Snow from up high

from flickr user kellydna
Corner of Hennepin and 4th, public library on the right.

It snowed like crazy

from flickr user Gregory Roth
Proof positive that it snowed in the Twin Cities. Be sure to watch the news tonight where at least one story will tell the tale of thousands whose cars were towed once snow emergencies took effect across the metro.

Behind The Falls

from flickr user Eric McKnight
Behind Minnehaha Falls in the winter.

Highway signs

from flickr user mistercullen
A nice abstract photo of a pile of road barricades. It reminds us that Minnesota's second season, road construction, is literally only two months away and that the end date for the Wakota Bridge construction project is mere decades away.

After the storm

from flickr user Wild Bill in MN
After being hit with more snow this past Friday during the winter that wouldn't end, I thought it would be appropriate to gaze upon an awesome post-storm photo from a July storm which produced a tornado near Andover, Minnesota. Soon enough, we'll be back to Tornado weather... Do you have your storm shelter fully stocked?

St. Anthony Main

from flickr user arecknor
A spectacularly capture of the cobblestone street of St. Anthony Main. As one Flickr commenter stated, this photo looks very close to a painting.

On a side note, this is the 300th post here on MinnPics. Yes, nearly 300 hand-picked photos have been featured here since the inception last July. No wwould be an excellent time to dig deep into the archives and see what you may have missed.

Medusa on the North Shore at Twilight

from flickr user St Paul Paul
The photographer says: As you can see, if you go out on a photo excursion with me you stand a good chance of becoming my subject.

This is Medusa of the North Star Roller Girls roller derby team. The North Stars had done an exhibition bout in Superior, Wisconsin, the night before. Now 'Dusa and me and slowtypist and some others were out on a photo excursion on the beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior.

We hung in there until twilght. I turned around and saw this. This is *not* photoshopped! It's exactly what I saw. Oh, except Dusa first smiled with her scarf up, then realized and pulled it down.

Ansari's Grill, Eagan

from flickr user Bill.Roehl
It's been far too long without food photography and who better to fall back on but fellow south metro-ite Bill Roehl! This time his journeys took him to Ansari's Grill in Eagan, Minnesota where (obviously) gyros were on the menu. Somethng tells me that Ansari's is more price-friendly than Santorini in Eden Prairie where I ventured this past weekend.

The way a Pepsi logo should look

from flickr user TannerWolfe
A long-forgotten wall-side Pepsi logo that harkens back to a bygone era where, apparently, building owners would sell/lease space to advertisers on the exterior walls. If this is the case, I have a large southern exposure wall on my house...

Red dawn

from flickr user chad johnson
A very surreal and intensely vibrant sunrise photo from a talented guru in the Rochester, Minnesota area. Who says Minnesota winters are bleak and boring?

Goose Stretching Wings

from flickr user dtredinnick13
An amazing capture of some waterfowl enjoying the waning days of winter near the Minnesota River.

Little kid, big fire

from flickr user St Paul Paul
The photographer says: Balloonists met recently in Hudson, Wisconsin, for the Hudson Hot Air Affair ... part of Hudson's annual winter festival.

It was too windy to launch balloons on Saturday night, so instead the pilots treated the crowds to something called a "Field of Fire." Basically they set up their baskets in the field next to a local school and then for the next hour or so lit up their burners (and, as you can see, sometimes let kids do it) ... in a glorious roaring technicolor paean to pyromania.

It was beautiful! And it was HOT! And it was a nightmare to set your camera for! If you got the exposure for the fire just right, the people were way too dark. And if the people were just right, then the flames were too bright. Oh, and as soon as you got one balloonist looking good, six others would fire off at the same time and the whole scene's lighting would change.

Eventually I just used a scattershot approach. I shot RAW, kept tweaking my exposure, occasionally used my flash ... and prayed!

Hennepin Bridge - East Side

from flickr user chessbored7108
Hennepin Ave. Bridge at night in Minneapolis, MN

Seventh place in St. Paul, Minnesota

from flickr user tboard
The photographer says: This view has always been interesting to me and I have photographed it before. I like the contrast of the historic building on the right as it meets the modern building in the center of the photo. Part of what makes a city beautiful and vibrant is this mix of old and new.

A perfect example of an HDR photo. Taken in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.

