The 27th Annual Photo Contest Winners

Grand Prize: Driftwood & Tracks at Sunset, Green, Mich. • John M. Niska, Ontonagon, Mich.

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The Winners

Somethings never change – and the quality and delightful variety of images for our annual Lake Superior photo contest are two of those. A third is the nearly impossible task of our judges each year to choose just a few from the hundreds of images reviewed.

Submissions came in this year from 15 states or provinces and two additional foreign countries. It’s obvious from these beautiful, funny and amazingly captured photos that the Big Lake and its environs provide ample joy.

Evoked emotions of tranquility, infinity and awe permeate these winners. Our Grand Prize winner, taken near tiny Green, Michigan, along Highway M-64 midway between Ontonagon and Silver City. successfully expresses the mystical pull of Lake Superior along an inviting shore with a sense of timelessness caught in a moment.

Other images will bring, we hope, “oooo” and “aaaahhh” thoughts about where we live and visit. Still others brought us some playful chuckles to see people and pets interacting with our many attractions.

We can’t wait for the next round. Entries for the 28th annual Lake Superior Photo Contest must be received electronically by October 10, 2022.

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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: Cedar Waxwing, Ontonagon County, Mich. • Chris Hendra, Dollar Bay, Mich.

Second Place: At Play on Thunder Bay • Christine Johnston, Thunder Bay

Honorable Mention: Aviation in Duluth • Kenji Ogura, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Mum’s the Word in Duluth • Dan Lee Vander Ark, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Mushroom at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park in Ontario • Justin VanNingen, Columbia Heights, Minn.    

Honorable Mention: Superior Hiking Trail, Minn. • Laura Howard, Bloomington, Minn.

Honorable Mention: My Yard in Duluth • Jane Kaiser, Duluth

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Lake/Landscape

First Place: Split Rock Wave, Minn. • Paul F. Ostrum, Hayward, Wis.

Second Place: The Lake at Dawn in Pictured Rocks, Mich. • Kim Horsburgh & Steve Leach, Grand Marais, Mich.

Honorable Mention: Nokomis Trail Lookout, Ont. • Victoria Loor, Dundas, Ont. 

Honorable Mention: Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota • Lori Warne, Newfolden, Minn. 

Honorable Mention: Full Moon over Brighton Beach, Duluth • Kenji Ogura, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Still of the Night in Minong, Wis. • Michelle Bragg, Eagan, Minn.   

Honorable Mention: Evening at Point Iroquois, Mich. • Jolene Grulke, Rogers City, Mich.

Honorable Mention: Breakwater Light, Two Harbors, Minn. • Melinda Allison, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Honorable Mention: Glorious Morning in Paradise, Mich. • Annette Harting Boose, Westerville, Ohio

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People/Humor

First Place: Sparkling Cave at Pictured Rocks, Mich. • Sara Liao, Danville, Calif.

Second Place: Gettin’ Down at Lakenenland near Marquette • Walt Huss, Coon Rapids, Minn.

Honorable Mention: Ah! What a View in Cornucopia, Wis. • Amy Hafeman, Glenwood City, Wis.

Honorable Mention: Fall Colors, Jay Cooke State Park, Minn. • John Heino, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Wishful Thinking in Duluth • Molly Milroy, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Rainbow Dash on Park Point • Kari Speer, Duluth

Honorable Mention: Ooooo! in Grand Marais, Mich. • Steve Leach, Grand Marais, Mich.

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Artsy/Altered

First Place: Minnesota Sawtooths • Ken Evans, Maple Grove, Minn. [The late afternoon sun helps illustrate tilted rock formations which form the spine of the Sawtooth Mountains]

Second Place: Call of the Thunderbird at Red Cliif, Wis. • James Peacock, Bayfield [The exposure of this image was blown away by the bright lightning strike. I used my iPad edit to adjust the exposure, saturation, shadows, highlights and others to bring out the beautiful strike.]

Honorable Mention: Great Grey in Two Harbors • Jenifer Selwa, Newaygo, Mich. [Sky replacement was done to pleasing tones, as the original image was taken at sunset on a cloudless sky, with just a solid yellow background.]

Honorable Mention: Ripples in the Keweenaw, Mich. • J.H. Arnold, Arbor Vitae, Wis. [Sunlight refracting on the sand ripples and their reflections on the undersurface of Lake Superior at Traverse Bay along the Keweenaw Peninsula.]

Honorable Mention: Duluth Skyline • Winnie Sjoquist, Princeton. Minn. [This image was edited with an application called YouCam Perfect. I used the “Scatch” and “Grunge” overlays to edit this photo.]

Honorable Mention: Fall Happy at Nisula, Mich. • Heidi Mensch, Nisula [Fall leaves and sticks used to create the face on the mushroom.]

Honorable Mention: Superior Iron Duck in Duluth • Blake Nyquist, Spring Park, Minn. [I was taking some photos on a solo trip along the Duluth shoreline. I found a small heavy painted duck at an antique shop and had a little photo shoot in Superior while looking for rocks!]

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Maritime

First Place: The Departure from Duluth, • Like He, Gering, Neb.

Second Place: Loading Grain at Terminal Elevator in Thunder Bay • Greg McDougall, Thunder Bay

Honorable Mention: Isle Royale Shuttle • Ken Evans, Maple Grove, Minn.  

Honorable Mention: Waterpark at Agate Bay, Two Harbors, Minn. • Phil Hartley, Two Harbors

Honorable Mention: Exploring History, Madeira Under Water at Split Rock, Minn. • Eric Knaff, St. Paul 

Honorable Mention: Morning Mast Reflection, Bayfield, Wis. • Steve Bensing, Valparaiso, Ind. 

Honorable Mention: Winter Trek among the Apostle Islands, Wis. • Jan Wilcox, Bayfield

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Finalists

Nature:

Blue Bells at Beaver Bay, Minn. (Cove Point) • Jason Boudreau-Landis, Chanhassen, Minn.

Beaver checking out his ‘dam’ain on the Gunflint Trail, Minn. • Judy Trousdell, Rochester Minn.

Lake/Landscape:

Superior Glitter at Miner’s Beach, Mich. • Alyssa Essig, Eden Prairie, Minn.

Cascade Zen at Cascade River State Park, Minn. • John Heino, Duluth

Gale Warning at Grand Marais, Mich. • Walter Huss, Coon Rapids, Minn.

Gleaming Pancakes at Grand Marais, Minn. • Manasi Makarand Chaphalkar, Gurnee, Ill.

People/Humor:

Life Is A Beach in Duluth • Lonnie D. Olson, Elbow Lake, Minn.

Drifter at Park Point Beach, Duluth • Henriette Soderlind, Duluth

Spectacular Sun in the Porcupine Mountains, Silver City, Mich. • Ella Rosewood, Brooklyn, N.Y. (It’s my mom on her 60^th birthday!)

Artsy/Altered:

Crisp Point Lighthouse in Distant Fog, Mich. • Kristen Daniels, Caro, Mich. [Adjusted color and crispness after applying filter] 

Naturally Unnatural in Duluth • Kari Speer, Duluth [Color enhanced]

Maritime:

Old & New Boats at Whitefish Point, Mich. • Laurie Jacobson, South Bend, Ind.

Foggy Fall Morn at Grand Marais, Minn. • Michelle Osterhus, Ramsey, Minn.

Fishing Boats Breaking Loose at Bayfield, Wis. • Jan Wilcox, Bayfield