The Simple Act of Doing.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to photograph on this day. All I knew was that I wanted to go out and create something. I was home and felt, for some reason, that I needed to go somewhere epic, someplace quintessentially Duluth. This thought paralyzed me. There are lots of places that could match that description. The Light House, The Harbour, and any of the many waterfalls, I was spinning out of control with options; what if I chose the wrong one for the conditions? What if location B was better than location A ?! It all became too much, too fast. 

So, I decided to go to one of my favorite nearby spots. About a 20-minute drive from my house along Highway 61, “The Scenic North Shore Highway” is a little pullout (one of many on this drive) that puts you on an unassuming rocky bit of shoreline along Lake Superior. This is a favorite spot for me. It is constantly changing. The driftwood always provides exciting patterns, and so do the rocks. And the power of Lake Superior can leave some pretty impressive boulders along the shore. It may not be considered quintessentially Duluth by anyone else, but for me, this tiny stretch of rocky shoreline is what Duluth is all about. 

In the simple act of doing, I had completely forgotten about all the undue pressure I put on myself. All I needed to do was go out and make an image, to be in a happy place that meant something to me. It was the simple act of doing something, of creating an image, any image, that was important. It wasn’t the final photo that mattered. The act of photographing was the most essential aspect. It is in the making that I am at my happiest.