Best of MinnPics - September 2014

from flickr user Nick Benson
The Arcola High Bridge, or Soo Line High Bridge, was completed in 1911; the rail's nearly 200 feet above the water, and has total length of roughly 2,700 feet. Despite being an amazing structure, it isn't photographed too often by railfans on account of low train frequency (one train per day in each direction) and its isolated location.

 As the photographer mentioned in his more in-depth explanation of this photo, the 39 degree temperature in September made for a more hurried shoot than anticipated and with weather like that and an explanation of the location and circumstances surrounding the photograph, the moonlit photo of the Arcola High Bridge over the St. Croix River made September's choice one of the easier ones for 2014.

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Best of MinnPics - September 2013

from flickr user jjs08
The Minnesota Renaissance Festival, held weekends throughout most of August and all of September on the outskirts of Shakopee, is a showcase of the renaissance period mixed with modern elements. If you're up for raunchy / adult-themed humor, you'll find it there. If you want to take the kids along so they can enjoy an elephant or camel ride, no problem. My favorite part, though, has to be the costumed performers. If cleavage-bearing belly dancers, snake handlers, fire swallowers or, in the case of this photo, sword balancers, is your thing, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is the place for you.

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12 Days of MinnPics - September 2012

from flickr user alleyraven
Taken September 8, 2012, this black and white photo of dusk at a Minneapolis grain elevator alongside Highway 55 / Hiawatha Avenue resonates with me because it speaks to my roots. Growing up on a southern Minnesota grain farm and being a regular visitor to the local grain elevator, I have a deep appreciation for the unappreciated and sometimes unseen work that happens at grain elevators. They connect farms to the world and seeing one, like this, in such a state of calm and quiet seems almost surreal because for most rural grain elevators there is only a visible hustle for about a month each year. These are the real skyscrapers of our country because they allow America to feed the world.

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