Best of MinnPics - December 2014

from flickr user Aaron Groen
Wow. I don't even know where to begin to describe the stunning quality and skill that comes from the photographer behind the Best of MinPics for December 2014. Aaron Groen (the photographer) seemingly spends many nights each month stalking the perfect location (mostly rural) and matching that with the perfect celestial sky which makes for art (which he rightly sells). This photo of a rural church in Jackson County, Minnesota is that rare match of perfect skies and location. A signature of rural life -- the country church under a sky filled with a galaxy of stars.

Here we are, the last entry to the Best of MinnPics 2014. It's been a long journey through 2014. A year full of firsts and lasts. June brought historic floods to the Minnesota River Valley while January saw the deflation of the Metrodome. I showcased 192 photos here in 2014 and while that was less than in previous years, it was the best year yet as I brought in some fun with the Minnesota State Fair Bingo Cards in August and played around with a rural twist back in April.

Be sure to keep checking back through the end of the year and maybe even into 2015...

Thanks for being a reader of MinnPics!

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Best of MinnPics - November 2014

from flickr user Dan Anderson
November usually brings images of a stark, gray landscape which may or may not be blanketed in snow. Instead, the Best of MinnPics for November 2014 takes us northward to a very cold Duluth, MN on an abnormally cold evening for a look at the gorgeous John A. Blatnik Bridge as it stretches across St. Louis Bay at the beginning of Lake Superior. Whether the stunning stars from the bridge's lights come from post-processing or not, the vibrant blue in the sky and in the structure's steel make for not just a fine photo but a true work of art. I am envious of this capture and it truly deserves the title of the Best of MinnPics for November 2014.

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Best of MinnPics - October 2014

from flickr user Emmanuel Canaan
Pilot Ryan Mohr cruises low over the colorful fall foliage of northern Minnesota in a beautifully restored WWII-era Boeing Stearman Model 75 N2S-3 biplane.

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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 - August 2014

from flickr user Bob Israel
A long exposure taken up close as one of the many midway rides at the Minnesota State Fair spins rapidly while the ride operator leans in a casual manner. I love the action captured in this photo when contrasted with the nonchalant attitude of the ride operator. This is probably one of the most peaceful times captured at the Minnesota State Fair.

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Best of MinnPics - July 2014

from flickr user Jason Carpenter
The calm waters of one of Minnesota's 10,000-plus lakes after the sun has set make for a serene setting draped in black as a well-kept dock juts into the smooth water on a lake along northern Minnesota's Gunflint Trail.

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Best of MinnPics - June 2014

from flickr user Ernie Vater
A field of wild Lupine on a warm spring night in Minnesota set aglow by the setting sun. A sure sign that summer is upon us. I took far too much time making the difficult decision of the best of MinnPics for June 2014 but a field full of lavender flowers illuminated by the perfect sunset makes the time spent much more worth it.

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Best of MinnPics - May 2014

from flickr user Elizabeth Nemmers
There is truly nothing like the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen to capture the essence of spring. This photo of a boardwalk through one of the wetland areas shows off the saturated green of leaf-covered trees against a blue sky. With the extended winters we've had for the past two years, it's scenery like this that makes the long wait well worth it.

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Best of MinnPics - April 2014

from flick user Shawn Christie
While April is typically the dawn of spring in Minnesota, 2014 brought more snow as our extended winter dragged on. This photo, as the photographer explained, shows a CP as well as a DM&E locomotive pulling their load at restricted speeds through the heavy falling snow toward Loretto, MN. Normally I would be drawn to beautiful scenery but sometime the weather itself, no matter how depressing it is to some, makes for a truly striking photo.

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Best of MinnPics - March 2014

from flickr user David Clark
A classic view of Split Rock Lighthouse along Minnesota's North Shore -- with a little twist. On this beautiful March day, the ice on Lake Superior was melting and clearing out, but just enough was left to be beautiful and blue in this shot. (As it turns out, a month later, the ice in Superior harbor still hadn't cleared out!) While most people use this particular vantage point along Lake Superior to capture the majestic Split Rock Lighthouse, the photographer instead used the lighthouse as a distant background and focused on the action in the waters of Lake Superior. Well done and quite the gem for the Best of MinnPics 2014 - March!