At the show

from flickr user L-Burt Rocktography
It's no secret that I love the look of concert photography. The vibrant stage lights, the energy and the crowds make the photos come alive. This photo of the band ReadyGoes, taken at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, nicely captures all of those necessary elements.

Mississippi River morning fog

from flickr user deeshader
This photo, taken last October in Red Wing, nicely captures the contrast between the brisk early morning air and the relatively warm water of the river. Soon, open water will return to Minnesota.

A tree in new snow

from flickr user St Paul Paul
Taken just under a month ago, I'm sure the landscape has changed and this beautiful photo would look drastically different if taken today...

The photographer says: North Shore of Lake Superior, near Split Rock Lighthouse in Minnesota.

Years ago when I first saw the paintings of the Group of Seven - particularly Lawren Harris - I thought he was over-stylizing the northern landscape. Now I see I owe him an apology. What I took for impressionism is actually the way the wind shapes things up here...!

The Blatnik bridge in Duluth

from flickr user jeffree 2671
A fabulous photo of the Blatnik bridge in Duluth, Minnesota. From the vantage point of the photo, it seems as if the photographer was standing in the water. The black and white nature of hte photo is even more effective with the gray and overcast sky.

Birds in the sky

from flickr user kaizophoto
A flock of birds fill the moody late winter sky as the sun sets over a decreasingly snow-covered farm field somewhere in Minnesota.

A young buck

from flickr user chessbored 7108
A curious young buck peering directly at the photographer's camera. With a sight like this, spring is just around the corner.

North Star Roller Girls

from flickr user Preflash Gordon
The photographer says: North Star Roller Girls league action from January 31, 2009. League website is here.

The Banger Sisters vs Delta Delta Di
The Kilmore Girls vs The Violent Femmes

Both bouts were very fast, punishing, with close scores. Excitement was so high that by the end of the night everyone - teams, fans and photographers - was all worn out!

The theme of the night was "Sci-Fly," and (as you will see from some photos) the event was attended by members of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion, Central Garrison - a local Star Wars re-enactor group whose costumes are pretty darn real! (They're just as amazing when you get up close.)

Osseo water tower at night

from flickr user chessbored7108
Finding what I refer to as soup can watertowers is becoming tougher with each passing day. The loss of these historic pieces of the American skyline makes this one in Osseo (northwest of Minneapolis) that much more appreciated by yours truly.

Snowy machines

from flickr user The Joy of the Mundane
This collection of crazy looking, abandoned machines looks eerily in their place when covered with snow. It looks artsy and cozy but after the snow melts it will be nothing more than a junk yard.

7 steps to salvation

from flickr user anthony thompson
The Art Shanty Project on Medicine Lake in Plymouth, MN (west of Minneapolis) features a plethora of unique ice fishing houses from unique to creative to flat out weird but this one, 7 Steps to Salvation, seems to be reminiscient of Post Secret but with an ice fishing house.

St. Anthony Bridge

from flickr user mercutiojb
The bridge at St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis captured with some intense and vibrant colors for a winter photo.

Penn Ice-Cycle Loppet

from flickr user Black Coffee
Action photography takes plenty of patience, good timing and luck. This photo of the City of Lake Ice-Cycle Loppet is unique because only in Minnesota will you see avid bikers drag their bikes out of storage in the dead of winter to ride on ice. It's winter events like this that make Minnesota truly interesting.

Union Pacific

from flickr user smcgee
A manual focus photo from the photographer who captured this while on the go. I selected this photo due to the narrow area of focus which makes the photo look like one taken of a miniature cityscape.

Sunset

from flickr user Denise Elaine
I love sunsets so it was logical for me to feature this amazing sunset photo with plumes of smoke rising from unseen sources, the glint of the steel on the railroad tracks from the fleeting sun and the most vibrant yellow-orange sky one could hope for on a cold winter afternoon in Minnesota.

MInnesota Winterscape

from flickr user Stephan Farber
A rather stark scene in black and white with a weather-worn shed on a landscape where snow reigns king.

Death of a Snowman

from flickr user Dancing Bohunk
"I'm gonna show you and everybody else that Chilly Snowman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have - to come out number-one snowman. He fought it out here, and this is where I'm gonna win it for him."
-Happy Snowman