Against the Wind: Lake Superior Adventure

A behind-the-scenes story from Production Assistant Lydia Parish

Despite the frigid winds on the water, Lydia Parish is cheerful as always on our recent shoot!

This June, our production team drove to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where some of us had a unique and challenging experience on the water. Dr. Jamey Schmitz, our President and CEO, captained our rental pontoon boat while the rest of us rode along to capture footage of the sandstone cliffs along the coast of Lake Superior.

Though the weather was pleasant on land, the wind cut right through us once our boat began skipping across the water. The water was a glacial 40 degrees and the wind was just as frigid. But we kept our eyes on the goal and continued to shoot through the icy weather — once we’d put on all the layers we brought, we even wrapped towels around our heads as shields against the wind.

As we battled the cold, we also fought the waves as the constant crashing of the waves rattled our cameras and shook our footage. Thankfully, even though the waves were too much for the tripod, we still captured some stunning shots with our hand-held stabilizer. The shoreline was gorgeous — turquoise waters... ...lapped the sandstone cliffs, while green trees poked out along the tops of the rocks.

Our lunch stop on this island allowed us to get gorgeous footage

But with the wind and the waves beating against us, it didn’t take long until we were ready to stop for lunch. We found a sandy beach and propelled our boat into the shallow waters, where we were surrounded by soft sand speckled with grassy sprouts and yellow wildflowers. After a short break of ham and cheese sandwiches, we headed back to the boat.

But when we got to the shoreline, the waves were so brutal that they kept ramming the boat back into the sand. The water was just too shallow to lower the propeller. So, two of us had to wade knee-deep into the 40-degree water to push the boat against the waves. After several long minutes of fighting the waves, we maneuvered the boat into deeper waters and were able to continue our Lake Superior adventure, albeit a little more soggy.

Two of our production crew adjusting a camera in a forested area in the National Lakeshore

At the end of the day, we all felt the footage was worth our hard work. The experience reminded us of how Hebrews 12 admonishes us to “run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a, KJV).

We were grateful that God gave us the strength to persevere and solve problems so that we could capture some of God’s handiwork for you to enjoy. Look out for the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in our latest Steve Hall music video, “Holy, Holy, Holy / Fairest Lord Jesus / What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”