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Best of MinnPics - January 2014

from flickr user Doug Wallick
Taken an a bitterly cold January evening in Duluth, a full moon hangs low over the famous lift bridge as thin sheets of ice line the foreground of this spectacular nighttime photo of deeply frozen northern Minnesota. The bravery of trudging out into the frigid temperatures of a January evening in Duluth to get "the shot" make this photo stand above the rest and make it the Best of MinnPics for January 2014.

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Best of MinnPics - December 2013

from flickr user alleyraven
A tightly-packed stand of pine trees at Duluth's Hatley Park and Nature Center contrasts with the thick blanket of crisp, white snow. Pine trees and snow seem to be synonymous with December. This scene is post card perfect and made for a simple and logical choice for the best photo of December in Minnesota.

And just like that, the Best of MinnPics 2013 edition has concluded. It's been an amazing year and marks the sixth year in which I have done the annual best-of here. Thanks again for your continued interest in this website and an even bigger Thank You to the photographers who are generous enough to share their work with the world at large!

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Best of MinnPics - November 2013

from flickr user Megan C Johnston
The hidden colors of the city at night fly off the screen in this long exposure photo of Minneapolis. The smoothed out motion of the Mississippi River coupled with blurred and long trailing smoke and steam from stacks alongside the river make for an almost mythical in appearance cityscape.

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Best of MinnPics - October 2013

from flickr user w. dearborn
A whitetail deer bounding through a golden expanse of prairie is just one of those scenes that not only screams October, as deer bed down before hunting season and feast on ripe corn, but also screams Minnesota in general. It's an action photo and a landscape photo which happens to combine two of my favorite types of photos. There are probably dozens of photos which others may feel are more deserving of being called the best of October but this captures the essence of October in Minnesota.

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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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Best of MinnPics - August 2013

from flickr user NoahWmR12
With August being a traditionally hot and sticky month, people tend to retreat to the lakes in the northern reaches of Minnesota and with those retreats come scenes of expansive lakes and quiet natural areas. This nighttime photograph, a long exposure, captures the blanket of stars which come out to play at night as well as a large lake and a streaking meteor. Awash in striking shades of blue, this photo was a logical and non-traditional choice for the best photo of August.

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Best of MinnPics - July 2013

from flickr user _deekayeL
Summer nights are truly the best of the year. They begin later and they are shorter which means the amount of fun created per hour is higher than at other times of the year. That, apparently, is how this particular photographer who scaled this Minneapolis-area construction site lives. After proceeding to the top of the construction site, the photographer stuck around long enough to capture a unique perspective of the city via a long exposure and make the cut for best photo of July 2013.

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Best of MinnPics - June 2013

from flickr user jjs08
Sometime in June, summer finally made an appearance in Minnesota and with it came all the typical characters that come with summer. Golden sunsets, birds chirping and in this case both of those items made their appearance in this particular photo of a Bluebird perched on a wooden fence apparently having an early-evening snack.

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Best of MinnPics - May 2013

from flickr user karenmeyere
Photographed as the green of spring was in full force, this still red barn near Zimmerman' MN has been slowly falling into the nearby wetlands for many years. Built to close to a small pond whose water levels have been rising over the years, this barn will someday crumble into the nearby water but until then it makes for a rather unique roadside attraction.

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Best of MinnPics - April 2013

from flickr user orangedot777
April 2013 felt like the winter that wouldn't end. When it snows on April 23rd, that isn't exactly normal and when the snow falls in great quantities -- six inches in this case -- branches and entire trees come down under the weight of the heavy and wet snow. These railroad tracks near Northfield, MN likely remained impassable for at least a few days while the fallen branches and trees were removed.

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