Saint Paul

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Checking In

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It’s been so long since I last posted anything, I sort of forgot how to do it.  Let’s just say I was all thumbs trying to publish this update. Sadly, I haven’t picked up my camera either for more than 19 months. I'm hoping when I start to make photos again everything will fall into place as it relates to matters of timing, and technique.  There’s also the implied assumption that I’ll feel comfortable standing close to people again.


This post is my way of saying thanks for checking in, and that I'm still around and still COVID-free.  Like so many, I was hopeful we had turned a corner on the pandemic earlier this summer both in the US and Europe.  I even booked a trip to France for September that is no longer happening because of the rise in COVID cases both here and there.  This is the second time I've had to cancel a trip to France since the pandemic surfaced, and it isn’t getting any easier.  


Yes, I'm vaccinated, but given the higher risks of mingling among all the others who aren’t, I’m not interested in writing about what it feels like to have a breakout case or how my life has changed as a long hauler.  So for now, my travel plans are back on hold.


The cover photo was taken while I was testing out a Leica Q a few years ago.  As I mentioned in my last post, a few months later, I sold all of my camera equipment, and bought a new Q.


I’m still thinking about upgrading to the Q2M, it’s just that I've had a few distractions in my life since my last post.  Now that things have settled down, and travel is back on hold, I have some more time to tease out my buying impulse.

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Getting Out

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It feels like winter arrived more than a month ago, yet the season hasn’t officially started. For me, this is the most challenging time of the year to shoot photographs on the street. These days, when I see people out walking, they’re bundled in layers, often cold, and usually in a rush. The bursts of northerly winds bring back a word usage that’s been dormant in our conversation for almost seven months - wind chill. There are other signs of impending change as good light gives way to grey and overcast skies. It’s hard to get out when things are this way.

I picked up my camera for the first time since early October to shoot pictures at the Christmas Market in Saint Paul this weekend. The picture above was my first of the day, and I caught this guy trying to contain a yawn that slipped into a smile when he noticed my camera.

The colors in the picture below shout of winter, and I like how the subject’s face is surrounded in symmetrical colors and textures. The slightly red base of her nose is like a temperature gauge that confirms the chill today.

In the next shot below, I like how the fur lining on the woman’s hood almost looks like a funky hairdo. How about that guy’s laser-eyes staring down my camera lens? Even through the blur, his look is intense behind those powder-blue frames.

And finally, the woman below seemed slightly confused in this moment as her face radiates tension.

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Encouraging Words

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The weather was just about perfect for a marathon - mostly overcast skies, calm winds and temperatures in the upper forties. Something else about this day seemed nearly perfect.

There was a flood of emotional support directed towards family, friends, and total strangers running the Twin Cities marathon. It was refreshing to see this genuine compassion directed at all the runners on the course, particularly when compassion seems notably absent in this era of Trump.

In the photo above, I watched the woman in the grey jacket step into the street and shower this runner with praise and support. She was so emphatic, and I thought for sure it was her friend or some acquaintance, but the runner only acknowledged the support and passed by without saying a word.

Minutes later, I heard a big commotion down the street and witnessed another genuine expression of support. These two guys in the photos below knew each other, and while I didn’t have any details, it seemed like an unplanned reunion

The finger wag below appears to be a coaching moment and whatever the coach was saying, it seemed to propel the runner as she approached the 22-mile mark.

I positioned myself at a point on the course where the runners had to make a sharp turn to their left. I stood a few steps behind someone standing on the corner who acted as a human shield so I could get candid shots of faces rounding the corner. Here’s a sequence that conveys the true grit needed to run a marathon.

All age groups were well represented by the field of runners, and I was particularly interested in the older guy’s footwear in the photo below.

And finally, a panning shot using a slow shutter speed.