What I’ve been knitting this November

I’ve been knitting more than crocheting lately. So many knitting patterns suit the colder months! I’ve been learning a lot. I started crocheting about 3 years ago and only tried knitting this past year, so I’m still relatively new to the craft.

Mittens in spring colors

For the first time ever, I used double pointed needles to make mittens. I found a colorwork pattern that featured a lovely floral motif all around the mitten, so I decided to go for it.

It’s the Flowers of Fortrose mittens pattern, and you can get it as a kit if you choose. There’s also a cute matching hat—haven’t made that yet.

I decided to work with the colors and yarns that have been sitting in my stash for weeks. The pattern called for fine/fingering weight yarns—and I tried my best to stick to that. Some of the colors I chose were rated closer to sport/weight 2, but it ended up being close enough. I really wanted to use up some yarn I already had.

The pastel pink/purple yarn is a 100% merino wool that I got on sale from Hobby Lobby before we moved out of Utah. For the motifs, I used what I’d call celery green, bright yellow green, ice blue, and this random white blend with hot pink flecks.

While the colorwork was challenging, I’m so excited by how these turned out. Now that I’ve tried switching between the many strands of yarn, I think I’ll be able to make these again! Maybe with a darker main color, so that the contrast is a little stronger.

Here’s a photo of the finished pair, taken in front of the rock display at Quincy’s in Dollar Bay.

Aurora Borealis hat

More colorwork in the round! This was another beginner pattern—so that I can keep getting the hang of reading charts and switching between yarns. The Learn to Knit Fair Isle Cap has a cute star/flower motif. Such a classic knit!

The colorful purple yarn (100% wool) and bright, almost neon green (100% cotton) reminded me of the northern lights when paired together.

I love the end result, although my gauge was a little bit off from the pattern. My hat ended up slightly too large, so I added a silly-but-cute chin tie to keep it more secure. Very gnome core.

Great for keeping warm on a walk with Cooper.

More mittens—but with holiday colors

I do have some holiday-themed patterns I want to work on next, but first felt the itch to make another pair of mittens. I found another pattern featuring a floral motif—the Botany mittens. This time, I used worsted acrylic yarn that’s been sitting in my stash. I chose to use pine green and bright red, on theme for the upcoming holidays.

With the thicker yarn, you’d think these would knit up a little faster than the first, more complicated pair… but I feel like they took me just as long (between 1-2 weeks).

Honestly, this pattern was a bit challenging. It featured a folded over picot edge at the wrist. With the bolder florals, I found that I had to remember to float the yarn behind even more than usual—to maintain good tension. I would also frequently miscount and have to backtrack rows.

But I’m so happy I stuck with it, because I love the end result! They’re surprisingly warm, too, despite using acrylic yarn.

What’s next?

I have some holiday-themed patterns in my queue! Ornaments, garlands, maybe a cute stocking for the fireplace at our new home??

I am planning to make some Christmas gifts—but I’m carefully choosing simpler patterns this year so that I don’t get fatigued halfway through.

Happy holidays and good luck with your own gift planning! Whether you’re handmaking some or not, it’s all a lot of work. I do love seeing loved ones opening them all. :)

An Evening with the Aurora

An intense solar storm hit on November 11 and 12—which means the Aurora Borealis made an appearance in a big way! I’ve seen the northern lights a few times in my life, but nothing like the spectacle we were treated to in northern Michigan on Wednesday night.

Did you catch the northern lights this week? It was seen much further south than usual, so it was a real treat for stargazers all over the U.S.

I scrambled to find my old astrophotography setup: the right DSLR camera lens (wide aperture a must!), tripod, and manual settings cheat sheet. After moving a few months ago, this was more challenging than I expected. In my experience, the northern lights make their appearance when I least expect them—so of course I wasn’t totally prepared.

Luckily, we didn’t need to travel far to watch the show. Now that we live in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, we’re located far enough north to have better chances to catch the lights. All we needed to do was turn off the porch lights and stand in the driveway!

I was able to find my tripod and wide aperture lens, but sadly misplaced my settings cheat sheet. Despite being a little rusty with getting the camera ISO just right, I still captured some of my best Aurora photos! This isn’t saying too much compared to the professionals on Instagram, but I get better with each attempt.

