The same pair of gentlemen appear in the photos above from the Wide Awake Studio in Duluth. In addition to the mystery of who the subjects of these photos might be is the question of why the particular studio they are standing in was open seven days a week until midnight. Why would people at the turn of the 20th Century want to, for example, get their photos taken at 11 p.m. on a Sunday? Was that normal?
Depending on their vantage point, Duluthians had the chance to see two simultaneous rainbows over Lake Superior today. Here are a few images via Instagram.
Twelve photos representing seven dogs and one Great Lake. The past few years, whenever someone’s dog is in the water, I ask if I can take underwater pictures of it. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. Here’s the best ones, including three dogs of winter.
Protests and riots in the Twin Cities spread to Duluth on Saturday. The death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer spurred the actions, which were mostly peaceful in Duluth. The notable exception was an incident at the Kwik Trip convenience store on 27th Avenue West and Superior Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
The building that has been home to the Electric Fetus music and gift store since 1987 was once a theater. From 1903 to 1911 the Bijou Theatre operated at 12 E. Superior St. until it was renamed the Empress Theatre. It burned in 1915, but the structure survived and was converted to retail.
Rich Hoeg is a naturalist, photographer and children’s book author. His blog, 365 Days of Birds, provides daily updates on the birds and animals he follows, as well as an occasional post about his human activities. In Selective Focus this week, he talks about how his other interests have influenced his wildlife photography.
RH: Unlike most photographers who like to use DSLR’s and big lenses which are heavy with lots of reach, I chose to use a “super zoom / bridge” camera. I wanted a camera setup which allowed for easy portability whether birding, bike touring or cross-country skiing. This decision was driven by a decision to retire from the traditional work world (I was a software techie) at the somewhat young age of 57. My wife and I had planned a 2,500 mile self-supported two month bicycle tour of northern New England, the Canadian Maritime Provinces and the St. Lawrence River from its mouth to Quebec City. A large camera would have been impractical and heavy in my bike panniers.
Buyck is about 100 miles north of Duluth. Presumably this 1940s-era photo depicts cabins at what is the modern-day fishing and hunting camp that bears the name Gold Mine Camp.
It’s a nearly impossible challenge to put names on people in century-old cabinet card photos, but we occasionally try nonetheless. At least in most cases we know the photographer’s name, which can lead in all sorts of directions.
My friend Erin Tope (now Sola) and I collaborated on these pictures in the French River a few years ago. From the first they suggested characters and supernatural narratives, which I initially put to a series of four wordless short videos set to music. That sparked years of subsequent imagining about who these ghosts are. Words have now been joined to pictures to form the final iteration of the project. In the absence of an actual physical publisher, I have posted them at their own site where I consider it a free 16-page e-book. I post them here as well for your enjoyment — although you may want to leave the light on.
In my years of recording every moment in the lake (and the rivers and streams), I have encountered many fish. Here are some highlights.
Ryan Carlson, a security officer at Duluth’s Miller Hill Mall, shot this image of a black bear trying to pay a visit to the Noodles & Company restaurant at the mall’s main entrance around 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Katie Altrichter Kaz, the mall’s general manager, posted the image on Facebook and wrote that she’s named the bear Noodles and considers it the mall’s new mascot.
The glamour of big crowds, long nights and sloppy hugs were missing, but the Homegrown Music Festival virtually carried on. Here are a few select images from Instagram of the Homegrown that wasn’t, but sort of was.
Happy StayHomegrown. This week, as in past years, we will be displaying banner photos related to Homegrown at the top of the page. (Those of you looking at PDD on a smartphone, by the way, will not see photo banners at the top of pages. They clutter things up too much on the tiny screens.)
This undated postcard from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography depicts a “foreign vessel going under famous Aerial Lift Bridge,” according to the caption on the back.
These two buildings still exist in Duluth, in slightly altered form. They are significant for different reasons. One of them is one of the oldest standing buildings in Duluth.
What are they currently used for? What was the October House? Hint: A baker named Bergetta Moe was involved at one point.
