of it when you get tired of it. (more…)
Selective Focus: Thomas Spence
Thomas Spence’s photos of the landscapes and wildlife of the North Shore have been published and featured in regional and national magazines and TV shows. His Instagram feed is filled with the critters that we all know are around, but rarely get to see so up close and personal. He talks about how he got started with his photography and the patience required to get shots like these.
TS: I have been taking photos with a DSLR for about seven years. I used to carry a point-and-shoot around on trips and gatherings, just to capture the moments with friends and family. I never really was into scenery or wildlife with a camera growing up. In 2007 I gave up a loooong drinking career and needed a new hobby. I wanted to take better photos and I wanted to capture two things. Waterfalls with that silky smooth look, and northern lights. I bought a little Canon digital point-and-shoot and was able to figure out how to do long exposures on it. I learned that camera and was able to get some northern lights photos and the waterfall look I was trying for. I was hooked. In 2011 I took a road trip through the Smoky Mountains and south to Kennedy Space Center. It was that trip that I decided I needed a “real” camera. I think I bought my first DSLR in 2012. Lake Superior, the surrounding State Parks and Superior National Forest soon became my daily haunts. I was mainly doing landscape photos, but I see incredible wildlife on a regular basis, so I knew I needed a long lens to add to the camera. I found myself going into the woods to search for wildlife a lot more once I had the “reach” with a long lens. I live in a great place on the Sawbill Trail in Tofte. When I leave home, if I turn left, I can be on Lake Superior in minutes for sunrise or sunset. If I turn right, I am in Superior National Forest where I see Moose, bear, wolves, lynx and more on a fairly regular basis. (more…)
Selective Focus: Teri Glembin
Artist Teri Glembin recently made the most of pandemic social distancing, her Scandinavian heritage, and the gift of some new art supplies to tackle a daily drawing project. This week she shows off that extended project along with some of her other work.
TG: As a graphic designer, I’m usually glued to my laptop… so it’s funny that my inspiration BLOOMED on the end of my couch with Sharpies and wood.
I’ve always loved flowers and patterns and when my friend, Kate Kebbekus, came back from a Zentangle® workshop a few years ago, I began to explore the line flow and techniques she taught me. This led to my “couch crafting” obsession. In the evenings, I’d curl up with my border collie, Lussi, and work on my “Teri-tangles”. Using various mediums to illustrate flowers, tangles, and mandala patterns, I started with black ink on paper and later transitioned to Sharpies on canvas. Wood burning with those same flower and design styles became my next obsession last summer. I currently make earrings, shelf and wall artwork, and ornaments that are wood burned and often embellished with oil or watercolor paint markers.
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Selective Focus: Comet Neowise
Instagram
133 likes, 11 comments - matthewmosesphotography on July 15, 2020: "Comet Neowise and some camera visible Northern Lights low along the horizon in Northern Minnesota.
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#comet #neowise #aurora #northernlights #nightscape #nightsky #underthestars #darksky #astronomy #astrophotography #optoutside #dreamnorthmn #destinationduluth #authenticduluth #exploremn #captureminnesota #nikon #nikonusa #myrrs #viewbug #nanpapix #mnphotographer #boulderlake".
instagram.com
A collection of stunning comet Neowise photos from across northern Minnesota. Here’s a link to some info from Astrobob. The comet should be visible for one more night tonight. (more…)
Selective Focus: Sarah Brokke Erickson – Illustrating “A Common Thirst”
Artist and teacher Sarah Brokke Erickson goes in depth into her process for planning and illustrating a children’s book, “A Common Thirst.” The book was written by fellow Duluthian Gary Boelhower. (more…)