Astrophotography Cheat Sheet:

Aperture/F-stop: As wide open as your lens allows. If your lens can go up to 2.8mm or wider, that’s key to gathering as much light as possible. The lower the number, the better!
Shutter Speed: 5” to 25” (longer can cause blur/star trails)
Recommended ISO: At least 1600 ISO, probably more! (This is the setting I forgot without my cheat sheet, but luckily the lights were bright enough that I still managed to capture them with only 1250 ISO)

Experts say this winter will be a historic high for solar flares and space weather. I am looking forward to being back in northern Michigan, so that we can make the most of this Aurora viewing season!

I joined another B/W film dev class

I guess if there’s a film development class within 20 miles of my vicinity, I’m going to find out?

This time, we developed 35mm film and spent more class time developing prints of various sizes. Here in the Keweenaw, there is an art center that offers classes and workspace for a variety of mediums. They’re in the process of re-establishing the darkroom space—complete with a huge sink, two darkroom enlargers, and lots of old printing paper that’s been gathering dust for decades.

I still have my Holga 120mm negatives from the last class, so I also got to try creating some prints of those!

Once a week for five weeks, my three classmates and I spent our evening hours practicing film dev skills. We mixed the chemicals, rolled our film onto coils (35mm is smaller than 120mm, so it was a little more challenging this time), developed the film, and then used the enlargers to create prints.

There are many variables to consider: paper type and age, how long to expose to light, how long to develop in the bath, contrast filters, dodging and burning, and more that I’m probably forgetting.

In my last class experience, we were using a makeshift art space and relied on light-proof bags to keep our film safe. While I loved how that class proved you could develop film from almost anywhere, I had a good time trying out a real darkroom experience.

Like the last class, I had varied success with printing, but I’m excited to see what turned out—and try more!

Going for a Fall Drive

One of my favorite things to do in the Fall is go for a drive—an all day adventure to see the most of the seasonal foliage colors. In northern Michigan, we are lucky to have some of the best “leaf peeping” in the U.S. (in my opinion, at the very least).

If you know me IRL, you know that Joe Pera Talks With You is one of my favorite tv shows. There’s an episode all about going for a late Fall drive—almost like an annual reset before you hunker down for the winter. I decided to give my own version a try. Even though I didn’t send any pumpkins down Tahquamenon Falls, I did feel my soul regrow nicely. (You’ll need to watch the show).

Stop 1: See the Monks for a Sweet

While plenty of places in the U.S. have some claim to nice Autumn colors, how many of those places can also say they’re home to a reclusive-yet-friendly group of monastary folk with a knack for baking?

Here in the Keweenaw, I’m talking about the Jam Pot. My first stop on this day trip was to hit the bakery before it closed for the season. I got a few jars of crabapple jelly (so good) and some ginger snap cookies for the road.

Stop 2: Brockway Mountain

It’s not a fall road trip in the Keweenaw without driving up here! And on October 17, the colors were just about peak. The goldens, oranges, reds, and some remaining greens… it never gets old.

And yes, this is technically not a mountain—elevation in Michigan is modest compared to out West, but I don’t mind. One perk is that it doesn’t take too long to get somewhere with an incredible view of most any given landscape. As far as Michigan “mountains” go, the western Upper Peninsula is the place to be.

Stop 3: Da Beach

Now, a Lake Superior beach on a Fall afternoon is not always the place you want to end up. It can be brutal—severe winds, rain/sleet/snow/all of the above, crashing waves. All are possible! But on October 17, it was unseasonably warm and very calm.

There were dozens of people at the beach near Copper Harbor. I saw one couple eating pasties while watching a freighter go by. Immediately, I regretted not stopping at the Mohawk Superette to do the very same.

Stop 4: My Sauna

We’ve got our very own sauna shed in the backyard. To end the evening, we tried firing it up for the first time since we moved in. And wow—it got nice and warm in there after the sun went down.

For most places this would be a real luxury, but a home sauna a little more mundane for the Keweenaw. There’s a strong prescence of Finnish / Scandinavian cultures here dating back to the mining days of the mid-1800s. There are still homes that old, but even if yours isn’t, the sauna and stove are at least a generation or two old. We’re just renting, but that’s true even for our property.

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Happy Fall <3 to you and yours. Very soon, we’ll be surrounded by wintery shades of indigo—don’t worry, there’s beauty to be had there, too!

I joined a B/W film development class

Last February, I joined a local art class to learn how to shoot and develop my own B/W film photography. It was both an exciting and humbling experience.

