I don’t take photos of my own daughter nearly enough these days. She runs when my camera comes out and it’s not worth the struggle to chase her down most of the time, but every so often I click away even if she’s not cooperating… and magic really can happen, even at the park right down the road.
I love the way her hair curls in the summer and her bony little knees get all scraped.
This month I wanted to get out and about and focus on one of the best parts of the Twin Cities- our public transportation! We have a Light Rail train line that runs in between Downtown Minneapolis, Downtown St. Paul, the MSP Airport and the Mall of America. There is also our North Star train line, which goes all the way from Big Lake in the north to Minneapolis- an almost 60 miles trip.
In addition to our trains, we have an extremely robust bus system with eco-friendly green buses, bike stations for use throughout the city and cars for rent by the hour. You really don’t need a personal car in the Twin Cities! Although, I have to admit I do have a car; but it’s a hybrid- so I feel like that has to count for something!
Come visit my city! Fly into MSP, take the train Downtown to your hotel, take a bus to Uptown for yummy eats and hop on a bike to do the rounds on the Lakes. While you’re here, give me a ring and we can meet up for some photos 🙂
Included in this month’s blog are photos from Metro Transit, Hour Car and Nice Ride MN.
Now head on over to Pics and Papers from the lovely Stacy to see what’s new in her town!
Back again and this month the Minnesota snow is finally gone- yay! I had a session in Downtown Anoka and as I was waiting for the client to show up, I realized that there are so many awesome spots right there that I should do a Where We Live blog post on good ol’ Anoka, but seeing as Anoka has a ton of things that I could get carried away with, I decided to focus on one of my favorite things: places to eat!
Anoka, Halloween Capital of the World (no really, Google it) sits just north of the Mississippi River and was founded in 1844. Many of the original Downtown area still remains and the brick buildings have been turned into coffee shops, restaurants, bakeries and ice cream parlors. I highly recommend Avant Garden’s vanilla breve, the Chocolate Nirvana from Truffles & Tortes and a glazed Texas donut from Han’s Bakery!
Photographed in this month’s blog post are:
Two Scoops Ice Cream, Truffles and Tortes Desserts Cafe, Sweet River Candy Shop, Avant Garden Espresso Bar, Serum’s Goodtime Emporium & Wings, Pizza Man Anoka and the historic and iconic Han’s Bakery.
Head on over to Christa Paustenbaugh Photography to see the next post in this month’s fabulous circle!
This is the first month of a new blog circle that I am a part of and I’m so excited that the snow that we just had last week is already melting away! It is still cold here, the windchill this morning was only 14 but it’s better than it was. We have had worst winter that I can remember here in Minnesota; record cold temperatures- so bad that they cancelled school 5 times- and snow and wind and then more snow… followed by some more snow. It had my husband and I throwing around the idea of relocating to a warmer state which, for anyone who knows me, is so extreme that it’s hard to think about. I am a Minnesotan through and through and can’t picture living anywhere else.
Thankfully, like every good Minnesotan, once spring comes- I forget all about the nasty winter and look forward to the glorious summer. Here was our home just a few days ago- the last photo was a close up of a single branch in our front yard, like some eerie winter ghost hand holding onto the cold.
Once you’re done here- head on over to another fabulous photographer who shares my awesome name by clicking HERE.
This is what happens when a photographer’s daughter gets tricked into coming to the studio with her mom! This little lady is my own mini-me and while I took some more polished photos of her earlier in the day, these ones just make my heart melt.
My daughter, my joy.
I belong to a monthly “Letter to Our Daughters” blog circle with some fantastic moms from my women’s photography forum. I had been posting my letters to my personal blog, but in an effort to open up to my wonderful clients and show you all a little more of my life, I’m going to try posting them here.
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My Eva,
Another September and the tradition roles on. For the past 6 years, every year of your life plus 1 while I was pregnant with you, we have gone to the Minnesota State Fair with Baba and Auntie Maria. This year, we even added your new baby cousin into the mix and you both were so well behaved. That is, until it was time for me to take some photos. You are my smiling, giggling, goofball girl… and yet people must think I torture you with how solemn you look in photos. Can mommy just get one smile? One real, genuine, little minx smile that lets the world know you’re in there in that pretty blonde head of yours and that you are, in fact, enjoying yourself? I mean, it is a fair after all!
I was able to snap a few when you were turned away but do mommy a favor and start looking at my when I call your name, even if I have my camera in hand. Okay? Otherwise, we’re going to wind up at your high school graduation party and those cool collages that every mom makes of photos from your childhood is going to be an awkward compilation of back-of-head shots and side-eye glances.
Until next year, sweet cheese curd mecca.
Love,
Mom
After you’re done here be sure to head on over to the next mom’s site- Mindy at Okay, Peanut: Life in a Nutshell!
Fall is my favorite time of year but this heat wave has been a lot of fun. We spent some time at the park tonight, soaking up the heat and sunshine, and I managed to grab a few shots of my own elusive daughter.
I took the most wonderful break out course on the women’s photography forum I’m a member of a few weeks ago. It taught me to worry less about eye contact and smiles when I’m behind the camera, and instead make sure that I capture both the focal and secondary aspects of an event; so that when I look back on my photos, I don’t simply have portraits, I have full memories.
Welcome to Rebeccah Parks Photography! I’m so excited to have the new site up and running. Click on “Contact” at the top of this page to get in touch with me!