Bryan Hansel Photography

Bryan Hansel Photography My work is about the love of the wild spaces, access for everyone, and the conservation of the American landscape. I live in Grand Marais, Minnesota.

Learn more at bryanhansel.com
Grand Marais, MN

Note: I don't use WhatsUp nor will I ever ask you for payment over a direct message. I'm Bryan Hansel, a photography and photo workshop leader. I photograph public lands because they are democratic spaces in an increasingly privatized world. My work is about love of the wild spaces, access for everyone, and conservation of the American landscape. I w

ant my work to make you fall in love with the same places I love, and I want my photography to inspire you to help work to protect them.

The Hjørdis sails into the Grand Marais harbor under the light of the full moon.
09/04/2026

The Hjørdis sails into the Grand Marais harbor under the light of the full moon.

I spent the weekend mountain biking in the Cuyuna area (Crosby, Minnesota). A little interesting history: in 1932, Crosb...
09/03/2026

I spent the weekend mountain biking in the Cuyuna area (Crosby, Minnesota). A little interesting history: in 1932, Crosby elected the first Communist Party mayor in the United States. I couldn't find any historic signs stating that in town. It seems labor was radical back then.

The area was a big mining community in the early to mid-1900s, but it has been over 40 years since they actively mined there, and it seems like that history has been romanticized in the town despite a 1924 mining disaster that killed 41 miners — the largest mining disaster in Minnesota.

Recently, I've been reading the paper from 1926, and it seems like disasters like that were common at the time.

While eating breakfast one morning at a local restaurant, another customer, with gray hair, a weathered face, and who looked past retirement age, got up to look at the old photos. One photo was a group photo of miners who were all wearing a standard uniform. The man said to his friends, "They must have issued uniforms back then." More likely they required uniforms and forced the miners to buy them from the company store.

That same customer also said, "I've been in the agricultural business my whole life, and corn makes the economy run. When corn prices are high, everything goes up in price..." So, there's that.

And there's that breakfast cost $70 for two adults and a kid, who ate a pancake and bacon from the kid's menu. It was an expensive weekend eating two dinners and two breakfasts in town. Corn must be super expensive right now.

Regardless, the mountain biking was excellent and it seems like there should be a lesson in here somewhere. Here are a few photos of the town.

The last full moon rise in Grand Marais was really cool. It fit perfectly under the Grand Marais lighthouse!
09/03/2026

The last full moon rise in Grand Marais was really cool. It fit perfectly under the Grand Marais lighthouse!

The northern lights over Grand Marais. Photo from 10 years ago today. Where has the time gone
09/01/2026

The northern lights over Grand Marais. Photo from 10 years ago today. Where has the time gone

A tale of two puddles. The first puddle I photographed when I looked away from sunset and noticed an interesting pink cl...
08/31/2026

A tale of two puddles. The first puddle I photographed when I looked away from sunset and noticed an interesting pink cloud in the southern sky. It's interesting, but I don't know that it's an amazing photo. The second puddle would have been an amazing photo. I was demo'ing a composition on a photo workshop, and set up this shot. I took it, but I didn't realize that my settings were still at my night sky settings, so I shot this with almost no depth of field and at ISO 6,400. It isn't a usable shot, but it had everything.

You win some. You lose some. And, even the pros screw up now and then.

I recently read of a rescue on this river that happened about 20 years ago. There was something about a landslide. Not t...
08/30/2026

I recently read of a rescue on this river that happened about 20 years ago. There was something about a landslide. Not too long ago, someone broke a hip on this river when they slipped. They had to be rescued. It's probably not the safest river to wade but it sure is pretty.

This summer I've wanted to take photos of the Hjørdis, which is the flagship of the Grand Marais harbor. There's just so...
08/29/2026

This summer I've wanted to take photos of the Hjørdis, which is the flagship of the Grand Marais harbor. There's just something about a schooner that makes for a pretty photo.

I can't remember if I posted this one. It's a hand-drawn map that I made of the North House Folk School campus. It's now...
08/28/2026

I can't remember if I posted this one. It's a hand-drawn map that I made of the North House Folk School campus. It's now posted all over campus, and I hope that it helps people find their way across the campus.

I love treelines like this one. When I find them, I try to get them to work with the Milky Way. This one works well, met...
08/27/2026

I love treelines like this one. When I find them, I try to get them to work with the Milky Way. This one works well, methinks.

I'm thinking about my 2027 calendar and here are a few photos that I've set aside as potential images. I think there are...
08/27/2026

I'm thinking about my 2027 calendar and here are a few photos that I've set aside as potential images. I think there are some good ones in there. The second screenshot are my initial thoughts for a calendar.

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Grand Marais, MN

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218-370-8351

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