Exciting: for the past year or so, I’ve been experimenting with analog photography. I have two 35mm cameras. One is a simple “point-and-shoot” Olympus travel camera with battery-powered wind and flash. The second is my grandpa’s fully manual Agfa Silette Pronto, circa 1950s. It’s in excellent shape, but requires a little more brain power than the Olympus to get the exposure right.

It’s been fun but also a little nerve-wracking to think about your 36 shots—and whether or not they’ll even turn out.

Humbling: developing film is HARD! I feel like I only just perfected loading/unloading the camera. And now we have to evenly roll that film onto a stainless steel coil? And one kink or fingerprint could jack up your shot? Ok…

The new techniques felt awkward and unfamiliar. But trying anything for the first time usually feels this way.

Step 1: The Camera

For this class, we were provided with a Holga 120 mm camera and a roll of B/W film.

This model of Holga is made of plastic (including the lens) and was popular during the 1950s-60s. It’s known for being easy to use but also a little kitschy. This is not the camera for perfect lighting and excellent detail, but sometimes it can surprise you.

The reason we used this camera? For one, the instructor was gifted ~20 cameras many years ago, and still has them. But also, the larger size of the film makes it easier for beginners to roll onto the coils for developing. 35mm is narrower and a lot longer, because it has twice as many shots per roll.

B/W film is also a little easier for beginners than color development. There are fewer steps to remember and chemicals to juggle. You can also worry less about color tone and instead focus only on getting the timing right for proper light/exposure.

I was grateful for the simplified approach! After everything, this definitely is what makes me feel like I want and could try again outside of the class.

Step 2: Take 12 Photos

A roll of 120 mm film is usually 12 shots. Because the Holga doesn’t have any flash, the camera does best shooting outside with bright conditions—ideally full or partial sunshine.

To shoot most of my roll, I decided to drive into Logan Canyon in the morning and see what I could find. My dog, Cooper, joined me because he loves car rides (and also to be my primary subject). It was February, so the snowy mountain conditions took center stage in each shot. I tried to capture the icy river, craggy cliffs in the distance, and a close-up of Coop atop deep snow.

Step 3: Prepping the Film

Rolling the film onto the coils was definitely the trickiest step for me.

This class was intended for the “everyday” person. Most people don’t have a darkroom at home, and neither did the building hosting our class. Instead, we used a light-proof bag to roll the film onto the coil and place it inside the canister.

Until the roll is safely within the canister, it’s vulnerable to becoming completely exposed and ruined by the light.

Rolling onto the coil is not easy. Our instructor said it’s almost like riding a bike—something that eventually gets easier the more you practice. But it’s gonna be very awkward at first. Adding to the stress is the pressure to work quickly. The heat and sweat from your hands can impact how your roll develops, so you want to handle it as little as possible.

Working inside the light-proof bag means we have to go entirely by touch. And boy was that tricky for a class of noobs.

But in the end WE DID IT! It took the entire 2-hour class period, but we were each able to get our film into the canisters and all prepped to be developed during the next class.

This is the light-proof container we used for development. The film is placed inside after rolling onto the coil.

Step 4: The Magic Finally Happens

It’s finally time to develop! Our B/W film required three chemical steps:

1. Developer

2. Stop Bath

3. Fixer

Before getting started, we carefully diluted each chemical with the appropriate amount of water. It’s important to get it all prepped ahead of time, so that during the actual process, you can just focus on your phone’s timer. Everything happens step-by-step in about 10 minutes. It goes by quicker than you think.

During processing, we “agitated” the film canister gently for a certain amount of time (depending on the step) and then let it sit for a short period of time. We also rinsed the film with lukewarm water between each step.

The agitation motion is almost like pouring a glass of wine—you gently hold the canister upside down and then, in a quicker movement, you put it right-side up again. When it comes time to let the canister rest, you place it onto the counter with a little extra force.

After everything is done, we remove the coils from the canisters and then thoroughly rinse them in lukewarm water. With all our rolls together in the sink, we let the faucet run for a few minutes to ensure all chemicals are completely rinsed away.

Once the film is developed, the final step is to let it hang dry.

The whole development process really feels more like an art than a science. Almost like a performance, and you’re focusing all your energy on getting the dance steps right!

Step 5: See how you did!

Once the film is developed and dry, we can finally take a look and see if our shots turned out! Remember that these are negatives, so the lighting will be inverted; the brightest tones will appear black. To get the best look, we borrowed our instructor’s light table to better light up the image from behind.

