I do not consider myself a photographer, but rather a naturalist with a camera that captures some of my curiosity and amazement in the natural world. I do not set up for photos like Craig Blacklock and Jim Brandenburg who can envision light angles and time of day; Instead my camera is an extension of any hike, bike, paddle. It is my companion and like a good companion I am able to show it what I really like, what interests me. If I am good at communicating with my cannon EOS5D it completes the partnership by allowing me to bring home a glimpse of what I liked.

Just like my teaching, it is often spontaneous, and perhaps a little lucky, except that luck is built on 39 years of adventures and teaching in the outdoors.

It was digital that enticed me in to photography. The old cameras, the costs of developing, the inability to work with the raw materials discouraged me, but with the new technology I can not afford to try things that I might not have in the past.

On the hike I will have my companion attached to me at all times. I will be looking through both my binoculars and my lens regularly (my hand lens as well as the camera lens) and I will attempt to capture some of the special feelings that I have along the way. In addition, we will be taking some photos that might be very important and also very boring.

These photos will be at specific sites around the lake (about 600) where Kate and I will record the longitude and latitude and take an image in each cardinal direction. This is not done for art or composition for rather as a record of the moment in time. It will become a baseline for the watershed. What is there in 2010 and it will allow for someone in, say, 3010 to take a photo from the exact same location and allow for comparison. These will be taken with our cannon A640 point and shoot. The historical and photographic record will be aided by a notation of plants, animals, development that will be in written form with day, time, longitude, latitude, etc.

Finally there will be portrait photos of Kate and I on the hike and people that we meet and interview. The lake is much more than a place, more than the rocks and trees and water: it is the sum of human activity, human interaction, and the protection we are wise enough to give it.

We are honoured to have been granted permission from Craig Blacklock to use his awe-inspiring and moving photograph of a Lake Superior Sunrise as the backdrop for our website.

Craig Blacklock is one of Minessota's most renowned nature photographers. His most recent publication, Lake Superior Images, of which the abovementioned photograph is a plate in, is breathtaking in its portrayal of the shore of Lake Superior. There are 145 plates in it, gathered across 8 years of kayaking and hiking. The book can be obtained here.

Together with his wife, Nadine, he carries on the legacy of his father, Les Blacklock, in bringing back from his journeys and outdoor moments stills of nature and Lake Superior at its most beautiful, profound, and awe-inspiring. A nature sanctuary on Lake Superior's North Shore, just minutes away from Moose Lake, MN is set aside in his family name to protect the natural heritage of the shoreline and preserve a refuge for artists and public alike to spend quiet moments in its pristine forests.

Craig Blacklock is the recipient of many awards, including a Minnesota Book Award and an Independent Publishers book award for Best Photography Book of the Year (2005). His photography is exhibited in numerous collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Polaroid Collection, and the George Eastman House. He has also been teaching photography workshops since 1982.