# Minneapolis and the Upper Midwest



## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I thought I would make a thread for all of my photos from this year. I don't have very many yet because I have been busy with other things, but I will post what I have so far and will update the thread when I have more. So far this year I have mostly been going for an Edward Hopper vibe.

These are all from January and February and are posted in chronological order.

*Minneapolis*


mplsjan201301 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjan201302 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjan201303 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsfeb201302 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsfeb201313 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsfeb201321 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsfeb201323 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsfeb201331 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Very cool!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks. These are the rest from February:


mplsfeb201337 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsfeb201342 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsfeb201344 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsfeb201345 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

These are from March:


mplsmar201301 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201308 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201312 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201314 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201315 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsmar201316 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201318 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201319 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201320 by afsmps, on Flickr

That is all I have for now.


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## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

nice images of a seemingly very interesting and livable city.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks. I should have some more shots soon.


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## Student4life (Sep 23, 2011)

Super pics !


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Minneapolis in snow looking really very nice :cheers:


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks for the comments. I took some pictures earlier today. I haven't processed all of them yet but I thought I would post the ones that are done. These are all from the south side of Minneapolis:


mplsmar201328 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201330 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201332 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201338 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201339 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

These are the rest of my photos from yesterday:


mplsmar201340 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201343 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsmar201346 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## danmartin1985 (Mar 5, 2012)

nice shots and the city looks great even at ground level.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks. I took some photos around my neighborhood earlier today to show off our beautiful spring weather:


mplsapr201301b by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsapr201302 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsapr201305 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsapr201308 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsapr201309 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsapr201312 by afsmps, on Flickr

I also took my camera to work which I don't usually do. Tonight's special was house made fettuccine with roasted tomato sauce, duck confit and fontina cheese. It is a simple dish but I thought it would be appropriate for the weather:


mplsapr201314 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsapr201315 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Wow! Snow still on the ground.

Great looking house on the first picture.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

It had all melted and the ground thawed but now we have more, we are actually supposed to get 5 to 8 inches today. Last year at this time we had green grass and leaves on the trees. That house and the one next to it are the Pillsbury mansions, built by the sons of the founder of Pillsbury.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I just went outside and took a photo from the end of my block. This is what it looks like right now:


mplsapr201316 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## DaveF12 (Nov 25, 2011)

wow, how lovely to see the city covered in April snows.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Winter can go. It has been here for long enough. I guess it might be nice to look at from afar.

This was April 12th last year:


mplsapr201233 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

St Paul is full of that type of stuff. Minneapolis has a bit less of it. I was in the countryside west of the Twin Cities today and got some small town photos. Most of these are from Delano, which is a town of about 5,000.

*Buffalo, Minnesota*


buf01 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Delano, Minnesota*


delano01 by afsmps, on Flickr


delano04 by afsmps, on Flickr


delano05 by afsmps, on Flickr


delano08 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

delano10 by afsmps, on Flickr


delano13 by afsmps, on Flickr


delano14 by afsmps, on Flickr


delano16 by afsmps, on Flickr


delano18 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I just realized I should have gone to take pictures in St Paul. The state legislature voted to legalize same sex marriage today and there were a lot of people at the Capital for that.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I took these photos in St Paul about two weeks ago but didn't get around to processing them until now:


stpmay201315 by afsmps, on Flickr


stpmay201317 by afsmps, on Flickr


stpmay201319 by afsmps, on Flickr


stpmay201320 by afsmps, on Flickr


stpmay201321 by afsmps, on Flickr


stpmay201331 by afsmps, on Flickr


stpmay201337 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Very good shots.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks. 

I haven't posted in this thread for a while. Here are a couple of photos I took in early June of the Warehouse District in Minneapolis:


mplsjun201307 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjun201308 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

We had some big thunderstorms last weekend. The morning after I took pictures of the damage. Much of south Minneapolis looked like this:


storm4 by afsmps, on Flickr


storm5 by afsmps, on Flickr


storm8 by afsmps, on Flickr


storm9 by afsmps, on Flickr


storm10 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Wow! Are these exceptional weather conditions for the time of year?

I love the 'clean' look of the skyscrapers in Minneapolis.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

We get big thunderstorms periodically (and also tornados), usually it is around this time of year. This kind of damage from straight line winds is about a once every ten to fifteen year occurrence. The strongest straight line winds I've seen here were around 80 miles per hour (in 1998). These were 60 to 70 mph but the soil was already super saturated from rain so it was easier for the trees to get knocked over.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Here are some photos I took in Minneapolis a week ago Sunday:


mplsjun201321 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjun201326 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjun201327 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjun201328 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjun201329 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Each of Minneapolis' lakes has its' own personality. Lake Calhoun is hip and trendy, Lake of the Isles is quieter, more sedate and surrounded by mansions, Lake Harriet is more family oriented while Nokomis is more of a neighborhood lake. On Thursday I went to Cedar Lake which is swampier than the others and has forests along its' shores. For that reason it was long one of the least accessible lakes in the city, probably because of that it became a haven for hippies, and then later all sorts of miscellaneous free spirits. The beaches are the main draw, but I prefer the solitude of the woods around the lake, it is one of those places where you can almost forget you are in the city (despite the fact that you are within a mile of downtown).


mplsjuly201307 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201303 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201308 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201311 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201312 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201313 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201315 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201316 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Yesterday I took some photos in the East Isles area of Minneapolis. It is difficult to do architectural photography in Minneapolis in the summer. Even with the recent storms the city has a very well developed tree canopy which makes for attractive neighborhoods but does the photographer no favors. Often I find myself resorting to tight angles because it is the only way to capture the buildings themselves, shots of whole blocks frequently give more of an impression of forest than city. In bright sunshine the dappled quality of the light makes it hard to expose the shots correctly, often the sky will be over exposed while the rest is in darkness. 

East Isles was built as an upper and upper middle class neighborhood. Due to the prosperity of its' original inhabitants and the era it was built, it is a showcase of early 20th century Prairie School in vernacular form. As such it is a classically Midwestern built environment. 

Yesterday was a hot day, with still air, tropical humidity and a sky that gave hints of thunderstorms that never arrived - not atypical of high summer in the eastern half of the US.


mplsjuly201317 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201320 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201321 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201323 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsjuly201324 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201326 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201327 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201329 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsjuly201330 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201331 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201332 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201333 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Lake of the Isles:


mplsjuly201335 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201336 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201337 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201339 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsjuly201341 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201342 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201344 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Some lovely homes and neighbourhoods there.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

It is definitely one of the more attractive of the inner neighborhoods.