Kodak also has a phone app that can help invert negatives—though it’s not perfect. If you’re not making prints, the best result will always be to use a high-quality film scanner and then invert the image on your computer.

Here are the scans of my best images! There’s some vignetting, loss of detail, kinks in the film where the developer chemicals acted weird, etc. But overall, not bad for a complete beginner.

I thought this class was such a fun learning experience. While the process was for sure challenging, it was also approachable and understandable. I would definitely try this again and would be eager to try tackling 35 mm film soon. In the meantime, I’ll probably continue sending rolls out to my favorite film lab.

Something Good to Do

Downtown part of main street, Logan UT.

Welcome to my new blog and space for personal writing! When thinking about what to call this, I decided to dig in my phone’s saved notes for inspiration.

I usually prefer writing things down in my journal—half the fun of saving my weird ideas is feeling the physical ink glide onto the page. But sometimes, an idea strikes and there’s no pen in sight. So, I often jot things down on my phone. The modern-day napkin notepad?

I was looking through old shopping lists and work reminders, when I stumbled upon something that’s been saved in my phone’s reminders app since… I think since I got my first smartphone in high school. It’s a line from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

“You’re not dying, you just can’t think of anything good to do.”

Early on in the film, the protagonist Ferris says this line to his best friend, Cameron, to convince him to get out of bed and give him a ride. Cameron is a seventeen-year-old kid who’s worried that—once he graduates high school—there’s nothing left to look forward to.

The movie explores themes of existential dread and teenage angst via over-the-top scenes paired with borderline ridiculous music choices. A classic John Hughes film, and still one of my favorites.

When I was seventeen, I related to Cameron’s worry. I reluctantly admitted I was much more like him than the confident Ferris. At the time, I believed I was making decisions that would determine everything about the rest of my life. And I worried that I would choose wrong.

Now that I’m almost thirty, I realize how silly it was to feel that way. Life is all about change and experiencing new things—small or great. Even when you think you’re stuck, there’s always something to work toward and look forward to. Something good to do.

So here it is! Something Good to Do: a personal blog where I can save entries about all the latest things I’ve been doing or working on. New adventures, hobbies, goals, and more.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!

New Blog Coming Soon!

Film photo during an early morning dusky grouse hunt—Fall 2023.

Hello! It’s been awhile since I’ve added anything to my blog. I’ve been giving my portfolio website a refresh and decided it’s time I get back to this little personal project of mine.

I am still deciding if I want to reupload many of my previous blogs—especially the ones written in 2018 from my summer in Alaska. Believe it or not, I sometimes return to those and am surprised by what I decided to record. It’s really fun to look back at the experience in a new way and I actually enjoy rereading them. You may, too.

Either way, I have ideas for new things I can write about—backpacking adventures, road trips, bird dog training, knitting + crocheting updates, film photography experiments, and more.

Stay tuned!

Thoughts on Sunsets | Yooper Staycation Series

For some obvious and other not-so-obvious reasons, I haven’t been traveling as much as I once did. The obvious reasons mostly involve COVID-19. The not-so-obvious reasons include getting a new puppy and having a day job—these things tend to limit when, where, and how I can travel.

But a little over a year ago, I moved to the Upper Peninsula and I realized that even though I’m sticking closer to where I live, I’m still experiencing new things all the time. I asked myself, “Why am I waiting for some big, fantastical sign to tell me to start writing again?” And so, this little series was born.

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It’s getting to the point in the winter season where the cold feels omnipresent. Marquette recently enjoyed a massive snowstorm that dumped nearly 4 feet of snow in some places—all in a matter of about 48 hours. The giant snowbanks say, “There is no such thing as 80 degrees and sunny; there never was.” It seems like the lakeshore has become more frozen over in the last week or so. I’m doing my best to avoid letting myself get frozen over, too.

In this post, I decided to write about sunsets. Watching the sunset helps me feel a little more present, and a little less cold. Plus, it has great lighting for photos. Two nights this past week, I enjoyed a brief break in the clouds for some wonderful sunset colors. I also decided that yes, you can still have a “staycation” when you’re only 5 minutes from your house—so this counts.

Sunsets are Good

I spend a lot of my time seeking and watching sunsets—and occasionally, sunrises. There are so many reasons why, but in short: sunsets are good. I like watching the sky turn from blue to yellow, then orange, then pink. I like how the twilight creeps in from your periphery until you can no longer deny that the day is over. The best part: every sunset is completely different. You will never see the same one twice, so I may as well try to see as many as I can.

