Welcome to the photography website featuring the work of Travis Novitsky! Thank you for taking the time to visit and browse the galleries. This website features images from my home area of Grand Portage, Minnesota and the north shore of Lake Superior, but also has many images from other areas as I expand my travels.
WHAT IS GRAND PORTAGE?
Grand Portage is a special place... a place that I am proud to call home. There truly is no place else I would want to live. I have tried to put into words the way I feel about Grand Portage, often without much success. My feelings seem to come out through my images easier than through my words. Any words I could manage to come up with would pale in comparison to those of James Hull, from his book "Red Shadows in the Mist".
While James died before I was really old enough to know him, I wish I would have had the opportunity to have known him. The way he wrote about Grand Portage is the way I feel about it. James' wife Muriel no longer lives in Grand Portage but I had the chance to speak with her on the phone, and she gave me permission to quote his book here on my website. I would like to thank her sincerely for granting me that permission. We all celebrate Grand Portage in our own way. For James, it was his way with words. For me, it is through my images.
Although his book was self-published in 1969, much of what he wrote in the chapter titled "What is Grand Portage" still holds true today. Click the link below to read this chapter from the book:
What is Grand Portage?
Grand Portage is a special place... a place that I am proud to call home. There truly is no place else I would want to live. I have tried to put into words the way I feel about Grand Portage, often without much success. My feelings seem to come out through my images easier than through my words. Any words I could manage to come up with would pale in comparison to those of James Hull, from his book "Red Shadows in the Mist".
While James died before I was really old enough to know him, I wish I would have had the opportunity to have known him. The way he wrote about Grand Portage is the way I feel about it. James' wife Muriel no longer lives in Grand Portage but I had the chance to speak with her on the phone, and she gave me permission to quote his book here on my website. I would like to thank her sincerely for granting me that permission. We all celebrate Grand Portage in our own way. For James, it was his way with words. For me, it is through my images.
Although his book was self-published in 1969, much of what he wrote in the chapter titled "What is Grand Portage" still holds true today. Click the link below to read this chapter from the book:
What is Grand Portage?
(Photo at left: In my element..... Self-portrait taken on Big Susie Island on Lake Superior)
A life-long resident of the north shore of Lake Superior, I was born in 1975 in Grand Marais, Minnesota and reside in Grand Portage (the very northeastern tip of Minnesota). Grand Portage is an Indian Reservation on the shores of Lake Superior, and I am an enrolled member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe).
My home is surrounded by lakes, rivers, boreal forest, mountains (not by western standards, but we do have the highest elevations in Minnesota).....and, of course, Lake Superior.....the largest (by surface area) freshwater lake in the world. That is to say, there is never a shortage of photographic subjects! My interests include almost anything to do with the outdoors, however my favorite activities are mountain biking, hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing and kayaking, etc. Of course, my favorite activity is just taking my camera and wandering..... I'm always on the lookout for new pictures!
A life-long resident of the north shore of Lake Superior, I was born in 1975 in Grand Marais, Minnesota and reside in Grand Portage (the very northeastern tip of Minnesota). Grand Portage is an Indian Reservation on the shores of Lake Superior, and I am an enrolled member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe).
My home is surrounded by lakes, rivers, boreal forest, mountains (not by western standards, but we do have the highest elevations in Minnesota).....and, of course, Lake Superior.....the largest (by surface area) freshwater lake in the world. That is to say, there is never a shortage of photographic subjects! My interests include almost anything to do with the outdoors, however my favorite activities are mountain biking, hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing and kayaking, etc. Of course, my favorite activity is just taking my camera and wandering..... I'm always on the lookout for new pictures!
(Photo at right: Self-portrait taken at High Falls at night during a full moon - Grand Portage State Park)
I am often asked what it was that made me decide to "get into photography". I don't believe that there was one defining moment that made me decide to pick up a camera. While I have admired the work of many photographers over the years, most notably the work of Jim Brandenburg and Craig Blacklock, the one person who stands out as having the biggest influence on my own photography is someone that I see on a daily basis: my dad.
I give my dad credit for being the one who originally got me interested in photography. While he never pressured me to pick up a camera and to start taking pictures, he always had a camera in hand when I was growing up and my desire to try and create my own collection of beautiful, memorable images was triggered by viewing his extensive library of awe-inspiring slides throughout the years.
I am often asked what it was that made me decide to "get into photography". I don't believe that there was one defining moment that made me decide to pick up a camera. While I have admired the work of many photographers over the years, most notably the work of Jim Brandenburg and Craig Blacklock, the one person who stands out as having the biggest influence on my own photography is someone that I see on a daily basis: my dad.
I give my dad credit for being the one who originally got me interested in photography. While he never pressured me to pick up a camera and to start taking pictures, he always had a camera in hand when I was growing up and my desire to try and create my own collection of beautiful, memorable images was triggered by viewing his extensive library of awe-inspiring slides throughout the years.
(Photo at left: Hiking at Zion National Park in Utah. Photo by: Rick Novitsky)
I am primarily a self-taught photographer and have never taken a photography class of any kind. Most of my knowledge about photography has come from lots of time spent taking pictures and experimenting with the camera, although I have also read quite a few books on the subject. I specialize in images of nature and wildlife, shooting those images with a Canon digital SLR and Canon lenses.
My current camera is a Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR. I have 3 lenses which I use with the 5D Mark II: a Canon EF 17-40mm f4 L USM, a Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM, and a Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM. Other gear includes a Gitzo Model G2227 Explorer tripod with a Kirk BH-1 ball head, a circular polarizer filter and SINGH-RAY graduated neutral-density filters.
I hope that my images inspire you to get outside and enjoy all the beauty that mother nature has to offer!
I am primarily a self-taught photographer and have never taken a photography class of any kind. Most of my knowledge about photography has come from lots of time spent taking pictures and experimenting with the camera, although I have also read quite a few books on the subject. I specialize in images of nature and wildlife, shooting those images with a Canon digital SLR and Canon lenses.
My current camera is a Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR. I have 3 lenses which I use with the 5D Mark II: a Canon EF 17-40mm f4 L USM, a Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM, and a Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM. Other gear includes a Gitzo Model G2227 Explorer tripod with a Kirk BH-1 ball head, a circular polarizer filter and SINGH-RAY graduated neutral-density filters.
I hope that my images inspire you to get outside and enjoy all the beauty that mother nature has to offer!
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