landscapes

Exhibits, awards and publications

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This past Friday night was the opening reception for the 4th annual Horizontal Grandeur fine art exhibition at the Stevens County Historical Museum in Morris, Minnesota.  The exhibit brought together artists from across the country, all living in states with prairies.  Inspired by Bill Holm’s essay, “Horizontal Grandeur,” there were inspiring and wonderful interpretations of  the prairie theme.  I was honored to have two of my photographs juried into this show.  This image, “Dawn’s first light on the prairie” was photographed while I was an artist-in-residence at  the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa.  My second photograph in the exhibit is the image from my April 11, 2010 blog entry “Pasque flower welcome to spring.”  For a complete viewing of the pieces in the exhibit, please visit the website for the Stevens County Historical Museum at www.stevenshistorymuseum.com.

Here in the Twin Cities I’m a member of the Minneapolis Photographic Society — a group of wonderfully talented photographers with diverse interests.  Each year there is one image that is selected as Color Print of the Year and one that is selected as Monochrome Print of the Year.  This year I was awarded the Color Print of the Year for my image “Through the red barn window.”    To see more of the award-winning images from the group, please visit the website:  http://www.mplsphoto.com/mps/site/a28yearend.php

And lastly, I am excited to have a photograph published in the July/August issue of  “The Iowan Magazine.”  This image “Swept into the center” is the opening spread of the portfolio section titled “red.white.blue.”

It’s been a busy and exciting few months, and I feel honored with these exhibits, awards, and publications.

Sunset over Chequamegon Bay

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It was a hot and steamy holiday weekend.  We left the rush of the cities behind and headed north to the quiet of the woods and lakes, spending the weekend near the shore of Lake Superior.  In the northern part of Wisconsin between the towns of Washburn and Ashland is an inlet of Lake Superior called Chequamegon Bay (pronounced “sha-wahma-gann”).    The name comes from the Ojibwe term meaning “sand bar place.”   (Those of you that have followed my blog will remember that in the cold of winter we have snowshoed across this bay over the frozen lake.)  After a hot and humid day the clouds were beginning to roll in over the hills to the west.  The sun had just enough energy left to break through some of the clouds and lend its lengthy reflection to the rippling waters of the lake at it moved below the hills.  Wading in the cold waters of Lake Superior and savoring the calm and color that the sunset provided was the perfect way to close out a long summer’s day in the north.

Foxtail barley

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Anytime I am in my car my eyes are scanning the scenery and landscape.  As I’ve been driving to work this past week I’ve been watching the foxtail barley grasses maturing.   Because these grasses grow  along the sides of the highways and roads and in the medians, there’s a small window of opportunity to photograph them.   Once they get tall enough they are mowed down so as not to impair the sight lines of the drivers.  This evening I was fortunate to beat the mowers and had a delightful (and eventful) time of photographing these soft and reflective grasses.  What you don’t see in this photo is the state highway just on the horizon behind the foxtail barley.  Evidently as someone was driving by they must have noticed me sitting on the ground and worried that something was amiss.  The next thing I knew I heard sirens and an EMT was pulling up by the side of the road wanting to know if I was okay.  After I assured them I was fine and explained that I was photographing they were on their way.  It is nice to know that there are caring people here in Minnesota.

Pasque flowers announcing spring

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One of the first prairie flowers to bloom in the spring are the pasque flowers.  They thrive in gravel prairies and are found in various areas throughout Minnesota.  Yesterday I ventured south of the Twin Cities to a Minnesota Scientific and Natural Area.  When I first arrived, the morning was cool and overcast, but I was thrilled to have found a wonderful slope dotted with these small pasque flowers.  Standing only 4 to 5 inches tall, they are easily overlooked from a distance.  As I walked along I found more and more of these little gems pushing their blooms up from under the brown grasses.  I spent over an hour photographing, all the while accompanied by the sounds of Canada geese and mourning doves.   As I stopped to take in the beauty of the landscape around me the skies slowly cleared and I was treated to a warm sun and beautiful pasque flowers against a blue sky — a delightful and wonderful welcome to spring.

Photographic exhibit now on display

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I have a photographic exhibit now on display at the St. John’s Hospital Gallery of Art in Maplewood, Minnesota.  The exhibit runs from January 6th through January 31, 2010.  St. John’s Hospital is located just off Interstate 694 and Highway 61, at 1575 Beam Avenue.  The exhibit includes 26 framed photographs, including this image of “Winter dusting.”   All the images are available for sale, with a percentage of the price benefitting the Newman-Wicklund Teen Volunteer Scholarship Fund.  For additional information please email me at Linda@LindaStaatsPhoto.com.