This scene looks so quiet and empty, but that’s only an illusion and far from the truth. There were hundreds of skiers shuffling through, with a 30 second exposure, they disappear into the night. If you look closely (click to enlarge image) you will see odd ghosts of people in the middle.
The fun effect of a long exposure is that only the things that don’t move get caught. There were hundreds of skiers shuffling past and under the bridge, but the little gathering held still for me. Also, you can see Matt and Dusty taking flash photos on the right. What are they shooting? Check out tomorrow’s post to see the view. Oh, by the way, yes, I did ask Matt where his tripod was.
Ice campfires defend the shores of Lake of the Isles in Uptown.
This past Saturday, Dusty, SnapShutter, Ravsitar and I spend a long cold evening photographing the unusual Minneapolis event known as the Luminary Loppet. This next series is from what was called the Enchanted Forest and was created by Jennifer of Ice Lanterns. It was created on the peninsula by the Northwest bay of Lake of the Isles.
The cross-country ski race known as a “Loppet” is coming to Uptown on Feb 6&7. That Saturday night they light up ice sculptures with candles all around the lake. This is the beginnings of the sculpture at the Northwest corner of Isles. It’s quite the sight to behold and to take photos of. If you are interested in coming down to take photos, leave a comment and let me know, there’s a group of us locals planning the best locations and techniques.
I had to walk around it to figure it out, but I’m pretty sure it’s a Manitee sculpture. Good subject choice, they’re pretty much a blob with a nose. The sculptures for the Loppet are in the background. Come see them lit up the night of Feb 6th.
The Minneapolis City of Lakes Loppet Cross Country Ski Race comes right through my neighborhood of Uptown. On Saturday night, they light up ice sculptures all around Lake of the Isles. They have already begun construction of the ice sculptures. These pillars are part of the space created in the Northwest Bay.
Minneapolis Photographer Mitch Rossow presents daily photos of Minneapolis. Cityscapes, People & Perspectives: Mitch explains composition and techniques.
Space Management – the art of arranging snow piles in a manner that allows for more snow. Sometimes so much snow falls here that it becomes an issue. The piles on the boulevards fall into the street, pushing the parked cars so far from the curb that the streets become narrow cow-paths. In the past, the city has declared one-sided parking for the season because the fire trucks can’t get down the street.
This pile of snow is actually fake. It was made with snow machines down by the lake, hauled in by dump trucks, laid down on the streets, and then a few days later scraped up and stacked here near the bike trail. OK, some nutter stacked the small pieces on top, but the whole pile of snow is a Minneapolis Parks Department creation.
Why? This is the long-term effect of the City of Lakes Loppet. That cross-county ski race that went through my neighborhood. They made a perfectly-groomed four-block-long trail right through uptown out of fake snow.
Yep, imported man-made snow in Minneapolis. As we Minneapolitains would say in the local dialect, “huh, that’s different.”
Minneapolis Photographer Mitch Rossow presents daily photos of Minneapolis. Cityscapes, People & Perspectives: Mitch explains composition and techniques.
The last luminary from the City of Lakes Loppet both literally and figuratively. This was my favorite shot from that night; it was on the wall as we were climbing out of the lagoon. Worked out real well too, since my camera battery gave it’s last for this shot before it froze up. Yes Virginia, camera batteries will freeze.