I don’t think stopping to enjoy an especially colorful sky is a revolutionary act, but I do wonder if the average person plans their lives around the sunset as much as I do. Are other people checking the weather forecast in hopes of predicting a good mix of clouds and colors? On clear days, do they watch the clock to make sure they’re near a good vantage point by 6:22 PM?

In Marquette, a good vantage point usually involves standing somewhere along the beaches of the big lake—or anywhere you can see plenty of the sky. Sugarloaf is another great sunset spot, as long as you’re ready to walk the short hike back in the dark.

Lake Superior is mostly east of Marquette, with other nearby beaches facing north. Although the sun will always set over land, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the colors while the sun is close to the horizon.

Monday, February 14 | Marquette Lighthouse

On the night of Valentine’s Day, the clouds parted just enough for some pink and purple tones to shine through against a dark, gray-blue sky. I stood on the beach near the bright red lighthouse, watching the colors transform as the cloud cover increased.

With so many clouds, I wasn’t totally confident there would be much light or color. I went to check it out anyway (perks of being 5 minutes away) and I was not disappointed. It was extremely cold, though. With the wind picking up, I couldn’t stay out of the car for very long. The combination of the cold and clouds made this sunset feel a little shorter but still spectacular.

Friday, February 25 | Presque Isle

This past Friday night, the sky was completely clear. It had more orange and red tones compared to Valentine’s Day. This time, I was watching from the west side of Presque Isle.

It was dead calm and warm—or maybe it just felt warm without the 20 mph winds that usually test your cold-weather clothing. There were several other folks enjoying the sunset, both from the trail and from the parking lot. With the open sky, this sunset was nice and slow. The colors brightened, peaked, and then lingered as they dimmed. I was able to stand still and enjoy it for as long as I wanted.

Backpacking in the Porcupine Mountains | Yooper Staycation Series

For some obvious and other not-so-obvious reasons, I haven’t been traveling as much as I once did. The obvious reasons mostly involve COVID-19. The not-so-obvious reasons include getting a new puppy and having a day job—these things tend to limit when, where, and how I can travel. But a little over a year ago, I moved to the Upper Peninsula and I realized that even though I’m sticking closer to where I live, I’m still experiencing new things all the time. I asked myself, “Why am I waiting for some big, fantastical sign to tell me to start writing again?” And so, this little series was born.

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This trip was a little while ago in late September 2021. But I thought I’d share it anyway, just for the fun of it.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Similar to the last park I wrote about, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is a hugely popular site in the Michigan State Parks system. It’s the largest state park at 60,000 acres; most of it being undeveloped wilderness exclusively accessible by the massive trail system. Although Michigan does have some variation in elevation, it’s still a relatively flat state. These little mountains definitely stand out.

No matter how many times I visit, I can’t get over how beautiful Lake of the Clouds looks, especially when you’re standing just right and you can also see Lake Superior just a little bit further. This park is also home to one of the largest stands of old-growth northern hardwood forest—a rarity in a state/region with substantial logging history.

While these old-growth forests won’t likely be logged, that doesn’t mean they’ll never be altered. Serious threats to forest health include climate change and nonnative pests like hemlock wooly adelgid and emerald ash borer. Downstate, these factors are killing trees faster than they can reproduce.

Planning the Trip

From the beginning of the summer, I knew that I wanted to go on a backpacking trip somewhere in Michigan. When I chose the porkies, I actually booked my backcountry campsite months in advance—something I’d recommend you do as well if you want to have full control over your trip path. I was dead set on sleeping somewhere along the Escarpment Trail, which follows the ridge and overlooks the Lake of the Clouds.

I chose late September because I hoped to catch some fall colors, but it turned out to be just a little too early. Fall colors in Michigan vary across the state and are difficult to time perfectly when you’re only visiting an area for a weekend. The colors sometimes arrive two weeks earlier or two weeks later than expected, sometimes linger, and sometimes drop off the trees in a matter of days.

Puppy’s First Camping Trip

This was my first camping trip with Cooper, the puppy I got in early June. I was a little nervous about bringing him along because up until that trip, he relied on his crate to help him rest. He needed a distraction-free zone to have no choice but to fall asleep. The puppy trainers call it “forced napping.”

