Well hello there fine sir. An 8-point buck! In Minneapolis! Just a few miles from my home! Say what!?This morning my buddy Meredith picked me up so we could head over to Ft. Snelling and snowshoe around the woods. When we arrived, I practically skipped into the office I was so excited to try this out, only to have the sweet park ranger explain that she would happily rent me snow shoes, but that I wouldn't need them as we don't have enough snow. Booo! But thank you for saving me the money.So we parked our car and hiked into the woods. And soon found we were completely surrounded by deer. Like, tons of them. Probably 20 or so at one point. It was crazy and wonderful and magical and amazing.And one of these nutjobs even walked right up to us! Like, within touching distance! I think she wanted food. Instead I took her photo.I pondered these in color, but I am just loving the black and white too much lately. I hope you enjoy!
For your internet shares of the day:This cauliflower fried rice sounds awesome to me.I never new this was why chopsticks were designed this way and now feel stupid.These are some damn fine romantic movies if you're looking for a good way to "Netflix and Chill" on Valentine's Day. Roman Holiday is one of my VERY favorites.
Just a few snaps from my time up north on the shore of Lake Superior. Since it took us about 4 hours to drive up there and back (longer than usual due to traffic etc), the light was not ideal for color images, but I do kinda like the crispness of the shadows since the sun was so high. Also, some of the shadows were really nice as well.
For your internet share of the day, how about 
So! Who wants to go get in the waters of Lake Superior in February?Yesterday, after lunch, Nyberg and I were driving to one of my favorite spots on the North Shore, and when we arrived we were *stunned* to find a group of surfers there! Six or seven of them were out of the water, warming up in their cars, peeing in the woods or packing their gear back into their trucks. But this lone surfer was still out in the water, waiting for a few final swells.One thing I want to point out is the water on the horizon. See how it looks... bumpy? Choppy? It was like that all day. I don't know if it's the cold that makes the horizon look rough (like a mirage?), but I've never seen that before.
This surfer was packing up his gear when we arrived, and we talked to him for a bit. He'd been out in the water for about 3 hours (!!) and he said it wasn't too cold -- about 38 degrees in the lake, he would have guessed. He'd been out surfing for four of the last seven days. Oh, and for those wondering, it was about 11 degrees above water yesterday (and a touch windy).Yeah, you won't catch me in that water. But you might catch me back there taking more photos... :)
For your internet share of the day, I have mixed feelings on 
Today I drove up to the North Shore with my buddy Nyberg to get some more winter photos. I thought since I was going 3-4 hours north, it would feel more "wintery" up there. I was wrong.It's about the same as it is down here in the Cities! Maybe even less snow. Also? It was only 2 degrees cooler up there on Lake Superior, which was INSANE for February. Of course I got some more photos for my winter series, and I'll post those later this week. But for today, I thought I'd show you some of the deer we saw (we saw 19 total! In four different spots!)And sunset over the lake. Because wow, is it ever pretty up there.Tonight, I'm back home. It was a lot of fun being up there, but maybe a touch too far for a day trip. Anyway, more photos later this week, I promise!
This is Flicka, and man does she love the snow! I took her photos yesterday both outdoors as well as in the studio, but her love of the snow won out for the blog.For your internet share of the day, 
I had a session with these two siblings last weekend (a few hours after that wedding), and what a hilarious change of pace! These dogs were SO well trained, it knocked my socks off! In fact, I've had a flurry of amazingly well-trained dogs in the studio lately, and it's been such a blast!That up there is Willow, and I love her long, lean legs. She looks "teenager-ish," but in fact is four! And she harbors a secret love for posing in front of the camera. Obviously a millennial! ;)
This is her brother, Nitro, and he is just so charming. Something about how his ears stick out remind me of the adorable and sweet 
And here they are together, you know, holding hands. With zero coaxing. (!!) What cuties!For your internet share today, I am personally pretty freaked out by this whole Zika virus, but I think 
That up there is Kate and Kyle, and I spent last Saturday morning with them... as they prepared for their top secret wedding (!!!). Are you giddy already? Because I was.I shot it 100% in black and white, and I came home with the BIGGEST GRIN ON MY FACE. It was so much fun and such a challenge and, just in general, it made my day. Plus? I'm not gonna lie, just taking photos of the couple getting ready and seeing each other for the first time and then going home to see my family for the day was pretty awesome. The getting ready part is maybe my favorite bit of photographing weddings, and it's always more fun when you know the couple and man did I have a great time. Can you tell?More photos below to enjoy. And remember, if you want me to shoot YOUR wedding (or your friend's or whatever), you get $500 off if I get to do it in all black and white like this one. I'm just sayin'.
I had a few meetings at different agencies this morning, and I had set aside some time this afternoon to head out and photograph the snow that was supposed to start around 2 pm.When I pulled into the parking ramp downtown around noon, there was an occasional flake passing my windshield, but that was it. It has been in the high 30s here the last few days, so there was no snow on the streets or sidewalks. When I left the ramp 45 minutes later, this is what awaited me. Crazy! And wonderful! And I'm so happy I have four wheel drive!I decided the large flakes might not stay, so I would take the surface streets home and hit up the woods by the lake for photos. But... there was an error in my plans.First, the snow was accumulating more rapidly than I had predicted and there were many cars stuck along the way, making it harder to get there. Second, when I did, I realized I was wearing boots with, um, heels in them. What!? I had meetings at ad agencies! Of course I had to look a little stylish!And? I had forgotten my hat. And my gloves. (Bad, bad Minnesotan!). I still parked and headed into the woods to take a few images, but I didn't get far before realizing that I would need to be much better prepared for such a shoot. Below are the images I did get. Maybe I'll head back out later, but I might opt to wait until tomorrow when the roads are a bit better. Because as you'll see below? Right now they are a mess.
For your internet shares of the day, I found