This is my fave because it really looked the way it appears in the photo. Sometimes a photo will make what you saw look better than what it really was. Many times the photo won't look as good as what you witnessed, but this golden morning shot was exactly what I saw. Plus, I heard wolves that night and their pups yipping too and smallmouth kept rising in front of my canoe. It was perfect.

So, what's your favorite photo and why?

Phone booth in the middle of nowhere. My favorite because it was so out of place and so unexpected. Someone has a great sense of humor.

hard to pick just one for sure! I guess this one for the following reasons. I love sunsets in the Northland, I love the calm evenings around the campfire awaiting the star filled night that is guaranteed to come on evenings like this. I like that the canoe is in the picture awaiting another day of fishing and exploring.?

I have done close to 15 paddles in AK this year, this is my favorite pic.
It reminds me of the BW, I left the entry point in the rain and paddled and portaged 7 ish miles, set up camp and the sky cleared in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Me with my brother, my oldest son and my nephew in Quetico - 2008



Me with my youngest son at Prairie Portage - 2010



Me with two of my three oldest and best friends in the world in Wabakimi - 2011

I've always loved this one from 2013 Agnes Lake at the Meadows Lk. portage landing in Quetico. It was day one and me and my dog were stopped for lunch hunkered under the pines. I love the muted colors and the way the red canoe just pops out. I really love how the pines frame the picture too.

It will be impossible for me to pick just one. Because each photograph engenders a specific memory, many times it is that memory that makes the photo a "favorite", not the actual quality of the image itself.

The very first one that came to mind isn't in the Minnesota/Canada north woods at all, but in Seney Wildlife Refuge in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Just some very ordinary geese on a misty morning.






Spartan1 has a favorite image from our "Celebration Canoe Trip" (the first trip that we took together after his kidney transplant.) This one was taken on the Kelso River. He loves the reflections, and I have come to love the photo because he enjoys it so much.








But my all-time favorite may be this simple photo of blades of grass on the surface of the creek between Kawishiwi Lake and Square Lake. We were just on a morning paddle, and it was the moment when my husband demonstrated to me how very much his photographic "eye" had developed in the years that we had been canoeing (and photographing) together. "Lynda, I think there might be a photo here."

Sorry. I have to add one more. This one has a story. She was seven years old and it was her fourth summer of going to the canoe country with us. We were staying overnight at a campsite on East Twin Lake, off the Echo Trail.







Grandma said, "What are you thinking?" and Anna replied, "I am listening to the wilderness." "What are you hearing?" Grandma asked. "Oh, the birds, the frogs, the silence. . .the birds, the frogs. Just the sounds of the wilderness."

OK, I'll add one more pic taken today.
I drove to Cooper Landing AK, 26 miles to the east for a last BLT.
Cooper Landing is the closest civilization to the East, West of me it is only 8 miles
to my nearest neighbor. I live alone, off grid, in a government guard station.
Anyway, I snapped a pic of the overlook on Skilak Lake today.
I have spent 400 sleeps on this Lake in the last 2.5 years.
I'm gonna miss her, and probably shed a tear when I leave in less than two days.

Myself and Skilak were blessed with a rare day of sunshine.

Spartan2, I love the picture that you took and posted in the past with your grand-daughter and the dragon fly. It is one of my favorite that I have seen on this site.

This was one of those mornings after a very special night. Around 10pm Bernie woke me up... You could hear something walking up the shore. We got up and stood about where she was in the picture and watched a big bull moose walk up the shore by us in a full moon light. Bernie just sat and watched. She enjoyed seeing wildlife as much as I do. So this picture in the morning is a good reminder of a special moment. About midnight it walked back down the shore so we had a second moment.

quote Spartan2: "Sorry. I have to add one more. This one has a story. She was seven years old and it was her fourth summer of going to the canoe country with us. We were staying overnight at a campsite on East Twin Lake, off the Echo Trail.








Grandma said, "What are you thinking?" and Anna replied, "I am listening to the wilderness." "What are you hearing?" Grandma asked. "Oh, the birds, the frogs, the silence. . .the birds, the frogs. Just the sounds of the wilderness.""

She's going to be quite a lady. Her grandma and grandpa instilled some of the best qualities a person can have.

