Sneak Peak of Ali's Senior Portraits

I shot a few senior portraits for my niece, Ali, yesterday. Today is first day of her senior year of high school and her brother's (AKA wrestler, dancer Joe E.) first day of kindergarten. Have fun, both of you, and everyone else starting school today.

As always, more to come later.

A Few Photos From Iceland

Greetings from the Land of Fire and Ice

Here is a sampling of what we have done on our trip so far (you may need to use google to get the full picture):

- Seen the sights in the golden circle (geysir and gulfoss)
- Seen Pingvellir National Park (where Europe and the Americas are slowly growing apart, physically not metaphorically)
- Climbed to the volcanic crater of Mt. Hengill (inactive, we think)
- Walked behind Seljalandsfoss and walked to the top of Skogafoss
- Hiked the Skaftashedl Loop, seeing both glaciers including the great Vatnajokull, the largest ice cap in Europe and the third largest in the world
- Walked on Snivafellsjokull, part of vatnajokull, using crampons and ice axes
- Had lovely lobster pizza and lobster pasta in Hofn (pronounced "hup" as though you are hiccuping)
- Drove the windiest and windiest roads you can ever imagine (yes, those are two different words)
- Seen LOTS of sheep — shy ones, white ones, black ones, brown ones, brave ones, a few that really liked the grass near the road, and a few that even met us on the road.

Pictures when we return. Hope everyone is well.

Off to Iceland

By tomorrow morning (around 2am Midwest time) I'll be in Iceland. I'll return August 22 with stories and pictures galore.

Have fun while I'm gone!

Apparently, I'm a Goldfish

After a long absence, I reunited with my favorite Goldfish crackers today, the Parmesan flavor. And what did I discover on the package? A batty-eyed cracker version of myself. Would you look at that, my name is even trademarked as a cheese flavored cracker. I hope they don't send me a cease and desist letter ...

More of my lovely cracker doppelganger:

Moments like this make me glad I have a blog.

Smell of the Gas, Roar of the Engine

Standing in the dust and gas fumes taking this shot was made worth it by the lovely effect the 8pm summer sun had when it hit the particle in the air. I also like the way this shot looks like a well-orchestrated dirt bike gang coming to attack.

These, the first shots of my new beat in Savage and Scott County, were taken at the Supercross event at the Scott County Fair on Wednesday. More photos here.

Mmm ... Summer

To me, what you see above — in what appears to be a bunch of cucumbers that have been dropped on the floor — is what summer tastes like.

(it's garden cucumbers with lemon and chilli powder)

Business Cards

I'm working on some business cards. Let me know what you think. I wanted the image on the front to be evocative, colorful and speak to my style. I think the images on the back speak for themselves. How many shall I order?

My blog absence has been caused by adjustment to my new position at work. We're also working on launching a new arts section called Thisweekend Sept. 1. Since I am heading to Iceland for two weeks in August, I've been doing a lot of prep work for the section in the last week and a half.

A Little Bluegrass

I headed to the Dakota County Fairgrounds last Saturday to cover the Bluegrass in the Village festival. This video features Kegan Creek Bluegrass Band members playing with Jerry Hamel, of Eagan in a jam session at the end of the day July 7.

If These Walls Could Talk ...

In this week's paper I ran two house profiles for which I also created photo-tours.

You can view the Flynn house or read more about it. You can also view the T.C. Davis Manor or read more about it.

Incidentally, these will likely be my last Farmington stories as I transition to a new position as the city of Savage editor and Scott County reporter. I'll also be the Arts editor.

Panorama of Progress

After the Bluegrass in the Village Festival, I headed over to Pan-o-Prog to help our Lakeville editor, Derrick, cover the city festival. It was my gift to his wife, Carrie, who celebrated her birthday Saturday.

There are a few pictures I took during Pan-o-Prog in an online slideshow from the festival. The photos I took are the last seven in the slideshow. The other photos were taken by our staff photographer, Rick Orndorf and by Derrick Williams, the Lakeville editor.

Busy, Busy B

This post is dedicated to anyone who has been checking my blog and wondering if I dropped off the face of the earth in the last week. I did not. Here is what I have been up to recently:

My nephew Joe E.'s dance recital:





Portraits for my sister-in-law Nikki and her father, Roger:



Construction in Farmington, as seen in a post below. Head here for a slideshow:



Lakeville's Panorama of Progress festival:



(Taken during a wheel barrow race at the Beach Bash, a special event for teenagers)

Bluegrass Festival at the Dakota County Fairgrounds:



Farmington historical house profiles:





3-year Portraits of Jameson:



I took Jameson's portraits today, which also happens to be his mother's birthday. Happy birthday, Jolynn!

Full posts on each will come as I am able.

Ha! Connect Six

After having so much playing Connect Four on my birthday we bought ourselves a set and have had an on-going tournament. Joe chose his team name, "Good Guy," and then gave me mine, "Shiester Girl." We tally our wins and hang it on our fridge for bragging rights.

Well, Saturday I was behind 35-28, when I went on an unbelievable winning streak that included this rare Connect Six. The streak continued Sunday, until Joe finally broke it. Joe is now up by only two.