Our trip was in late September, so Cooper was nearly six months old and making decent progress on napping outside of the crate. Whether I felt ready or not, the booking arrived and we had little choice but to try. I was honestly so surprised at how well he slept on that windy ridge. We hiked the entire day, so it was possible that he was just completely exhausted.

Sleeping on the Ridge

We decided to park the car at a trailhead that was 2-3 miles from our campsite on the Escarpment Trail. When we arrived, I was thrilled by the view of the lakes from our tent. It was fantastic and gave us a pretty awesome sunset. Some cons of this site: we had the wind to contend with, less privacy as it was right off the trail, and no nearby water source.

In total, we hiked to the campsite and back, plus the miles we did to get down to the Lake of the Clouds and back. Walking all the way back uphill wasn’t the most fun, but we needed the water and I had never walked down to the lake before.

An Excellent Intro to Backpacking

If you’ve never gone backpacking before, this is a great park to give it a try. When it comes to campsites, there are so many options. You can stay near the beach, along an inland lake, on top of the ridge, or in the middle of the forest. You can hike 8 miles, or hike less than 2 miles. Stay one night (like we did) or stay for a whole week. However you visit and whatever the conditions, you’ll be surprised this place is right here in Michigan.

Tahquamenon Falls in Winter | Yooper Staycation Series

In January 2022, we took a short trip to Tahquamenon Falls and Sault Ste. Marie. It was my first trip to the Soo ever and my first visit to the falls during winter.

For some obvious and other not-so-obvious reasons, I haven’t been traveling as much as I once did. The obvious reasons mostly involve COVID-19. The not-so-obvious reasons include getting a new puppy and having a day job—these things tend to limit when, where, and how I can travel. But a little over a year ago, I moved to the Upper Peninsula and I realized that even though I’m sticking closer to where I live, I’m still experiencing new things all the time. I asked myself, “Why am I waiting for some big, fantastical sign to tell me to start writing again?” And so, this little series was born.

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To kick things off, we took a short trip to Tahquamenon Falls and Sault Ste. Marie. It was my first trip to the Soo ever and my first visit to the falls during winter.

Tahquamenon in Winter

If you’ve heard of the UP, you’re probably familiar with this place—even if you usually mess up the spelling. Tahquamenon is one of the most popular parks in the Michigan state parks system. The Upper Falls are nearly 50 feet high and the Lower Falls, though smaller, are charming in their own right.

I grew up in the metro-Detroit area, and my family does not go camping (maybe I’ll convert them someday???). This park was my first visit to the UP in August of 2015, so I think I’ll always enjoy coming back. It’s got so much to offer: accessible overlooks, trails, campgrounds, and even a restaurant + brewery. Lake Superior isn’t too far either—Whitefish Point is just a little bit further north and offers lake views, great birding opportunities, and a lighthouse and museum.

This was my first visit to the area during winter, and it was a lot busier than I thought it would be. There were plenty of visitors on snowmobiles—a popular winter activity across the entire UP. The cold made sure everyone kept moving though, so it never felt like we were fighting to see the view. There was even a moment where I had the Upper Falls to myself at the last overlook.

Freezing Temps but Bluebird Skies

Although the temperatures were extreme, the skies were crystal clear and bright blue all day. I had to dig up my sunglasses for the first time in weeks. We bundled up with layers upon layers, I stuck hand warmers into my boots, and we wouldn’t let Cooper out of the car for too long at a time. He didn’t seem to notice the cold until the sun began to set—when it suddenly went from 5 below to 20 below in a matter of minutes.

Morning Birding

The eastern UP and the Soo act as a funnel for all sorts of interesting bird species. A northern hawk owl was reportedly seen just south of town, so we parked our car near the spot both Saturday and Sunday mornings looking for it. While we never saw the owl, we spotted tons of rough-legged hawks, snowy owls, bald eagles, ravens, northern shrikes, and both ruffed grouse and sharp-tailed grouse. In the woods near Tahquamenon, we saw and heard golden-crowned kinglets—they’re so tiny, you wonder how they don’t freeze immediately in the extreme cold.

Morning in Yellowstone

Good morning! I’m resurrecting the blog to share a little behind-the-scenes info about the recent video I created, Morning in Yellowstone.