I was feeling like taking some photos today but didn't feel like going far so I took a walk around my neighborhood. This is Whittier and Lynlake in Minneapolis. I've covered this ground before but there are always new angles to find. Whittier is a classic early 20th century streetcar suburb while Lynlake is a good example of the sort of commercial nodes that dotted the streetcar residential areas. Much of urban America was built like this back then.


mplsjuly201346 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201348 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201349 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201351 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsjuly201352 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201354 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201355 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201356 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsjuly201357 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201358 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsjuly201359 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

It may be up to the rest of you to carry the people photo torch for a while.

When I have some free time I am going to try to fix my camera myself, I have been reading up on the issue and I think it might be a relatively simple fix. The thing that was really disappointing was that when it broke on Monday it was setting up to be a great day of people photographing which I haven't had for a long time. The light was perfect, there were so many people around that I could easily blend into the street furniture and I had a solid three hours to shoot before the shadows started to be in the wrong places. I literally only took two photos before my camera broke and they were both winners - usually only about 5% turn out well enough to post. It was going to be one of those rare days where I got 20 good shots. Oh well.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I got a new camera today. I am still in the process of seeing what it can do. I have one shot I took out the back door at work. This is in Loretto, Minnesota which is about 20 miles west of Minneapolis:


loretto by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

What's your new camera?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I got a Nikon D5100. So far it seems like a nice camera. It has much better low light capacity, I think I might even be able to do people shots at night with it.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A couple more experimental shots from around my block:


mplsoct201301 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201302 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I went out to try to get some people shots in low light, this would have been impossible with my old camera:


mplsoct201303 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201304 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201306 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201307 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201308 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I went downtown tonight to try out some of the high ISO settings, they are noisy, but it has somewhat of a painterly, impressionistic effect IMO.


mplsoct201313 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201315b by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201316 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201317 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A few shots from the last couple days:


mplsoct201323 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201329 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Jennifat (Aug 7, 2005)

Somnifor said:


> I went downtown tonight to try out some of the high ISO settings, they are noisy, but it has somewhat of a painterly, impressionistic effect IMO.


Awesome work with these nighttime shots, Som! They don't look noisy to me at all. I love the light on the wet streets, and the glow of streetlights around silhouettes. Definitely feels like October photography.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

^^
Thanks!

These are some photos I took on Monday:


mplsoct201333 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201334 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201335 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201337 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201338 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsoct201339b by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201340 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201341 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201342 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201343 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A couple new night shots:


mplsoct201348 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201349 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A couple of photos I took Wednesday night:


mplsoct201351 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsoct201353 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice photos from Minneapolis


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## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Very nicely done, Somnifor! Your pictures of Minneapolis are still great, as usual.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

^^
Thanks! I went to Hastings today which is a town on the periphery of the Twin Cities along the Mississippi River about 20 miles downstream of St Paul:


hastings02 by afsmps, on Flickr


hastings04 by afsmps, on Flickr


hastings05 by afsmps, on Flickr


hastings07 by afsmps, on Flickr


hastings08 by afsmps, on Flickr


hastings09 by afsmps, on Flickr


hastings12 by afsmps, on Flickr


hastings13 by afsmps, on Flickr


hastings15 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

The Mid-Western' atmosphere is very pronounced in these pictures. You get a definite feeling of the vastness that surrounds these American towns and cities; like they've been plonked down in the middle of a vast prairie....


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> The Mid-Western' atmosphere is very pronounced in these pictures. You get a definite feeling of the vastness that surrounds these American towns and cities; like they've been plonked down in the middle of a vast prairie....


To a large degree the western half of the Midwest is a giant sea of farm land punctuated by small towns that went into stagnation and then decline within a generation or two of being founded. Hastings, however is not one of those towns, its' proximity to the Twin Cities has kept it healthy. It has the same sort of old fashioned downtown as other Midwestern small towns but is in much better repair.

Yesterday this house was the center of a news story on the Huffington Post:



Somnifor said:


> mplsoct201337 by afsmps, on Flickr
> 
> 
> mplsoct201338 by afsmps, on Flickr





> *Sheriff Tries To Evict Minneapolis Mayoral Candidate On Election Day*
> 
> Posted: 11/05/2013 6:03 pm EST | Updated: 11/05/2013 6:49 pm EST
> 
> ...


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A few Minneapolis people shots from today:


mplsnov201303 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov201304 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov201305 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov201306 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I hate what the corporate and capitalist world does it to its least fortunate citizens. A home must be a basic human right.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Once spring gets going for real around here it is usually beautiful. We have had summerlike weather since the middle of May.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I took a few new photos tonight.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

nice colours....


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Really very nice updates from Minneapolis


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## skylark (Jan 27, 2010)

interesting photos and you're quite good in taking night shots.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I've been really busy lately so I haven't had a chance to update this thread. These are the rest of my photos from June:


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Some cool shots - especially the skyscraper ones....


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## ikops (Jun 12, 2008)

Great urban photography. I like your style.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks!

Last week I went to Fort Snelling which is just beyond the Minneapolis city limits. The fort is the oldest building in Minnesota. It was built on a bluff above the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers after the War of 1812. Its construction marked the beginning of modern settlement of the Twin Cities.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some shots I took in downtown Minneapolis last Thursday:

mplsjuly201407 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201408 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201410 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201411 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsjuly201412 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201413 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201414 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201415 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some shots from last Thursday:

mplsjuly201416 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201418 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201419 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201422 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201423 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201424 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201425 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ Great, very nice updates from Minneapolis :cheers:


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## MikeVegas (Sep 12, 2002)

What's up with that guy and the snake? Is that even legal?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I don't know, but I saw dudes with snakes on Lake St all the time in the '90s.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Somnifor said:


> I don't know, but I saw dudes with snakes on Lake St all the time in the '90s.


