East Channel Ice Cavern at Grand Island National Recreation Area on Lake Superior Coast

This image is of an ice cavern at Grand National Recreation Area along a highly risky wilderness trek that is possible only if the ice on the East Channel of Lake Superior is frozen sufficiently to allow for foot traffic. You'll need to drive to this location, then walk along the frozen channel of water to get to where I took the photo. The ice curtains of Grand Island will be visible across the lake and are about a mile offshore. There will be no trail to get to Grand Island across the lake, and the National Park Service does not provide any services to those who choose to make the trek, in fact they actively discourage making the crossing. By Car: - Start out in downtown Munising - Travel East about 4 miles to the end of Sand Point Road in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore - Take H-58 East, then turn left on Washington Street - Make a slight Left on Sand Point Road until it dead ends in a circular parking area - From the parking area, hike north a few feet to the edge of Lake Superior

Late-February or the beginning of March are the most suitable months to photograph the Ice Cavern at Grand Island National Recreational area because it takes weeks for the ice to build. The conditions change year to year and depending on weather, the ice cavern in this picture may or may not exist at the time you plan a visit, so check the weather prior to your venture.

You can get a similar image any time during the day, but I recommend visiting this place during sunrise to find the ice curtains lit by the rising sun. A good cold, clear and sunny day is best to get back lighting with the gorgeous blue ice. It's not ideal to visit when there's strong wind because you could get in a blizzard and the snow could blind you.

If you choose to go to this location, evaluate the ice conditions very carefully first. Bear in mind that the lake is up to 400 feet deep in this area and that ice conditions can vary from day to day and hour to hour. Watch the weather carefully and do not cross the water if blizzard conditions are possible or if the ice could be at all unstable. Also, do not make the crossing alone.

I think the best lens here is a wide-angle lens (14-24mm), but it might be useful to bring a 105mm macro lens to get some interesting shots of the texture of the ice.

I did a lot of exposure blending. This picture was nine images blended together in HDR.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a telephoto opportunity here. It can be helpful to bring panoramic gear because I've seen people do some interesting panoramic.

Back lighting of the ice is very effective. I recommend going throughout the day to get different effects of the light.

Another composition technique is to include a person in the picture for scale to show the magnitude of these caves.

Visit Munising town for recreational activities and restaurants.

There's also a light house nearby where you can get nice shots from the ice and the sun sets from the left of it.