I got to take my only child Alex twice to the BW his last two summers of highschool. Ten days after his graduation he was off to Ft. Benning and Army bootcamp. That was 2010 and he's been in ever since. We don't get to see him much now but modern technology sure helps with being able to keep in touch.

I am very grateful to have those two trips with just me and him. I'm so glad to have those memories.

So many, hard to choose. But, this has to be one of my favorites because it was my first trip. It was, appropriately, on my birthday as it was the "Birth" of my life's passion; the passion for paddling in the northwoods.

quote TomT: " I got to take my only child Alex twice to the BW his last two summers of highschool. Ten days after his graduation he was off to Ft. Benning and Army bootcamp. That was 2010 and he's been in ever since. We don't get to see him much now but modern technology sure helps with being able to keep in touch.

I am very grateful to have those two trips with just me and him. I'm so glad to have those memories.





"

I'm sure you are very proud of your son. One of the 1%. ........Go Army!

Like I can only pick just one? That's a tall order.......



Probably this one. June of 2014 on Saganaga Lake, likely looking at Munker Narrows. One of those mornings that sticks with you and keeps you coming back, again and again.

It is hard to choose just one, but this rainbow over Carp Lake is among my favorites. It was captured on the last day of our memorable Man Chain trip (Quetico) in 2016.

2010 - finishing up a trip at French Lake. Besides my kids, probably my favorite picture I've ever taken.

My oldest son's first trip in 2015. First time to Oyster Lake. Perfect weather, and the trout were biting.

The wife after I told her not to use a slip bobber in North Bay. What do I know. She out fished me 2 to 1 this trip.

This photo is special to me because it is from the camp that I made on Musclow Lake in WCPP. This is the "sunset porch" and I spent many evenings either sitting or fishing while watching the sun go down. It is truly a special spot.

A trip with my two son's Nick & Dan and Molly the lab. (Her last trip)
We had a Great time and not a worry in the world. Just such a Beautiful night and I remember it like Yesterday.

SunCatcher

I like to look down into the water as much as the land or sky.

:)

Caribou Lake Sunset

I love this one because it was the last night of a weeklong trip. I brought two newbies out for there first trip and this night they really "got" why canoe tripping is so special. They've each been back on their own since this adventure, so I'm pretty sure they are hooked now too!

my son and i did a short trip after he finished his masters degree. he had accepted a job in the oil industry that paid him like a professional athlete, thing was he had to move to oklahoma. he actually liked oklahoma and the job, it did give him a chance to be the top nordic ski racer from oklahoma that year. he lasted a year, now on the iron range.

i think this photo captures his contemplations, the bwca being a great place for that.

Though I'm a relative newbie with just a few trips under my belt, favorite picture is from our first trip, my then 9 year old son and myself, on the Granite River in 2015.

BTW, Ozarkpaddler, this picture should look familiar to you, as my son must have been standing about 10 feet from the spot in your picture above!

My current favorite. This was taken just last month (September 2017) on Ge-be-on-e-quet Creek. My grown son (who grew up paddling the BWCA and Quetico with me, but has moved away from MN) came back with his girlfriend for an all-too-rare paddling trip.

quote BK1950: " My current favorite. This was taken just last month (September 2017) on Ge-be-on-e-quet Creek. My grown son (who grew up paddling the BWCA and Quetico with me, but has moved away from MN) came back with his girlfriend for an all-too-rare paddling trip.


"

The color is incredible in your photo. Is it enhanced in any way?

quote johndku: "Though I'm a relative newbie with just a few trips under my belt, favorite picture is from our first trip, my then 9 year old son and myself, on the Granite River in 2015.


BTW, Ozarkpaddler, this picture should look familiar to you, as my son must have been standing about 10 feet from the spot in your picture above!
"

Ahhh, Little Rock Falls will always be a special place for me; NICE SHOT! Here's one from a different angle:

That shot looks just a little more recent!

BWCA Ima Lake base camp/fishing trip. On this day, we hadn’t found the walleyes yet, but we did get enough for a good fry. My brothers and Dad had just all rendezvoused back at camp in this photo. Late afternoon- fish cleaning duties, camp fire making, and fish frying ensued. And can’t forget the happy hour manhatten, too.