It's like a new version of having a pit bull, perhaps..... :lol:


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Fantastic street scenes.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> It's like a new version of having a pit bull, perhaps..... :lol:


It is the same impulse - dudes who want to be badasses.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I've fallen behind in my posting again. These are the last of my shots from July. All of them are from Minneapolis except the last one which is from St Paul.

mplsjuly201426 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201427 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201428 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201429 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201430b by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjuly201433 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpjuly201401 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ Great, very nice updates and thanks :cheers:


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I have a very small number of photos from August. These are all of them. All were taken in Minneapolis:

mplsaug201401 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsaug201402 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsaug201405 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

These are from Today, also all from Minneapolis. The first is somewhat panoramic like:

Scroll ------------------>

mplssept201404 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201405 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201406 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201410 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201411 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201413 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201414 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A few shots of Minneapolis from yesterday:

mplssept201423 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201420 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201421 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Nice pictures.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice new photos


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks for the comments. I think I got some good shots today, I will have them up as soon as I can.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ So, I will wait for them


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I went out photographing twice yesterday so I am going to split this up into two posts. The first group is from downtown Minneapolis and Dinkytown which is the area around the University of Minnesota. The downtown freak show was in full effect yesterday. I saw a scene that was so bizarre that I couldn't bring myself to shoot it. There was a guy who was missing both legs and an arm. Basically a two and a half foot stump of a person. He was swaddled in filthy robes that gave him a sort of freakish Bedouin hipster look. He was with a woman. They got into a huge argument. He got onto a skateboard and chased her down the sidewalk, propelling himself with the fist of his one hand, screaming at her the whole time. She actually had to run to get away from him. As she ducked into a storefront he fell off his skateboard and landed on to the feet of an onlooker. I think he was drunk. I know I could have gotten a great shot out of it but there are certain things I don't feel comfortable photographing.

Anyway, this is what I got:

mplssept201427 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201428 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201429 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201431 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201437 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201438 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201442 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201443 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201444 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201440 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201446b by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201447 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201448 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

One of the downsides of being a chef is that I am always working when most of the rest of society is out having fun. One of the results of this is that I have never had a chance to photograph Minneapolis' downtown nightlife on the weekends. I had a rare weekend off this week so I thought I would try to rectify that:

mplssept201455 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201456 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201457 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201458 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201462 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201464 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201465 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201467 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201468 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201470 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201471 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201472 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201473 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201474 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201475 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Good street shots.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Cool pics!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks!


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## MilbertDavid (Nov 23, 2012)

cool shots.....specially those candid photos of people.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

These shots are from Whittier in Minneapolis from last Sunday:

mplssept201477 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201479 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201478 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201482 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplssept201480 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some shots from the early part of the week:

mplsoct201401 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201408 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201406 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Is that LSD ad serious? :lol:
Nice shots.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I can't imagine it is. It's a Los Angeles phone number so maybe they mail it to you.


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Somnifor said:


> I can't imagine it is. It's a Los Angeles phone number so maybe they mail it to you.


Thanks for replying. Seems it is. I found this ...

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/12833/


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some photos I took in downtown St Paul last week:

stpoct201402 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201409 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201410 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201413 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201417 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201418 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201419b by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201420 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201422 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201421 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201423 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Lovely, muted, autumnal colours.....


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks, here are some Minneapolis shots from the same day that I forgot to post:

mplsoct201409 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201410 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201413 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201414 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I've fallen behind in processing my photos. These are from about a week and a half ago. I wanted to take some rainy shots of the Mississippi and Fort Snelling from the St Paul side to see if I could get some moody photos. Mostly I got wet. I thought I was done so I headed home. On the way the clouds started to clear. It was still raining but the cloud cover was thin enough that the light from the sunset made its way through. The rain and mist seemed to amplify the colors, and it seemed like every particle of the atmosphere was glowing with color. It was some of the most extravagantly intense lighting I've ever photographed in. I was at the right place and the right time to get some good shots. Sometimes you really have to work for good photos, and sometimes they are sitting right in front of you and all you have to do is not screw them up. There is very little color adjustment in the sunset shots, because they wouldn't look believable if there was.

stpoct201424 by afsmps, on Flickr

stpoct201426 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201417 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201419 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201422 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsoct201423 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## charpentier (Jan 3, 2005)

Amazing, the photos look like watercolors!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates as well :cheers:


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

edit - I don't really like these ones.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Sunsets are one of the life's wonders....


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Last weekend I went to Duluth, which is a port town on Lake Superior about 150 miles (240 km) north of the Twin Cities. Combined with Superior, its sister port on the Wisconsin side of the harbor, it has a population of around a quarter of a million. It is probably best known as Bob Dylan's hometown. Duluth is pretty much the last outpost of civilization before you get to the vast primeval wilderness that stretches to the Arctic, the Atlantic and Pacific. If you chose your route properly you could probably walk from the forests on the edge of the city to either ocean or the arctic tree line without leaving the forest except to cross a few roads. 

When the city was settled after the Civil War it was thought that it would quickly grow to be a major metropolis but it never happened, growth slowed in the early 20th century and then it went into sharp decline after WWII. As a result it has some good late 19th century urban bones and almost no post war suburbia. This area was heavily settled by Swedes, and to a lesser degree Finns, Serbs, Croats, and Italians. There is still a significant Native American population. This part of Minnesota is the only place in the US where communism ever became a mainstream political movement. That era is long past but the echoes of it can still be felt. It still has the sort of working class left that you see in Europe. Because of the decline in Great Lakes shipping and a half century of deindustrialization the city is a relatively poor place compared to the rest of Minnesota although it has started to experience a modest revival over the last decade and a half.

Because of its history and its isolation it has the feel of being a place apart, different from the rest of the upper Midwest and unique to itself (or nearly - Thunder Bay, Canada's Lake Superior port is similar, but together they are both different than the rest of either of their countries).

I haven't processed all of my photos but I will post them as they are ready.

Duluth02 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth04 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth05 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth06 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth07 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Duluth08 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth09 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth10a by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth17 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth14 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Duluth16 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth19b by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth20 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth21 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth22 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Duluth25 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth26 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth27 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth31 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth30 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Duluth32 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth33 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth34 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth35 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth37 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

See what you mean about "a place apart". It is as if it has its back to the rest of the U.S - and its face towards the lake, and to the wilderness beyond.


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## grant1simons2 (Aug 29, 2014)

Ughh I want to just urban plan the shit out of Duluth. Such a fantastic city that could be even better!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> See what you mean about "a place apart". It is as if it has its back to the rest of the U.S - and its face towards the lake, and to the wilderness beyond.


Not only that but it is just so far away from any other population centers that it just stews in its own juices. When you leave Duluth there is nothing but wilderness, farmland, and the occasional tiny town in every direction until you get to Minneapolis, Fargo or Thunder Bay, all of which are far enough that they are more likely to be overnight trips.



grant1simons2 said:


> Ughh I want to just urban plan the shit out of Duluth. Such a fantastic city that could be even better!


The fact that Duluth stagnated through most of the 20th century means that it kept a lot of the stuff that most of the more prosperous cities in the US lost. If it ever starts growing again it has a great starting point.

