Halloween in Minneapolis

posted November 7, 2014 in Happenings, Portraits

Investing in community as become an important part of my work as a wedding and portrait photographer in Minneapolis. When I moved to Minnesota about three years ago from Denver, it was up to me to hit restart, regrow my photography business, beginning with a need we share as humans: to feel involved in a community, something larger and more meaningful than ourselves. Something you can’t buy on Amazon. Yet might show up with homemade cookies when you least expect along with a story that will make you laugh, knowing the memories created will become gold over time. Perhaps shared at college graduations and weddings even. That is the future I’ve chosen to invest in. I like to think some creative investments are bad, most are good.

Like many intangible investments in community, the dividends are not seen in a quarterly report. They are measured in laughs, in stories & memories, and perhaps the most tangible form, in photographs we can hold in our hands. There isn’t much from one could purchase from Amazon that shares a similar sentiment.

Which is why Halloween, perhaps my least favorite holiday (I never had cool costumes as a kid, but Willy and I have a good thing going), is growing to become one of my favorites. This year, I set up a mini-studio outside my front door, positioned my strobes, turned on the modeling light, and then watched from the dinner table as kids and adult gravitated towards the light. Most were happy with the idea they could snap a photo on a mobile device using my lighting setup. Many went on their way after I handed out treats at the door. Yet for a discerning few, the ones that have become a big part of my community, I brought a studio to them. I picked up my favorite camera on earth (The sexy PhaseOne 645DF with IQ 160 medium format back), lit them with my studio setup I typically shoot with for my commercial, wedding, and portrait work, and then let my eye do its work. Enter the realm of personal projects where no money exchanges hands, and the happiness from the connection warms my creative heart.

I site JoeyL’s Halloween in Brooklyn keystone in this work, a tribute in the effort it takes to become a part of a not just a photography community, but a neighborhood, the refinement of the lighting craft, and the art of presenting imagery. Place remains a special place for me, which is why these were mostly shot steps from my front door. wpid-halloween_in_minneapolis_portraits_001-2014-11-7-10-43.jpg