Summer in Yellowstone

This summer, I’m working for Yellowstone National Park. Unfortunately, the position I was originally offered was canceled due to COVID-19. Instead, I’m working as a member of the wildlife monitoring crew! We travel all over the park to study different bird species. I’m new to wildlife monitoring, but I joined the team with an open mind and an eagerness to learn. I work full-time and entirely outdoors, hiking with a spotting scope to count songbirds and look for raptor nests. So far, it’s been two months of unpredictable weather and strenuous hiking, but also breathtaking mountain views, spectacular wildlife-watching, and once-in-a-lifetime backcountry experiences.

Early Morning Schedule

My job requires a much earlier schedule than I’m used to — it’s challenging but rewarding. During May and June, we began our workdays just before sunrise in order to catch the full morning chorus of songbirds. My earliest alarm was at 3:30 am MT — oh those long days leading up to the summer solstice! Before this job, considered myself more of a night owl, so adjusting to the earlier shift was difficult — but only at first. Once I experienced my first Yellowstone sunrise, that early alarm became a little easier.

The mornings in Yellowstone are quiet, tranquil, and colorful. Some critters are more active at dawn, giving you a better chance to see them. But the absolute best part? From what I’ve observed, significantly less tourists start their day before 8:00am.

Although the United States is in the middle of a pandemic, many people are still visiting national parks — and Yellowstone is no exception. Since about mid-June, the park has experienced average to above-average visitation compared to summer 2019 stats according to the NPS. Visitation numbers continued to rise through July, despite the absence of big tour bus groups (tour buses brought 70,461 visitors in June 2019). Most international visitors will likely be absent this summer, too. This is my first summer in Yellowstone, so I don’t have a true baseline to compare this year’s visitation to. All I know is that often it gets too crowded for my comfort level — another reason I still get up early to visit the park on my days off.

No Shortage of Beautiful Views

Once I knew I’d be working outside all day, I realized I had to bring my camera everywhere I went to take as many photos as I could. I had to figure out how to keep my camera clean and dry, yet 100% accessible for those blink-of-an-eye wildlife sightings. Luckily, my camera — a very compact mirrorless interchangeable lens camera — is quite lightweight. I have two lenses: a fixed 12mm wide-angle lens and a 75-300mm basic telephoto lens. I decided to keep my camera and two lenses in a waterproof bag at the top of my backpack. So far, I’ve been able to capture all the shots I hoped for, although I did miss out on a curious marten near Pebble Creek :( Rather than dig for the camera, I decided to simply watch and take a mental photo instead!

At the start of many early mornings, I found myself humming the song I featured in the video: 5a.m. by Millenium. I first heard this song a few years ago, when I was much better at digging up random music and creating my own specialty playlists. I love everything about the song, but I don’t think I really understood it until I saw 5 o’clock in the morning for myself. I knew that this song would be perfect to describe how I felt every morning in Yellowstone these past two months.

Stitching Everything Together

I shot most of the footage using my digital camera + two lenses. I created the animated text using an Apple Pencil and Procreate for the iPad Pro. Logan Clark captured the clips of the Great Horned Owl and owlet using his Nikon Coolpix. I then used Adobe Premiere Pro to stitch all my footage together. Most of the footage I gathered while on the job, but I did spend one day off collecting the last of what I needed to fill out the three-minute song. I have worked with Premiere Pro in several projects during college, but I’m new to animation. The biggest challenge with this video was learning how to properly insert the animation I created. After I figured that out, the rest of my time was devoted to syncing up footage with the music as perfectly as I could.

This video is the first I’ve created that’s 100% my style and direction, no strings attached. I’m quite proud of it. It’s not perfect, but it feels very personal — almost exactly what I was going for. Also, there’s no shortage of gorgeous views in Yellowstone. Need I ask for more?

I would categorize this video as “dreamy American escapism B-roll.” That was not a readily-available category on YouTube, so I settled on “Travel and Events.”

Morning in Yellowstone

Rise before the sun
See the sky changing colors
Dream while you’re awake

You never know what you’ll see when you start the day early in Yellowstone National Park. From May to July, I filmed between 4:00 am and 7:30 am at many locations all over the park, but mostly in the northern areas (Yellowstone is huge, I did not capture everything).

If you plan to visit Yellowstone before sunrise, be especially mindful of wildlife while driving; bison often use roadways and are difficult to see in twilight lighting.

Video Credits:
Filmed by Lauren Utykanski and Logan Clark
Edited by Lauren Utykanski using Adobe Premiere Pro
Music by Millenium and Columbia Studios, copyright 1968