Here are the rest of my Duluth shots:

Duluth40 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth41 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth42 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth43 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth44 by afsmps, on Flickr

Duluth45 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Duluth is situated on a large natural harbor where the St Louis River empties into Lake Superior. On the other side of St Louis Bay is Superior, Wisconsin. I had never spent much time in Superior. It has a really weird vibe that is hard to put your finger on. I tried to capture it in these photos but I am not sure if I succeeded. For lack of a better phrase I would call it ******* bohemian (and I mean that in the best way possible). It is pretty rough around the edges and has definitely seen better days. The downtown was pretty empty. Most of the businesses downtown were dive bars. The small number of people wandering around all seemed pretty odd. It felt like a David Lynch movie could break out at any moment, more Blue Velvet than Eraserhead. 

Anyway these are the shots I got:

Superior01 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior02 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior03 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior06 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior08 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior13 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Superior14 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior04 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior15 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior17 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior18 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior19 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior20 by afsmps, on Flickr

Superior21 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I understand what you mean; sometimes you go to a place and it is like being in a weird movie - strange feeling of alienation and unreality......

There is to be another series of Twin Peaks soon, I believe....


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A lot of it was the people. One guy stared at me straight in the eye with the strangest expression for maybe 10 seconds, like he was trying to steal my soul or something. This was before I had taken any pictures. All of the people downtown were characters.


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## Adi-Cnai (Oct 22, 2014)

Fantastic pictures, mate. Really love the pics of Duluth. Great architecture there.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Yesterday I took some pictures in Minneapolis in Cedar Riverside and Downtown East. Cedar Riverside is populated by a mix of Somali immigrants, college students, and an assortment of people living on the fringes of society. The neighborhood is dominated by the Riverside Plaza apartment complex, an example of brutalist architecture so hideous and hulking that it is in some ways a compelling masterpiece of its genre. While it looks like a public housing project, it was originally built as a utopian community where all social classes lived side by side. The project was underfunded and ran out of money before it was completed (what was built was only one tenth of what was planned). Within a few years it became a dumping ground for the destitute who rented with section 8 vouchers. This building complex was roundly hated for a long time, and denigrated with nicknames like the Crack Stacks, and the Ghetto in the Sky. In its middle age it seems to be developing a bit of an air of respectability and is now increasingly seen as a period piece icon. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places so it will probably stick around for a while. It is almost impossible to shoot Cedar Riverside without getting some of Riverside Plaza in the shot so I didn't try.

Downtown East, which is next to Cedar Riverside, was originally an industrial and residential area but has long been a sea of parking lots. It is now undergoing a massive redevelopment with office buildings, housing, a large park and a new stadium for the Vikings, which is the local football team.

mplsnov201401 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201402 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201406 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201407 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201427 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201408 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201413 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201421 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201422 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201423 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

.....it seems we humans never learn. There is, currently, a rash of student accommodation going up in Britain which does not look too dissimilar to Riverside Plaza. Reminds me a bit of Mark Rothko.


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

Nice pics.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Minneapolis


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## Nexis (Aug 7, 2007)

Is it possible for you to do an overview of the Green line corridor?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Nexis said:


> Is it possible for you to do an overview of the Green line corridor?


I did half of it a couple of years ago (downtown Minneapolis to St Paul's Midway neighborhood). I have been meaning to do the other half but I keep getting sidetracked. 

Here is the first half:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1564062


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Winter has come. These photos are from last Monday:

mplsnov201430 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201432 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201433 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201437 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201438 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

More good stuff. Love these random street shots.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

You get that snow without fail, don't you?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

paul62 said:


> More good stuff. Love these random street shots.


I think that to really show off a city, you have to show its people and street life. Not just its signature buildings.



openlyJane said:


> You get that snow without fail, don't you?


Yes. The first snowfall that stays around usually comes sometime between early November and the end of December. This year's is a bit on the early side. It has stayed below freezing for the last week so I think this is it. 

A few photos I took yesterday. Few places seem more empty than a nightlife district on a cold Sunday morning:

mplsnov201446 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201447 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201439b by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Wow! Love the crispness and colours on those pictures.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks! Usually when I take photos in sunny weather I try to do it with the sun at my back because you get really defined colors that way. But I have discovered that sometimes in winter you can get really atmospheric shots by standing in the shadows and shooting towards the sun (but not directly at it). I think it has to do with the low angle of the light catching all the dust or blowing snow. You just have to be careful to not overexpose the sky. The first two photos in my last post are examples of that, the last one is with the sun at my back.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A few photos of south Minneapolis from earlier this week. The first photo is the sign for a Mexican bakery. Not only do angels bring justice, they also bring cake:

mplsnov201448 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201449 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201451 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsnov201452 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Nexis (Aug 7, 2007)

Nice pictures , I can feel the Coldness through them


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

It was really cold when I took those pictures. I was actually surprised how cold it was when I went outside to take photographs. It was around 0f/-18c, way to cold for November.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

There are areas of Minneapolis that I have avoided photographing because I thought that I had thoroughly covered them. In the process of going through my old photos, I have realized that I haven't photographed them in detail for several years. One such area is Phillips. Back when Minneapolis was a more dangerous city, Phillips was the ghetto. It is still the poorest and roughest area of the south side but doesn't quite rise to the level of a ghetto any more. It is probably one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the US, with significant populations of whites, native blacks, Somalis, Hispanics, American Indians and a smaller number of southeast Asians. No group is more than 30%. The American Indian Movement, which is most famous for the occupation at Wounded Knee in the '70s, was founded here and still maintains a presence. 

Three photos from last week:

mplsdec201401 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201402 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201403 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Good urban shots.


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## DWest (Dec 3, 2009)

lovely city in wintertime.


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## NorteN (Jul 24, 2009)

fantastic photos!!!


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## Lauge (Apr 20, 2014)

Love the first Photo!Can you take more Photos of Basketball,Baseball and Socccer Courts of Minneapolis?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks everyone!



Lauge said:


> Love the first Photo!Can you take more Photos of Basketball,Baseball and Socccer Courts of Minneapolis?


I will try to get more of those when I can get nicely framed shots. 

Here are some more photos from Phillips that I took today:

mplsdec201409 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201410 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201413 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some shots from tonight:

mplsdec201414 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201418 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201416 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## marlonbasman (Apr 21, 2012)

lovely shots,,,,,,,beautiful city in winter.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some photos from East Lake St and Powderhorn from today:

mplsdec201427 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201430 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201431 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201433 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

Good Picts.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates :cheers:


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks for the comments!