Construction Junction

After I trod around in the dirt Tuesday, I came upon this set of brothers digging for worms in the dirt. The older two were standing in the demolished street hacking into the side of their lawn and the youngest was out in the abandoned dirt road. The worms were for their new found friend — a bird that they assumed had been shaken from a tree by the construction. I photographed them trying to feed the bird.

As I was leaving this truck pulled up to help them remove some rubble and they excitedly hoped inside.

I don't wear anythinig I can't wipe my hands on

I haven't quite solved the problem wearing nice clothes to the office presents when my day involves shooting in the grass or water or mud. A lot of times this is because I don't know I'm going to be shooting in the grass or water or mud when I get dressed. But do I let wearing a dress stop me from taking pictures of construction on a rainy day? Of course not. I just slipped on my boots and trod through the mud, using a plastic bag to cover the camera from rain and to kneel on.




* The title is from an Ani DiFranco song.

Look for the Unexpected

I was shooting portraits of my sister-in-law, Nikki, and her dad today when I noticed this small flower dangling off of the edge of his shoe. We weren't near flowers at the time and he had just been walking around through rocks at the base of a large oak tree. For these reasons, it didn't make much sense for the little bloom to be there.

It reminded me to look for — and maybe expect — the unexpected.

And I'll Race, to Feel the Wind in My Face

Taken during the Big Wheel and Scooter Races June 22, and best viewed large. To view more pictures, head here. Because there are so many pictures, I think I'll do a post with some of my favorites in the near future.

Today, I leave you with one more picture from the Big Wheel Races as I head to shoot the Dew Run, Paintball and other aspects of the celebration.

And the Winner is ...

Last night I photographed the Miss Farmington Pageant. Although I took many photos of individual contestants, something about this one struck me. Something about the simultaneous anonymity and specificity of the photograph thrills me. Though you cannot see their faces, the iconic image of pageant contestants holding hands lets the mind decide what they look like. I tried to accomplish something similar with the Rosemount graduation photos I took a few weeks ago — create images that are iconic of a moment in the subject's life, not simply snapshots from an event.

To be able to make images like this, that communicate more than just the sum of the event at which they were captured, without interfering with the subject is the most exciting thing I accomplish as a photojournalist.

To see more pictures of the pageant, head here.

Tonight, I'll photograph Big Wheel Races, Bed Races and other things that happen at city festivals. It's going to be an exciting, but tiring couple of days.

p.s. Let me know what you think of the MyCapture website.

Ready to Roll

This ran as the dominant art on the front page this week. Farmington is gearing up for their annual celebration, Rambling River Days, this week. I came across the kiddie carnvial and snapped this shot while saftey checks were being run on various rides. The festival runs June 21-24, and it is where I will spend most of my weekend.

Expect pictures, lost of pictures.

Fire in Burnsville

Our Burnsville editor was out of town this week, so I covered an apartment fire for him. The fire destroyed 6 apartments Thursday and cleared out an entire 70-unit complex, leaving about 200 people without homes for the night.

Luckily, most people had family or friends they could stay with. The Red Cross helped others find a temporary place to stay.

By the time I arrived, police tape was everywhere and I could see no way of getting where the fire had burned the building. I was lucky to meet up with a guy who said he knew a way to the other side. After crawling through brush along a steep hill running side-by-side with 35W, we got to other side of the apartment building where I met several residents who had been heavily affected by the fire.

I really got the sense, while covering the fire, that I got a better story than other reporters because I was willing to wait, observe and listen to the residents.

You'll find the article here and more photos here.

The Future is Bright

UPDATE: More photos can be viewed here.



I shot Rosemount High School's graduation yesterday. I was entranced by this photo.

More images to come later; right now, we're off to hike in Lake Maria State Park.

(pictures of that to come later, as well =)

High Ho, High Ho, It's on a Hike We Go

(for full impact, view large)

We headed to Lake Maria State Park last Saturday for a hike. Now armed with a Minnesota parks pass, we will slowly discover the many preserves throughout the state (starting mostly in and around the Twin Cities). We're open to recommendations if you're ready or willing to give them.

Lake Maria State Park is the only Minnesota home of a rare breed of turtles (check out the turtle crossing sign below). It is also full of swamps and the mosquitoes that go with them. Yes, my legs are speckled with the battle-scar-bites that remind me it is officially summer: a.k.a construction/mosquito season.

We took the Big Woods Loop around the park.

Corn

My husband grew up on a farm in Southeastern Minnesota surrounded by corn and soybeans; when I was 18 I spent an entire summer there with him. One of the first things my dad asked me about living near a corn field was whether I could hear the corn grow. Though I have heard varying questions and accounts on the subject, I am still unsure of its status as truth or myth.

Perhaps I'll have to investigate this weekend, when we are down there for father's day.

This was shot on Memorial day; it was the first time I had seen corn this young.

Sometimes it Rains ... And Then the Fun Starts

Many people don't like rain. I do. The following is just one of the reasons why.













When I got home I found this cool cloud sitting outside our apartment: