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hello stranger midwest adventure
  • Canoeing on Whitefish Lake, Montana with Mountains in the distance

    How to Take Killer Adventure Pictures: Composition & Lighting

    February 20, 2021

    Whether you’re an aspiring photographer, explorer, adventurer writer, or just want to document your travels, the first thing you need to create stunning pictures is a solid understanding of composition and lighting. Composition and Lighting are…

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maddymarq

guide & writer exploring the midwest🏕
📍Wisconsin Northwoods & Lake Superior
inquiries: hello@madelinemarquardt.com
↓ FREE trail guides ↓
Reasons to love winter up north✨❄️🌅 1- sunrise in Reasons to love winter up north✨❄️🌅1- sunrise in grand Marais2- @sisuandloylysauna 3- cascade falls4- a canyon hike, shot by @rachel_moon__ 5 & 6 - a sunset, a sunrise 7- winter kayaking (everyone pictured in my winter kayaking photos is wearing a drysuit and has deep water self rescue practice including ACA L3 skills assessments at minimum + local knowledge. I do not recommend people kayak on lake superior in the winter.)8- ice 9- knitting— this is one of my patterns! I’m hoping to write it up some info on it this winter for a size s, m, & l! When I do it will be literally just some instructions and color charts in an Instagram post, fully free but not fully fleshed out. You can also find a lot of similar Selbu rose patterns like this that are more detailed online!10- sea smoke 11- snowy picnic12- full moon13- pancake ice14- cross country skiing up in Keweenawland @visit_keweenaw 15- cozy diner 17- icy caves📍Traditional homelands of the Anishinaabe Nation
Winter on Lake Superior is magic❄️✨🌅 Follow @madd Winter on Lake Superior is magic❄️✨🌅Follow @maddymarq for more winter inspo :)📍Traditional homelands of the Anishinaabe Nation
Nature repeating itself?❄️🏜️ Nature repeating itself?❄️🏜️
I… had a terrible time living on the west coast. I… had a terrible time living on the west coast. In my head the Pacific Northwest is this sparkling and magical green place. From the Midwest, I imagined crashing teal waves and snow capped peaks that turn dusty purple in the evening and blaze pink in the morning sun. I imagined thick carpets of moss and blue rivers and that I would sit by the base of waterfalls and journal, mist clinging to my hair and making the pages of my notebook crinkle. I thought I would get up from my spot by the waterfalls and come home, still smelling fresh like forest. I thought it would be all mountains and alpine lakes, and a deep green rainy season and I thought I would go for a morning jog and drink matcha tea and maybe lose ten pounds and get a line drawing tattoo of the mountains and I would journal every night and I would cook lentils or some shit like that for dinner but the Pacific Northwest cannot make me a morning runner.We write about places like romantics. We show tumbling waterfalls and peaks and on our Pinterest boards cobble together an idea of a place that the place itself couldn’t possibly measure up to. I do think there’s something wonderful about choosing to find your life and the places you are magical, but when all the information you’ve consumed about a place is how magical it is, perhaps we do ourselves a disservice. Maybe my disappointment in the Pacific Northwest is that it’s a real place at all, and that I didn’t magically transition into a beautiful new life upon entering. Maybe my frustration is with myself entirely.Morning Runner PNW Maddy who was somehow four inches taller than me and only drank tea and did yoga every morning never came to fruition but I’m starting to figure just me, Midwest Maddy, might be enough.Still, these are some photos from a weekend early winter camping trip on the coast where, just for a second, PNW Maddy felt real.
Five winters on Superior❄️🌊✨ 2- winter kayaking t Five winters on Superior❄️🌊✨2- winter kayaking through an arch (everyone pictured is a local guide & kayak instructor wearing a drysuit. This is NOT a beginner activity and I do not recommend it without training, local knowledge and specialized gear)3- Lake Superior ice garden4- a frozen river canyon5- more winter kayaking (no, we weren’t worried about ice falling on ice. It was slushy and not hard and we were pretty conscious of the conditions)6- winter camping 7- a frozen waterfall cave 8- ice caves9- a -40 morning 10- hiking on Lake Superior, a sea stack11- aliens? Or ice?12- @sisuandloylysauna 13- snowshoeing :)14- the grand Marais lighthouse 15- winter shadows on the wall
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© 2025 Madeline Marquardt