I don't take a lot of photos of the north side of Minneapolis. I have always intended to rectify this but I rarely get around to it. It is the one part of the city that is still somewhat dangerous and dysfunctional. I don't always feel comfortable taking photos there. There is obvious drug dealing on the streets and people who don't want their photo being taken, so you have to be careful of what you photograph and know when to put the camera away. But I got some shots today. Four of these are from West Broadway which is the main commercial street in North, the last is from near by.

mplsdec201436 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201438 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201440 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201442 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201448 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I also got some grainy, low light street shots downtown as dusk was coming.

mplsdec201449 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201451 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201453 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201459 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201460 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201462 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201463 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201466 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201457 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsdec201458 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## firoz bharmal (Jul 16, 2005)

^^ then its a great effort...!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ Interesting, very nice photos :cheers:


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## Nexis (Aug 7, 2007)

Were they taken on the Nicollet Mall?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

The first and last color shots are from Hennepin Ave, the rest are from Nicollet. The Nicollet Mall is the best place to do people shots in Minneapolis because there are always people around. Since it is Minneapolis' main street there is always a good cross section of types of people, and it is fairly representative of the broader society in the Twin Cities as a whole. Also the fact that Nicollet is only one lane in each direction makes it easier to get close up shots.


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## Black Box (Jul 11, 2006)

Merry Christmas Minneapolis! I moved to Minneapolis in 1999. I was sick as a dog during my first Christmas there (I spent 4 there). I worked at First Avenue, lived off of Chicago Avenue and 35th. How is that area now? Fond memories. Very cold, but fond.


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## Black Box (Jul 11, 2006)

I have many hopes and thoughts of how Minneapolis can distinguish itself from other American cites that suffered the blow of the wrecking ball Mid-20th Century. A Rotterdam model of sorts. Sleek and modern Scandinavian influenced architecture, but with a nod to the culture of the Upper American Midwest. Garden those surface parking lots into sleek glass, steel and approachable concrete structures with trees and ground cover plants that are representative of the region. The lack of trees in downtown made me so so sad, especially when compared to the rest of the city. Minneapolis is in a great place, but it still has some rising to do. I'm confident that it will meet the challenges.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Great, atmospheric street photography.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I just realized that I never responded in this thread.



Black Box said:


> Merry Christmas Minneapolis! I moved to Minneapolis in 1999. I was sick as a dog during my first Christmas there (I spent 4 there). I worked at First Avenue, lived off of Chicago Avenue and 35th. How is that area now? Fond memories. Very cold, but fond.


This area is becoming like pre gentrification, 1980s era Uptown.



Black Box said:


> I have many hopes and thoughts of how Minneapolis can distinguish itself from other American cites that suffered the blow of the wrecking ball Mid-20th Century. A Rotterdam model of sorts. Sleek and modern Scandinavian influenced architecture, but with a nod to the culture of the Upper American Midwest. Garden those surface parking lots into sleek glass, steel and approachable concrete structures with trees and ground cover plants that are representative of the region. The lack of trees in downtown made me so so sad, especially when compared to the rest of the city. Minneapolis is in a great place, but it still has some rising to do. I'm confident that it will meet the challenges.


A lot of that has been underway since you left. Most of Downtown East has or is being developed. That sea of parking lots between Washington and the river became a neighborhood of condos before the recession. Most of the last pieces are being filled in now. There are only two undeveloped lots left, both of which are slivers of blocks. Downtown East on the other side of Washington is a 5 block construction site right now. Within a few years, Washington Ave will be almost completely filled in all the way through downtown. There has also been a ton of development in the Warehouse District, Uptown and Dinkytown. Dinkytown now has a midrise streetwall developing around the Green Line.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Two Minneapolis shots from last week:

mplsjan201501 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjan201503 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I didn't take too many photos in January, but here are the rest of them:

mplsjan201506 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjan201509 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjan201510 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjan201519 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsjan201521 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I haven't gone out photographing much this winter but here are a few shots from today. These are from Elliot Park, which is the southeastern edge of downtown. 

mplsfeb201504 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201506 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201508 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some shots from today:

mplsfeb201513 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201515 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201516 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201520 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201521 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201522 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

You have a knack for street photography. Good shots.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Your photos are very textural. I can almost reach out and touch & feel them. Great colours too.


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Good photos. Especially liked yours landscape photos from Duluth. October weather is ideal for them. And I liked yours street scenes too. By the way, did you thought about upgrading yours lenses? To try fix lenses?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> Your photos are very textural. I can almost reach out and touch & feel them. Great colours too.


Thanks. That is actually something I have been working on lately. In the process of re-editing my early photos I saw some things that I am trying to work back into my style. Texture is one, rawness is another.



shik2005 said:


> Good photos. Especially liked yours landscape photos from Duluth. October weather is ideal for them. And I liked yours street scenes too. By the way, did you thought about upgrading yours lenses? To try fix lenses?


Thanks. I would love to try fixed lenses but unfortunately the issue is money, which I don't have a lot of right now.


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Yes, money can be an issue. Luckily there are relativly inexpensive and optically good lenses.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Minneapolis has always fancied itself to be a progressive place, and it has usually been prosperous enough to put money behind such notions. As such it tends to be an early adopter of ideas. Frequently this is a good thing, but not always. In the early to mid 20th century it was one of the first cities to start building auto oriented developments and to pursue the anti-urban agenda that became the hallmark of postwar America. In the outer edges of Minneapolis proper there are wide swathes of pre war proto suburbia that look like they are from the '50s but are actually from the '20s and '30s. I suppose this is what the modernist oriented middle class of that era saw as the great leap forward, and you can't really blame them. Here are a couple of shots from the far south side:

mplsfeb201525 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201526 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Wow! Amazing to think they were built in the 1920s/30s.... In Britain, at that time, we were building millions of the archetypal three bedroomed semi.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Minneapolis as well


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> Wow! Amazing to think they were built in the 1920s/30s.... In Britain, at that time, we were building millions of the archetypal three bedroomed semi.


