The Light Between Waves By Eric Weicht
Two Harbors photographer Christian Dalbec specializes in wave and water photography “in and around the lake.” This piece is titled “Spooky Glass.” | CHRISTIAN DALBEC PHOTOGRAPHY
Fire on the Rim. Chasing Away. Morning above. Raven.
the ocean, but it is the smaller, more subtle waves that define Dalbec’s work. As one of the preeminent photographers on the North Shore, Dalbec specializes in wave and water photography “in and around the lake.” Dalbec has also recently gotten into drone work, and his collection now includes stunning shots of Lake Superior from above—a perspective that contrasts beautifully with his close-up work on the Lake’s surface.
Titles like these ring-out like lines from a well-written poem. They sound as if they might be inscribed on neat little placards in a modern art gallery beneath some abstract work of art, but what they denominate is much more subtle, much closer to home.
Dalbec finds beauty in the minutiae of the Lake, in Superior’s details. Scrolling through his digital gallery is seeing the Lake through the eyes of someone who knows it intimately. What is most striking about his work is that it’s not the largest, most dramatic waves that stand out and instill a sense of awe, but rather the gentle crests that are so often overlooked.
These are a few of the titles that North Shore photographer Christian Dalbec has given to his photographs, photos that capture the interplay of water and light, a relationship that Dalbec has devoted the past decade of his life to exploring on Lake Superior through the lens of his Nikon. “I grew up along the Lake Superior shoreline,” says Dalbec, who has been living in Two Harbors ever since he was adopted from the Twin Cities as a 6-month-old. “I used to love playing in and around Superior as a kid, especially in the Stewart River area there.” “I think that that’s when I first started appreciating the Lake,” continues Dalbec. “I guess, in a lot of ways that hasn’t changed, 20
AUGUST 2021
Dalbec is a self-described “gear head,” so underwater photography with all of its required, specialized equipment played right into that side of his personality. | CHRISTIAN DALBEC PHOTOGRAPHY I still love to ‘play’ along the Lake.” Lake Superior is known for many things—for its incredible size, for its frigid waters and rugged shore—but perhaps its most outstanding features are its waves.
NORTHERN WILDS
Lake Superior’s waves can be as tall as 30 feet, perhaps even larger depending on whether ship captains’ accounts can be believed. Superior’s waves are as magnificent as anything that you would find out on
“I’ve been up here living in Two Harbors basically all of my life,” says Dalbec, “but it wasn’t until 2011 that I got into photography and started getting out on the Lake like I do now.” “A big part of my story,” continues Dalbec, “is that I got into drinking young, and that kind of took over like it does for a lot of people. I was a heavy alcoholic up until
