Reclamation

from flickr user kkmarais
This art installation by Melanie VanHouten can be found at the Franconia Sculpture Park in Franconia, Minnesota. The artist states that " Reclamation reveals an awareness of the disappearing rural landscape that is indicative of the struggle many farmers face while attempting to maintain sustainable living for all of us."

Canal Park Night Life

from flickr user MadArtistPhoto
Lake Avenue in Canal Park. Duluth, MN.

Riding the bowl

from flickr user suburbanswag
The athleticism (and bravery) of skateboarders has always impressed me and I love watching skateboarders hone their craft -- whether it's at a local skate park on on TV during the X-Games. While most of my knowledge of the sports comes from playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater on the Nintendo Game Cube, a perfectly timed photo like this one will definitely work on a sunny late summer day like today.

Split Rock Lighthouse, North Shore, Lake Superior, Minnesota

from flickr user keeva999
Autumn on Minnesota's rocky north shore is cool and crisp and this photograph captures that feeling of an almost chilly breeze blowing in off the water of Lake Superior. Maybe it feels that way because of the cobalt blue water or maybe it's due to the low sun coming from the west that paints the rocky cliffs a lovely autumnal gold color.

Fall on the Old Homestead....

from flickr user John Sikkila
The photographer says: I've been taking photos of this old, secluded barn in northern Minnesota for many years.......Made by the Finnish immigrants at the turn of the century by looking at the old square hand hewn logs.....If walls could talk.....

Rochester Sunset

from flickr user theDancingLlama
A stunning late-summer sunset in Rochester, MN complete with nicely centered, vividly colored clouds surrounded by darkness. My only complaint is the distraction caused by the streetlight. Other than that this is an extremely nice photo.

Get wet in Duluth, MN

from flickr user Brett's View
The reflection of this steel truss bridge in Duluth on Lake Superior at sunset is stunning. It looks like a painting with the moody skies and small ripples in the water. I have a feeling that I need another Duluth vacation before the seasons change.

Northfield Depot

from flickr user orangedot777
An awesome photo -- especially in black and white -- of a fog shrouded Northfield Depot.

Help save this historic structure from the wrecking ball at www.northfielddepot.org.

Twig the fairy

from flickr user Photography by AI
A fixture at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Twig the Fairy is probably the most photographed character at the rural Shakopee, MN festival. While this isn't the best photo of Twig, it does show that she is a fixture of the festival.

Jim's Apples

from flickr user Sarge Jan08
Tis the season for pumpkins.

Jim's Apples is located near Jordan, Mn, on Hwy 169. The long yellow Quonset hut is billed as Minnesota's largest candy store. It also has apples, baked goods, vintage candies and sodas.

St. Paul Pier

from flickr user keithjsemmelink
St. Paul, when lit up on a warm late-summer evening, looks amazing. It's so vibrant and colorful and the boat at the pier looks almost eager to get back out on the water.

Pagami Creek BWCA fire smoke plume

from flickr user Mac Meade
Looking southwest toward the Pagami Creek smoke plume from Campsite #2 on Lake One in the BWCA. The fire continues to burn to the east-southeast of Ely and has already scorched more than 100,000 acres (over 156 square miles) in the Boundary Water Canoe Area in northern Minnesota.

Moon set, Sunrise...

from flickr user RJFour
Lake Harriet at 7 AM.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

from flickr user u-murrayhusted
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Statue at Longfellow Park

Dusk in Albert Lea, MN

from flickr user CG.photography
Strikingly vivid lights make these floating fountains on Albert Lea, MN's Fountain Lake looks like they've been loaded up with some sort of dye. Truly amazing.

Kawishiwi Falls, Winton, MN

from flickr user love the sound of that shutter 
Minnesota is not exactly known for being a state with a surplus of waterfalls but those which we do have are excellent -- like this one located near Winton, MN (northeast of Ely, MN). An excellent job done by the photographer makes me want to take a trip to the Ely area and go exploring.

Painted By Nature

from flickr user doc030395 
Pilot Knob Wilderness Area - Iowa

Some mornings are just mystical.... an ambiance of mist, rising sun and shadows. A moment to phase, listen and take it all in......

Rarely do I showcase a photo taken outside the borders of Minnesota but this one is so perfect that it justifies bending my own rules.

September 11, 2001

from flickr user ropadope 
One of the more haunting scenes as early as the afternoon of September 11, 2001 (this photo was taken the following day, Wednesday, September 12) was the absence of commercial airline traffic from our country's skies. As this photo of St. Paul's Holman Field shows, the runways were eerily empty and much of the airport was absent of activity. Things after that fateful day on our nation's east coast were never the same again.

I could ramble on and on about what I was doing on that particular day and what events are burned into my memory but this site is about striking photos. This one fits the bill.

from flickr user Mully410 * Images
This photo of fireworks behind the midway of the Minnesota State Fair seems fitting. Summer, in the minds of many, is over now that the Minnesota State Fair has drawn to a close and school has officially begun for all school-age kids across Minnesota. There is, almost on cue, a crispness in the air and people a busy with fall routines such as picking apples and other activities which seem to step right up to prominence as soon as the final Pronto Pup and candy bar have been fried.

Historic Hastings Saturday Night Cruise-In - Hastings, Minnesota

from flickr user Jim Teske

The photographer says:  Hastings is a great setting for a car show. It has beautiful historic buildings, several antique shops and three rivers, the Mississippi, St. Croix, and Vermillion. I always have a great time exploring the scenic streets and seeing the large number of restored cars that turn out every other Saturday throughout the summer.

The highway 61 bridge deck provides a perfect vantage point for seeing this line-up of classic cars and historic buildings during the blue hour.

$1.13

from flickr user Tricia V 
Doran Minnesota
September 1st 2011
3:30 PM

So when was the last time gas was a $1.13?? Its been awhile since they had a gas station.. What I found so interesting is that the sign was attached to the closed down bar but I saw no gas pumps.. Maybe it came from that tank. A bar/ gas station.. Drinking and driving made more convenient..

Last Days of Summer

from flickr user mygeekdaddy 
Negative space shot of water tower in Jaycees Park. Mankato, MN.

Lawn mower racing!

from flickr user Dave Berryman 
If you ever get a chance to see a lawnmower race do it! They are a tone of fun and a great way to get a few cool pictures. This guy was not the fastest racer but he had the greatest look in my opinion; old school helment and mower. It was fun to watch him race!