They are only five to ten years younger than the vintage brick walkups here, but they look like they are from different eras. They must have looked futuristic to people when they were first built.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I took some more photos yesterday. These are from the same general area but about 10 blocks closer to downtown. This is the transition zone between the urban part of the city and the areas that are all single family houses. This neighborhood was developed in the late 1920s. The whole area oddly reminds me of the older parts of Los Angeles, but with snow.

mplsfeb201528 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201529 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201530 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201533 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201534 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201535 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A continuation of my tour of the cities' 1920s/'30s era "suburbia". These are from the far south side:

mplsfeb201540 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201541 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201538 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

That first one is just wonderful! I want it.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

That was my reaction too. I guess you would call it Art Deco influenced Moorish Revival. Not very many buildings like it. According to the cities' on line records it was built in 1928 and is valued at $830,000, a bit out of my range unfortunately.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I took a bunch more photos today - first some more architecture shots from the far south side, then some street shots downtown:

mplsfeb201546 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201544 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201545 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201548 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201550 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201552 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201553 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201555 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201556 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201557 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201558 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201559 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsfeb201564 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Here are some Minneapolis shots from a week ago. The first is from Powderhorn Park, the rest are from Nicollet Island. Nicollet Island is a tiny island in the Mississippi adjacent to downtown. It is one of the oldest intact neighborhoods in the city. While it looks like a nice area of quaint Victorian architecture now, most of these houses were brothels and flophouses from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries.

mplsmar201502 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201508 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201505 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201512 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some shots from yesterday. A bit of an homage to stucco - Minneapolis' unloved but ubiquitous building material.

mplsmar201515 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201519 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201520 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I like these 'house' posts.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates as always :cheers:


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> I like these 'house' posts.


Thanks. I've been working on apartment version. Most of Minneapolis proper dates from the Jazz Age, but I think it is the prairie school apartment buildings that are most evocative of that era. Those aren't the only thing I have been shooting but it is one focus. First some shots from about 10 days ago. I have more but I still need to process them. A little bit of Santa Muerte too.

mplsmar201523 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201524 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201525 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201526 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201527 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201530 by afsmps, on Flickr

mplsmar201535 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

I like that car above. Cool pics.


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## madonnagirl (Aug 7, 2011)

nice and vibrant street scenes and likewise, those residential detached charactered houses have some and lively colors.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I got one photo today. With new development along the central corridor light rail line, Minneapolis is channeling its inner Vancouver:

mplsaug201532 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ Great, very nice new photos from Minneapolis


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Very nicely composed.....


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A slow Sunday morning in the busiest kitchen in Minneapolis:

Sunday 1 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

What sorts of food do you prepare in there, I wonder?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

For Sunday brunch we do a lot of eggs. The rest of the time it is pizzas, burgers, fried foods, salads and the like. Basic bar food. We are North America's largest tiki bar. The challenges here aren't those of haute cuisine, but rather industrial scale production. Our 700 seat patio is why you didn't see much from me this summer.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Somnifor said:


> A slow Sunday morning in the busiest kitchen in Minneapolis:
> 
> Sunday 1 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


Is you, somnifor?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

No, I was taking the photo, there is a picture of me from the same set though. I might post it but it isn't as good.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I haven't processed any of my photos since August. I am going to try to work my way through them. The first two are from early September from the St Croix Valley which is immediately to the east of the Twin Cities and forms part of the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The first shot is the village hall for the town of Marine-on-Saint Croix, the second is of the valley itself from Interstate Park near the town of Taylor's Falls:

St Croix sept201501 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

St Croix sept201510b by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I just love that sense of vast open space that you get with images of the U.S.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I'll have a lot more landscape photos coming up, I took a couple of road trips.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A small number of Minneapolis shots from September - the skyline, a mural, and my favorite shot to date of Minnehaha Falls:

mplssept201501 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplssept201507 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplssept201508 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

A nice update^


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

A few more Twin Cities area photos from late September. I know this forum is dedicated to urban photography so I apologize for all the nature shots this summer, but I found myself repeatedly drawn to the forested areas within and next to the city. These are some more shots from Pike Island. The forest on the island is unlike any other temperate forest I've been to. Because the island is in the Mississippi and is periodically flooded over it doesn't seem to have any of the sort of thicket underbrush you tend to find in northern forests. Instead it just has a canopy of trees and a low carpet of annuals. This gives it the feel of a giant cavernous green living room - very cozy and yet very primeval feeling too. I ran into some wild turkeys on the island, a very odd creature - like little feathered dinosaurs. They were completely unafraid of me. 

I can't believe how empty of people Pike Island is - it is a huge forest in the heart of the metro 10 minutes from downtown Minneapolis so you would think it would be a draw, but there is literally never anyone there on the weekdays. 

mplssept201513 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplssept201515 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplssept201520 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

No wonder, the nature is the best, though diminishing part of our cities. BTW, I've seen pheasants right in the center of Khabarovsk. Geographical center of course, not buisness 

And these photos are good!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

shik2005 said:


> No wonder, the nature is the best, though diminishing part of our cities. BTW, I've seen pheasants right in the center of Khabarovsk. Geographical center of course, not buisness


Agreed. The abundance of nature near the heart of the city is one of the things that drew me to the Twin Cities. In my mind the ideal city is able to accommodate both the natural realm and the urban.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Amazing, very nice updates from Minneapolis


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

In late September I took a trip down to Winona, a Mississippi River town about two hours south of the Twin Cities. It is most famous as the birthplace and namesake of the actress Winona Ryder. It is a town of about 25,000 people, centered around its colleges and university. It is also the main market town for the Minnesota side of Mississippi bluff country downstream of St Paul. Its old downtown has seen better days but is still largely intact and seems to be seeing some revitalization. These are the pictures I got:

win201501 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona01 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona07 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona08 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona09 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona21 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona23 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona24 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona32 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona33 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Winona34 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

The Upper Mississippi by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

trempeleau mountain by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Pleasant looking town & landscape.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Yeah, it is a nice town. Because of the colleges it has a lot more cultural life than most small, isolated towns in the US. The area it is in is called the Driftless Area. It is a Belgium sized slice of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa that was missed by the glaciers so it has a different landscape and topography than the rest of the Midwest.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some more photos. These are Minneapolis shots from mid November, a rainy day walk from my apartment to downtown:

The Wet by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Little Tijuana by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsnov201513 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Bicycle Still Life by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Pretty Car by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsnov201514 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Rainy Day #3 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Rainy Day #4 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Rainy Day #7 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsnov201519 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Dylan by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Great sense of texture in these photos.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Here are some more November shots of Minneapolis. These are from a week after the previous group:

mplsnov201521 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Do Not On To by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

America by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

November Blue by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Warning! by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Alone, Together by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

1st Avenue by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Hum's by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

These are the rest of my photos from November:

mplsnov201530 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsnov201531b by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Lynlake II by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Minneapolis Noir #8 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some photos from early December:

mplsdec201502 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsdec201503 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsdec201504 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsdec201505 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsdec201506 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Everything by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Well done! Especially this one: https://flic.kr/p/CFxpw6


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

Your street pics are amazing.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice new photos from Minneapolis


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

shik2005 said:


> Well done! Especially this one: https://flic.kr/p/CFxpw6





diddyD said:


> Your street pics are amazing.


