Lake Itasca State Park, Minnesota.

On a still morning, the lake, large as it is, truly reflects the shoreline and the sky. Jen H., in her photo challenge to us asks us to think about reflections. You can read her entire challenge post here. When reading the challenge post, the panoramic image above and one other immediately came to mind. Upon reviewing my gallery, I added a second shot of Itasca taken the night before the shot posted above.The opening shot was taken from the south end of the lake, which happens to also be the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River. The shot immediately above is at the north end of the lake. Immediately to the right, along the row of stones, visitors can walk across the Mississippi River. The lake drains to the right, past those rocks and flows several hundred miles south to the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans.

Finally, I end this challenge post with another reflection. A self-portrait of sorts. On one of our missions for Civil Air Patrol, my duty was that of photographer. Our aircraft are equipped with camera ports in the windows that we can open to get a clearer view of our subject than we would through the plexiglas aircraft windows. The aircraft we were flying is normally used to tow a glider and has a mirror mounted on the strut to help the pilot keep an eye on the glider being towed at the end of a very long rope. I noticed the mirror seemed to be centered on the photographer’s window. Using a zoom lens, I focused on the mirror and captured my portrait.

John Steiner