The 26th Annual Photo Contest Winners

Grand Prize: Froggy’s Picture Day, Wright Street Falls, Marquette • Sarah Smith, Madison Heights, MI

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A Beautiful Year (in Pictures)

T he fairy tale ends with the frog turning back into a prince, a welcome transformation in the story – though we are fond of the amphibians, too. Perhaps it’s appropriate, then, that the judges of the 26th annual Lake Superior Photo Contest found themselves fondly drawn to this image of a frankly fabulous frog. Like all the images here, it was submitted in 2020. Many of these image were taken last year, which will not go down in history as the most beautiful of our 12-month periods. Still, you look at the frank frog and realize outdoors, at least, it was a beautiful year.

The 26th edition of the photo contest drew hundreds of images with entrants from 11 states or provinces and one foreign country (India).

The Grand Prize earns $200, a 2021 Lake Superior Wall Calendar and a 1-year subscription to Lake Superior Magazine, along with a certificate and bragging rights. First-place winners earn the calendar and a subscription, and second-place winners also get a subscription along with a mini 2021 calendar. These prize winners, along with the honorable mentions seen here and the additional finalists posted online, all get certificates celebrating their skills.

We hope as you enjoy these picks, you will remember visits to a favorite setting and will relive the charm of the Big Lake neighborhood, where despite it all, every year can be beautiful.

Could your image win a Grand Prize? Start shooting now for the 27th annual Lake Superior Photo Contest. The deadline is October 11, 2021.

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Get it in print: Single copies of the Photo Contest issue – featuring the Grand Prize, First Place and Second Place winners plus Honorable Mentions – are available for $7.95 (includes shipping). Finalists are only featured online.

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Nature

First Place: Gentle Care, Beatons Lake in the Ottawa • National Forest, MI Ken Wiele, Kenosha, WI

Second Place: Backyard Junco, Duluth • Dan Lee Vander Ark, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Lighted Mushroom in the Michigan’s U.P. • Dale Fehr, Hampton, IL

Honorable Mention: Crab Apple Cub at Colvill, MN • Scott Pearson, Eagle River, WI

Honorable Mention: Loon Taking Flight in the Sylvania Wilderness, MI • David Dalquist, Traverse City, MI

Honorable Mention: Tiny Snapper, Lake Owen, WI • Bruce Lambert, Washburn, WI

Honorable Mention: Fuzzy in Ferns, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness, MI • Tess Browning, Sault Ste. Marie, MI

Honorable Mention: Leaf Drops, Toivola, MI • Brenda Anttila, Toivola

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Lake/Landscape

First Place: Ellingson Island, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, MN • Holland Atkinson, Willernie, MN

Second Place: Rough Waters, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Mosquito River • Jennifer Kritselis, Sault St. Marie, MI

Honorable Mention: Autumn Sunrise at Stoney Point, Knife River, MN • Scott Pearson, Eagle River, WI

Honorable Mention: Au Train Falls, MI • Tom Ukai, Commerce Charter Township, MI  

Honorable Mention: Lost Creek Falls Reflection, Cornucopia, WI • John Keefover, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Beach Stones, Little Girl’s Point County Park, MI • Sara Koivisto, Long Lake, MN

Honorable Mention: Starry Night Skies, Lutsen MN • Michelle Bragg, Eagan, MN

Honorable Mention: Autumn Colours of Mount MacKay, Thunder Bay • James Brown, Thunder Bay

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People/Humor

First Place: Riding the Waves, Baraga, MI • Heidi Mensch, Nisula, MI

Second Place: Wishing On A Misty Morning, Lake Arfelin, Marquette County, MI • Diane Dahlstrom, Marquette

Honorable Mention: Little Guy Biking, Two Harbors, MN • Matthew Pastick, Two Harbors, MN

Honorable Mention: Leap of Faith at Ironwood, MI • Alyssa Jean Delegan, Mellen, WI