Thanks! I've recently been thinking that I haven't been doing enough people and street photos, so I'm going to make it my main focus for a while. I've also been trying (for two years) to take a photo that is reminiscent of Edward Hopper's painting "Nighthawks", it is a lot harder than I originally thought.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

We got a little bit of snow in late November but winter didn't begin for real until a few days before Christmas which is very late for us. It has been below freezing ever since but we have yet to have true cold which is very unusual. These are the rest of my photos from December:

mplsdec201514 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

  

Minnehaha 2 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Snoboy by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsdec201525 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsdec201522b by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Very spectacular :cheers:

https://flic.kr/p/CCjUv6


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Minnehaha Falls is beautiful in the winter.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

These are all from the last week:

Boom Island, Mississippi River #3 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Hennepin Twilight #1 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Hennepin Twilight #2 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Hennepin Twilight #3 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Hennepin Twilight #4 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

A cool update^


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Only just realised that the guy does not have a white triangular bag completely covering his face. ET, but without eyes......


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Today was the coldest day of the winter so far. I wasn't out for long but I did get two shots from St Paul:

Frozen Mississippi by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Twin Cities Below Zero by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

In cold air the smoke looks palpable.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Yes, in a winter photo the smoke and exhaust always tells you how cold it is.

This photo of Montreal for example, you can just tell it is cold:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/axelrd/16354442101/


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I took some photos in downtown Minneapolis the Saturday night after New Years. I didn't process them until now because I didn't think they turned out. This is what I got:

Saturday Night by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Red by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Photoimpressionistic Warehouse District II by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

This was from earlier today:

Fire Without Warmth by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjan201609 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Gratteciel (May 4, 2008)

Very nice pictures!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks! Some shots from the weekend Prince died. Needless to say, Prince was a big deal in Minneapolis:

mplsapr201636b by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsapr201637 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsapr201639 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsapr201642 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsapr201643 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsapr201644 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsapr201645 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsapr201649 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I have a ton of photos from the Mayday parade on Sunday. Mayday in Minneapolis is a bit different than the traditional celebration of labor that it is elsewhere in the world. The parade and festival here were organized by hippies in the early '70s and the annual planning process is open to anyone who wants to attend. This means that the main parade is shaped every year by a wide swathe of the community in the south side. It has always had a political element but it is also a celebration of the arrival of spring and is also a coming together of the various threads that make up the city. It is a fun party. The second part of the parade is the free speech parade which is overtly political and is open to anyone who wants to make a statement about anything. After that is live music and a cookout in Powderhorn Park. I am going to post my photos in multiple posts because I have so many of them. So far I have processed most of the shots from the main parade. The rest and those from the free speech parade will come later, probably next week.

mplsmay201601 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201602 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201605 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201606 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201607 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201608 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201609 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201611 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsmay201612 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201613 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201614 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201615 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201616 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201619 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201622 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201623 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201624 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201625 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201626 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201627 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201628 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Great stuff! hippies, hipsters, bikers.....all there.......


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

This is only just the beginning.

mplsmay201630 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201632 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201634 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201636 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201637 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201638 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201639 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201640 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsmay201641 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201642 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201643 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201648 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201649 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201650 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201651 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201652 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201653 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201654 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsmay201655 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201657 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201658 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201659 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201660 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201661 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201663 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201664 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsmay201666 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201667 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201670 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201671 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201672 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201674 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201676 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201678 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201681 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201682 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201683 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201679 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201680 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

That's all for now. Those are probably most of the best shots from the parade.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

For the record, the Aztec dancers were amazing. They were using gourds to make their own music as they danced . There were probably 100 of them, both in the street and going through the crown. It is truly an impressive thing to see live, they were the high point of the parade.


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

I do prefer such kind of a parade. Russian version of а parade is very pompous & officious...

An besides of parade shots, I liked this pic in particular: https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1474/26172577843_e6a4a1b183_b.jpg


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Thank you for this wonderful, lively, colourful parade report!  :banana:


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

How has the death of Prince been marked in Minneapolis, I wonder?


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## StoJa9 (Oct 12, 2013)

openlyJane said:


> How has the death of Prince been marked in Minneapolis, I wonder?


How do you mean? We made national and world news with the three day long party downtown and every LED light in the city was purple for close to a week. Hell there's still tributes and parties going on now. Seems like a peculiar question when the media has covered Minneapolis's tribute to our native son extensively.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

shik2005 said:


> I do prefer such kind of a parade. Russian version of а parade is very pompous & officious...
> 
> An besides of parade shots, I liked this pic in particular: https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1474/26172577843_e6a4a1b183_b.jpg


We have pompous and officious parades too. Those are usually reserved for patriotic holidays. I generally skip those. 

That photo I took was an attempt to show the regular type of houses in my neighborhood. It was built as a middle class and upper class area in the first decade of the 20th century. After WWII it started to decline until it was a ghetto in the 1990s. Now it has come back up to the point where it is a pleasant area but not exceedingly expensive.


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## Gratteciel (May 4, 2008)

Amazing pictures! Great parade!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

After a long hiatus I have some free time to devote to posting and looking at photos! I've been taking some photos throughout the summer but haven't processed any yet. I will start with the rest of my shots of the May Day Parade. So far, all the photos I've posted so far are from the main parade. These are from the Free Speech Parade which is open to anyone who want to parade/protest/campaign or participate in some other way. It usually has a wide array of participants - from the cities congressman and mayor, to Veterans for Peace, the Hare Krishnas, the Republicans (or at least one of them), and some weird hippy Christian group that is in it every years. To participate in the Free Speech parade you don't need an agenda, just a desire to be in it, so it is a bit free form. 

Generally it isn't as photogenic as the first part but I did get some shots I like from it. Also, the two parts of the parade blend into each other a bit:

mplsmay201685 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201688 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201692 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201693 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201694 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsmay201695 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201696 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201697 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201698 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay201699 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016100 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016101 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016102 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016103 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

mplsmay2016104 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016105 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016106 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016107 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016108 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016109 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Good to see some posts from Minneapolis once more....


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## General Electric (Sep 12, 2010)

NIce colored (and revendicative) parade! Great pictures


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks!



openlyJane said:


> Good to see some posts from Minneapolis once more....


I'm really happy that I have time to do this again.

These are the rest of my photos from May. They are from Pike Island and Fort Snelling State Park. This area is my stress relief get away, I find that a walk for an hour or two in a dense forest with no people does wonders for the mind. I recently discovered that Pike Island is within the St Paul city limits so in a way these photos do qualify as urban. 

