The Shutter Story &raquo; Storytelling Photography from Duluth-based Photography Business Shutter Stories

March 30, 2012

March Madness and April Fools!

In photo school – at every party, at every event, at every casual hang out, there was one commonality: everyone had their camera hanging by their side, just in case. For April Fools’ one year, I called a friend from the photo lab to frantically (and wickedly) tell him the school library was on fire. I could hear him running in the background, out of breath as he tried to get the details from me. I’m sure his camera was already in his shaking hands as he prepared to arrive at “the scene.” We were always ready for anything!

All that’s to say, 10 years later, my camera is RARELY by my side when I’m not working. I’ve learned that I worry about it too much. I’ve also learned that for the type of photos that I try to capture, I need to detach myself from the situation to focus on capturing the moments as they are happening. It is difficult for me to truly live in and experience the moment, and be photographing it at the same time. So, I usually choose to live in the moment. Which means I never have photos of my life!

When friends decided to have a basement concert recently, I knew it would be great for photos, and that I would regret not having my camera with me. Lucky for all of us, the show by the The Blasphemists and Dead Guys was a blast (as always)! I enjoyed playing with the light and angles, and it was refreshing to be able to just focus on being creative and taking photos for the shear fun of it.

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March 13, 2012

Feature Hunting? Yep, still doing it!

As a newspaper photographer from time to time we had to run out and “look for a feature.” This happened when we were low on photos for the next day’s paper, or when we needed some “weather art.” I wish I could say I had my camera sitting in the passenger seat as I drove by this scene one block from my house on a beautiful Thursday morning last week, but since I do only live one block away, I was able to run home and grab it.

Lee Englund is an artist and a true Duluthian. (I did happen to notice he had his cross country skis loaded into his minivan next to the oil paints and rinse water.) “I was just driving by, and the light was so awesome,” said Englund who was able to pull over, and start painting the scene. I love photographing artists as they use their talents. Even though I’m no longer at a newspaper, the photographer in me can’t, and would not want to pass by a moment like this!

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March 13, 2012

Celebration of Peace: Be a Bridge

One thing I love about photographing events is the unexpected. Sometimes it’s the weather, sometimes it’s someone not showing up, or even the program changing. On this very wintery day, I totally wasn’t expecting the snow. We’d just had a blizzard, so I thought we were good for a while. Well, I was wrong! The snow added to the festiveness of this occasion while hundreds of Duluthians gathered to peacefully show up the white supremacists who were congregating to spread their message across town.

As the strong winds pushed people inside Grandma’s for coffee and bagels, old friends chatted, people played with their dogs, and even here in Duluth where snow isn’t a novelty, snowballs flew through the air. The parking lot was full of supporters who didn’t let a little snow hider their desire to show support for this cause. It was a fun morning, and ALSO my first time using a megaphone to direct a the group photo. I may need to invest in one those! It was a privilege to be able to document this inspiring gathering.

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March 7, 2012

A Saturday Night with the Scouts

If you’re an Eagle Scout, and you weren’t at Clyde Iron for the beer tasting extravaganza, you really missed out! The Who’s Who of the Northland scouting world AND local breweries came out for this event. Fun was had by all – including me! I really enjoyed capturing the moments of this lively crew as they enjoyed the evening.

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