UpNorthica

Most of us hikers pride ourselves in ‘leaving no trace’ where our feet have trod. Jim Denevan makes a point of leaving as big a trace as he can. The performance artist has just made the world’s largest drawing in this dry Nevada lake bed (Jim is the tiny speck in the center). This record-breaking […]

Give yourself a minute to drool (like we did) over this latest project from Murat, a traditional paddle maker we’ve featured before. We’d love to have taken it on its maiden voyage in the BWCA. The warm tones of the birch bark, the natural lashings, the meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail… lust lust lust.
But […]

Seeing this photo reminds me of about a hundred perfect moments I’ve had in the BWCA.

I’ve seen this kind of work cropping up a bit lately on the Innertubes, and I want to see lots more! Using clods of transplanted moss and a handful of household tools, artists like Edina Tokodi, Helen Nodding and Jesse Graves use public spaces as canvases for their art. Using organic materials (Graves’ preferred medium […]

We’ve added a few new pieces to the Vintage Wildlife Illustrations Flickr set. Grab your fieldglass and have a look.

When it comes to photographing natural wonders, the Northern Lights are hard to beat. So try to beat other photographers instead, in the Top 20 Northern Lights Flickr Group. Any time you post a photo, you have to remove someone else’s. Or… if that kind of cutthroat competition is too nerve-jangling to your Scandihoovian disposition, […]

An area photographer shares some user-friendly tips on how to get the best shots of the Aurora Borealis. Every bit helps, for a guy like me that still can’t turn my flashbulb off in broad daylight.

Check out our collection of Vintage Wildlife Illustrations, a new set in the UpNorthica Flickr Pool. I’ll post about respective authors another time, but the pen and ink illustrations and overall page designs really deserve appreciation. Enjoy, there are more to come.

John James Audubon may have never made it to Minnesota, but he knew the birds of our state better than most any of us ever will. His seminal work Birds of America contains 435 incredible full color life size plates. The University of Pittsburgh, which owns a rare full copy, has made each plate available […]

A collaboration between artists, scientists and educators, “Paradise Lost: Climate Change in the North Woods” does more than spread awareness about climate change. On exhibit through April 11 at the Bell Museum of Natural History in Minneapolis, it’s inspiring as much as it is, sobering. And in a more digestible format than Al […]

In her series, Domesticated, photographer Amy Stein creates commentaries on the tensions between mankind and wildlife, who increasingly share the same spaces. So why the “pseudo-wildlife’ label? Stein uses borrowed taxidermy as the subjects of her shots.
Within these scenes I explore our paradoxical relationship with the “wild” and how our conflicting impulses continue to evolve […]

Here are the best of mine…sadly, the best I could get were these stills from my camcorder. How’d yours turn out? Post your links in the comments.

I had to link to this shot of reindeer moss by Boundary Waters Flickr Pool member, tseWmadA. The colors are amazing…borderline fantastical; I’d love to see this printed as largely as possible. Enjoy.

Most of us have enjoyed assembling crude rock sculptures in idle moments on the trail, or along the North Shore. And while we may not dedicate much thought to the activity once it’s done, we feel gratified because it’s yet another connection point we’ve made to the beauty around us.
Sculptor and land artist Andy Goldsworthy […]

This great shot of a climber leading on Palisade Head was among the winners of National Geographic Adventure’s recent photo contest.