The main wildlife on Pike island are wild turkeys, white tailed deer and bald eagles, and I usually see all three each visit. The deer and especially the turkeys are generally not too concerned by the presence of people. On this trip I ran across a few deer being followed around by a flock of turkeys. This is pretty common as the turkey and deer seem to enjoy each other's company. This time the turkeys left the deer and started following me around as soon as they saw me. This continued for about a half an hour until they went on their way. At times they close enough that I could have touched them if I had wanted to. It was a fairly surreal experience being followed around by a group of sociable but wild animals.

mplsmay2016113 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016115 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016114 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsmay2016119 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I only have a very small number of photos from June - one skyline shot and a handful of shots from Fort Snelling State Park and Pike Island:

mplsjun201613 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjun201617 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjun201618 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjun201620c by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

These turkeys are real beauties  I have never seen wild ones.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

The way they move, they make me think of what dinosaurs were probably like.


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Jurassic Park?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

If we were 4 inches tall they could be tyrannosaurus rexs with feathers.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Here are some of the photos I took in July:

mplsjuly201601 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201603 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201607 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201608 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201609 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201611 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Darkness by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Dove by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

Amazing pics^


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Somnifor said:


> The way they move, they make me think of what dinosaurs were probably like.


Yes, there is something pre-historic about turkeys.....


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## Marsupalami (Jan 29, 2009)

Looking at the pics, its so nice to see regular people of all shapes and colours out on the street. No hipsters in sight lol!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

^^
Minneapolis has always been one of the places the Midwest's weirdos escape to if they don't go to NY or the west coast. There are "normal" people here too though.

These are the rest of my photos from July:

mplsjuly201617 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201619 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201620 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201621 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201624 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201626 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201627 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201633 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

mplsjuly201634 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Once again great, very nice photos from Minneapolis


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

A wonderful wood on the last pic of #443, Somnifor! kay:
And whole #448 is superb!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks! Those woods are one of my favorite places. For some reason nobody in the area knows about it, even though it is in the heart of the metro. It is always empty of people. The woods are big enough to make you think you are in the country, it takes about two hours to walk from one end to the other and back. 

I have a bunch of photos from August and September to post, but it is going to take a bit of time. Tomorrow I'm going out to the South Dakota Badlands, if I still feel like driving I may also go out to Wyoming and Colorado. I'll probably be back in a week to ten days with some photos of the prairie and the west.

I'll leave you all with this photo I took two days ago:

A Different View From the Spot by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Fabulous shot! So archetypically Mid-West for those of us who have never been.....I really envy and love the fact that you can just take off for days in your car and traverse so many different climactic and geographical zones. That is what makes the U.S so fascinating for us little islanders....


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Minneapolis is especially well located for trips like that. Being in the western part of the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains are within a long day's drive. If you go the other way, Chicago is seven hours away, after that there is a city every hour or two until you get to the east coast.


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## StoJa9 (Oct 12, 2013)

Where are those woods located??


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## Gratteciel (May 4, 2008)

Beautiful city and great pictures!


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Somnifor said:


> Thanks! Those woods are one of my favorite places. For some reason nobody in the area knows about it, even though it is in the heart of the metro. It is always empty of people. The woods are big enough to make you think you are in the country, it takes about two hours to walk from one end to the other and back.


Phantastic to have this in a City. I understand that you spend much time there, Somnifor! 



Somnifor said:


> I have a bunch of photos from August and September to post, but it is going to take a bit of time. Tomorrow I'm going out to the South Dakota Badlands, if I still feel like driving I may also go out to Wyoming and Colorado. I'll probably be back in a week to ten days with some photos of the prairie and the west.


That really sounds exciting and I'm looking forward to the pics you will
bring from those places! kay:
I wish you a good and adventurous time there! 



Somnifor said:


> I'll leave you all with this photo I took two days ago:
> 
> A Different View From the Spot by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


A superb shot! :applause:


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Somnifor said:


> I am debating in my mind how many photos of the Badlands I should post. They aren't urban, and I have a lot of them, but it is a photogenic landscape... Badlands 05 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


Just post them. They are really good, the landscape is great, so more, please


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

shik2005 said:


> Just post them. They are really good, the landscape is great, so more, please


It just so happens that I have some more ready right now:

Badlands 06 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Badlands 07 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Badlands 08 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Badlands 09 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Sometimes it is hard to get a sense of the scale of the place. As you can see in the first photo in the last post the structures of the big eroded forms are replicated in those of the small ones. When this area was first explored and settled, people would get lost in the Badlands for days, even though it is only 10 miles (16km) wide in most parts. Everything looks like everything else, and if the sun wasn't out they would get turned around and walk in circles.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

The Badlands are essentially a canyon style rock wall that has been carved out of the prairie by erosion. Though it looks like a desert, that is only because the land is so infertile, which is the source of its name - it is bad land for farming. So far the photos I've posted have been from inside the Badlands. The rest are from the rim.

Badlands 14 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Badlands 15 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Badlands 16 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> What an ordeal! It shows how ephemeral the internet is, and how dependent we have become on it.
> 
> However, sometimes there is nothing as good as a fresh start. Great imagery so far.


Thanks! I actually have so many photos to process now that it is kind of daunting. There are probably 4000 images, out of which I will probably get a couple hundred completed photos.


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

Nice pics.


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## Gratteciel (May 4, 2008)

Wonderful photos of the Badlands. Thanks for posting them, Somnifor!


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

The vastness of the U.S never ceases to amaze. So many awesome land formations and varied topography.


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Absolutely unearthly view... alien planet


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## General Electric (Sep 12, 2010)

Thank you for this incredible change of scenery!


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## Why-Why (Jul 20, 2016)

Superb shots of the Dakota Badlands. Looking forward to more!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> The vastness of the U.S never ceases to amaze. So many awesome land formations and varied topography.


This is especially true out there. The Badlands and the high plains can make a person feel very small. Sometimes it feels like the plains are so big they could swallow you up. It is an utterly different kind empty than the forest wildernesses in the eastern half of the country. 



shik2005 said:


> Absolutely unearthly view... alien planet


 One of the things I noticed about the Badlands was the people who were walking around with a look of amazement on their faces. I think people are more prepared for places like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite because they are more famous.

Some more photos:

Badlands 18 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

Badlands 21 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Wonderful pictures of an astonishing landscape! aky:
Thank you for posting them, Somnifor!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I've started working my way through my older photos. These are some Minneapolis shots from October 2016:





This block has been redeveloped into an urban format five story apartment building:


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)




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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Minneapolis


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Great photos.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Here are some more photos. These are from November 2016:


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

These are from December 2016 and February 2017:


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Minneapolis, once again


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