I drove, in the dark, from Minneapolis to Duluth, MN to be there a half-hour before sunrise- the blue hour. I went to the Duluth harbor canal to see if there were any ships coming in - sunrise, ships, lighthouse- I thought it would make a nice photo.

Before I unloaded all my gear, I took a peek at the scene. Ice floating in the canal! I knew a long exposure would blur the moving ice. I grabbed my tripod, backpack, and camera. I saw the steps to the pier covered in snow and ice. I held onto the handrail. Even though I was walking slowly, when I stepped onto the walkway, I fell. I was okay, just very sore.

I took a few photos without a filter, nice, not great. I then used a three stop Formatt Hi-tech ND filter, AV mode, ISO 100,f/16, 30 sec. exposure- much better. The ice had a nice flowing blur, the lighthouse was sharp and clear, the color vibrant. I was happy, even though the ship coming into the harbor was still too far out to be seen that well.