A Weekend in the Land of 10,000 Lakes

        Our first-class period excited me for what is to come this semester in this course, as I believe it will give me the time and opportunity to appreciate nature in a newfound way. Our class discussion made me realize how often I take the beauty of nature for granted, and rarely slow down to truly look at and appreciate what is around me. In his poem, Outside Lies Magic, John R. Stillgoe states “Go outside and walk a bit, long enough to forget about programming, long enough to take in and record new surroundings.” This is exactly what I plan to do throughout the semester, and even have already begun to accomplish over the past weekend!

        This weekend I traveled home to Wayzata, Minnesota, which gave me the perfect opportunity to experience nature. I may be biased from growing up there, but I personally believe that Minnesota is the most beautiful place to be during the summer due to all of the lakes, greenery, and weather. On Saturday, I decided to follow Stillgoe’s advice and go on a walk with no distractions. My boyfriend joined me, and we walked around his neighborhood and the lake. This is an area I spent a lot of time in previously, so I was surprised at how many new things I noticed when I was not distracted by my phone or anything else. For example, I saw a bird’s nest up in the trees, and even also noticed an albino squirrel running through the forest! We stopped for ice cream on our walk and ended up coming out of the ice cream shop at the perfect time for the most beautiful sunset. The sky was filled with shades of pink, red, orange, and yellow, all combining to make an ombre effect in the sky.

Image 1: Running to the lake

Image 2: Canoe rack

        As you can see in image 1, my boyfriend and I ran to the water to get a better look, and the view only got better as the water added another serene element to the sunset. Image 2 is my personal favorite, as I like the combination of the water, sunset, and canoes, and I think it encapsulates the Minnesota summer experience as, since the nice weather is short-lasting, we spend every day outside on the lakes doing all types of water activities. Chapter 6 of the Conservation Photography Handbook describes that horizontal lines, as the canoes create in the right photo, convey stability and earthiness, which may be why I find the addition of the canoe rack so powerful in depicting this summer sunset. This experience was also somewhat emotional for me, as I was home in Minnesota for the funeral of my grandfather, who had passed away earlier last week. I found the contrast of such beauty in a difficult time to be extremely powerful, and it almost felt like my grandfather was painting the sky to let us know that he was okay and better now in heaven.

Image 4: True representation

Image 3: Cropped

        As I was sitting by the lake, I remembered our class discussion about Professor Williams’ photograph that shows the serene bird on the lake with the speedboat going by in the background, and how powerful I found that contrast in showing the human impact on nature. I then further understood this concept through reading Chapter 6 in the Conservation Photography Handbook, which describes the impact a photographer can have by not trying to create beauty out of the ugly, but instead drawing attention to the destruction through a strong portrayal of it. This came to mind because, although the lake and sunset were beautiful, the shore was filled with green algae. It is well known in Minnesota that algae and bacteria form in the lake by the end of the summer due to the overuse of the lake by humans, to the point where many lakes become unclean to swim in due to so much buildup. Upon further research into the particular algae I was seeing, I learned that, although it can be natural, in many cases it is caused from the chemicals used on lawns and agriculture washing into the water system, as that allows the algae to feast on the “food” and quickly grow and spread. Because of all of this, I decided to take two photographs to allow for comparison, with image 3 cutting out the algae and image 4 showing the algae covered shore. Both pictures show the beauty of the sunset but comparing the two clearly shows the negative impact humans have on the environment. I typically would take photos like the left, simply cutting out any negative aspects of the environment, but going forwards I plan to take photos that show those aspects to represent nature more accurately. 

        I plan to complete my journals on a weekly basis, and end each with a goal for myself in the next week, as I am goal-oriented and am confident that doing so will ensure that I continue to challenge myself to intentionally spend time in nature. My goal for this week is to appreciate nature on my daily walks to class, as I typically am on my phone when I walk and therefore do not take the opportunity to take in the nature surrounding me.

Image 5: Sunset over the lake

Thank you for reading!

Emily

Research links into algae:

https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/why-are-some-lakes-full-algae-and-thick-plants

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/elg/environment/content/water/content/lakes/whats_that.html