Honorable Mention: Not a Care in the World, Grand Marais, MN • Jenny Stenehjem, Moorhead, MN

Honorable Mention: Ollie at Sunrise, Hermit’s Cove in the Keweenaw Peninsula, MI • Kristi Kangas, Chicago, IL

Honorable Mention: Lydia in the snow, Sawyer Lake, Dickinson County MI • Debra Carey, Bessemer, MI

Honorable Mention: A Little Too Close, Duluth • Mike McGowan, Dayton, MN

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Artsy/Altered

First Place: Superior Colors, Grand Marias, MI • Lamont Kraft, Seymour, WI

Second Place: In the Painting, Thunder Bay • Don Malcolm, Thunder Bay

Honorable Mention: Icicles at Glensheen, Duluth • Grace Burns, Superior

Honorable Mention: Minus 33 Degrees, Duluth • TJ Beaulier, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Lightning at the Lighthouse, Duluth • Winnie Sjoquist, Princeton MN

Honorable Mention: Abstract on Madeline Island • Diane Michaud Lowry, Ames, IA

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Maritime

First Place: Blade Runner, Duluth • TJ Beaulier, Duluth

Second Place: Harbor Sunset, Bayfield • Peggy Carter, Chesterton, IN

Honorable Mention: On the Horizon, Duluth • Don Malcolm, Thunder Bay

Honorable Mention: Calm Waters, Thunder Bay • James Brown, Thunder Bay

Honorable Mention: MV Edgar B. Speer Departs After the Storm, Duluth • Peter Markham, Loretto, MN

Honorable Mention: The Love that is Duluth • Tracy Prissel, Spring Valley, WI

Honorable Mention: Tall Ship Niagra Full Sails, Apostle Islands • Jan Wilcox, Mayfield, WI

Honorable Mention: American Integrity on the eve of Independence Day, Duluth • Shane Mossman, Maplewood, MN

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Finalists

Nature:

Paint Me Bright, Red Cliff, WI • Jim Peacock, Bayfield

Flying Monarch, Hancock, MI • Miriam Pickens, Hancock, MI

Cozy, Cave at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore • Brian Rohland, Bloomer, WI

Male Mallard Splashing in the Pond, Duluth • Michelle Running, Duluth

Lake/Landscape:

Emerald Keyhole, Pictured Rocks, MI • Kimlan Bell, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Devil's Island Lighthouse, Bayfield • Steve Bensing, Valparaiso, IN

Quick Pop Up Rainstorm, Kitch-iti-kipi • Jodi Byers, Allegan, MI 

Changing of the Season, Negaunee, MI • Jenny Lea Paltzer, Negaunee, MI

Sea Lion Summer, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park • AmberBeth VanNingen, Ely, MN

People/Humor:

Izzy and Lydia headed to the beach, Autrain MI • Debra Carey, Bessemer, MI

Keyhole Kayak, Apostle Islands, Cornucopia • Kristi Evans, Marquette, MI

Tranquility, Cornucopia, WI • Karess Pastore, Austin, TX

Unison Makes a Whole, Park Point Beach, Duluth • Cody Pulju, Superior, WI 

Blackhawk Marina at Bayfield, WI • Jan Wilcox, Mayfield, WI

Artsy/Altered:

Forest Floor Mystery, Superior National Forest Gunflint Trail • Teresa Bruski, Woodbury, MN 

Old Car on Madeline Island • Diane Michaud Lowry, Ames, IA

Maritime:

Ranger III and Huron Jewel, Houghton, MI • Tom Ala, Springfield, IL

Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tour, Munising, MI • Steve Bensing, Valparaiso, IN

Sailing into the Sunset, Duluth, MN • Kelsey Borntrager, Trimont, MN

Minnesota Old Boat, Two Harbors, MN • Laurie Jacobson, South Bend, IN

Federal Champlain transiting Lake Superior • Mohit Rana, Shahbad Daulatpur, Delhi, India