Within 2 hours of this photo being taken, halfway through fish dinner, the mood changed drastically from this picture as one of the six was unconscious and struggling to live. None of us knew the cause of the violent seizures of the one. The rest of us were trying to help him, comfort him, and waiting for what would/may happen next. I remember standing in the dark, headlamps on, feeling pretty helpless. Questions like “what can we do?” “should we move him?” “should we load him in a canoe and start paddling into the night?” and “how long will it take to get him to help?”

He came out of it eventually, we were relieved, we had handled the situation calmly and correctly, and all-you-can-eat-fish fry remained near the fire. We slowly resumed dinner- the fish were cold and the baked beans dried out but we didn’t care one bit. Pretty sure no one was hungry but this was a way to ease back into our normal BWCA camp life again.

So this picture title remains “A good family fishing trip”.

Sort of on topic, but I was just at the James J Hill House in St. Paul and saw this awesome canoe photo in an exhibit. The person in the foreground is the man himself, and it was taken in Canada at his hunting/fishing camp.

quote paddy3001: "Sort of on topic, but I was just at the James J Hill House in St. Paul and saw this awesome canoe photo in an exhibit. The person in the foreground is the man himself, and it was taken in Canada at his hunting/fishing camp.
"

Yes, awesome.

Whew, Beav!

quote missmolly: "

quote paddy3001: "Sort of on topic, but I was just at the James J Hill House in St. Paul and saw this awesome canoe photo in an exhibit. The person in the foreground is the man himself, and it was taken in Canada at his hunting/fishing camp.
"

Yes, awesome.


Whew, Beav! "

Looks more like First Nations people. One appears to be sitting on the stern. I’m going to guess that these canoes are Peterborough freighters.

quote BeaV: "BWCA Ima Lake base camp/fishing trip. On this day, we hadn’t found the walleyes yet, but we did get enough for a good fry. My brothers and Dad had just all rendezvoused back at camp in this photo. Late afternoon- fish cleaning duties, camp fire making, and fish frying ensued. And can’t forget the happy hour manhatten, too.


Within 2 hours of this photo being taken, halfway through fish dinner, the mood changed drastically from this picture as one of the six was unconscious and struggling to live. None of us knew the cause of the violent seizures of the one. The rest of us were trying to help him, comfort him, and waiting for what would/may happen next. I remember standing in the dark, headlamps on, feeling pretty helpless. Questions like “what can we do?” “should we move him?” “should we load him in a canoe and start paddling into the night?” and “how long will it take to get him to help?”


He came out of it eventually, we were relieved, we had handled the situation calmly and correctly, and all-you-can-eat-fish fry remained near the fire. We slowly resumed dinner- the fish were cold and the baked beans dried out but we didn’t care one bit. Pretty sure no one was hungry but this was a way to ease back into our normal BWCA camp life again.


So this picture title remains “A good family fishing trip”.
"

Even though I am happily married to my wife, I will have to say, that is one tough/ handsome looking family.

quote BeaV: "BWCA Ima Lake base camp/fishing trip. On this day, we hadn’t found the walleyes yet, but we did get enough for a good fry. My brothers and Dad had just all rendezvoused back at camp in this photo. Late afternoon- fish cleaning duties, camp fire making, and fish frying ensued. And can’t forget the happy hour manhatten, too.


Within 2 hours of this photo being taken, halfway through fish dinner, the mood changed drastically from this picture as one of the six was unconscious and struggling to live. None of us knew the cause of the violent seizures of the one. The rest of us were trying to help him, comfort him, and waiting for what would/may happen next. I remember standing in the dark, headlamps on, feeling pretty helpless. Questions like “what can we do?” “should we move him?” “should we load him in a canoe and start paddling into the night?” and “how long will it take to get him to help?”


He came out of it eventually, we were relieved, we had handled the situation calmly and correctly, and all-you-can-eat-fish fry remained near the fire. We slowly resumed dinner- the fish were cold and the baked beans dried out but we didn’t care one bit. Pretty sure no one was hungry but this was a way to ease back into our normal BWCA camp life again.


So this picture title remains “A good family fishing trip”.


"

Your family all looks like you, BeaV! :)

Glad everything turned out OK.

A lot of great pictures, thanks for sharing!