Hollywood Theater - A Bright Future?

Recently I had the opportunity to tour the inside of the long-shuttered Hollywood Theater located on Johnson Street in Northeast Minneapolis.  Built in 1935, the magnificent Art-Deco styled theater offered all the modern conveniences of the day with a flair for the elegant.  As the decades passed, however, the majestic neighborhood theater lost its luster and fell upon hard times with the advent and success of the regional multiplex cinemas.  The theater closed in 1987 after showing close to a thousand films to hundreds of thousands of Nordeast residents.  

There have been many efforts undertaken over the years to renovate the theater to its former glory, as was done to the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights, but the restorations proved too costly and the building has sat vacant since it closed. The City of Minneapolis acquired the theater for redevelopment in 1993 but found no takers. Recently it was announced the City had agreed to sell the theater for $1 to a developer who intends to undertake almost $2,000,000 in renovations in the hopes of attracting a new user for the building.  

I know many people have toured the interior and likely all have similar photos, but this was my first time and it may be my last time before work commences.

Looking up toward the theater's projection room

Looking down toward the tattered screen

Gilded pillars line both sides of the theater, framing the private viewing areas

The theater could accommodate almost 1,000 people

The lobby fountain, an elaborate theater centerpiece

I have my fingers crossed that this time, this developer will be successful in his efforts to restore the venerable Hollywood Theater and find a user appropriate for the neighborhood. This property has sat vacant far too long, its inner beauty left concealed and hidden from view.  Let's hope that's about to change.

My Twist on Street Photography

Street photography, simply put, involves capturing and documenting candid accounts of urban activity and human interaction.  Seems pretty straightforward, right?  Hang out in a bustling outdoor market or a busy public plaza with an unassuming camera and you're presented with countless photo opportunities. Finding a spot and blending into the background, the photographer strives to be inconspicuous and discrete so as to not affect the reactions or expressions of the subject.  Plan to leave the big glass home and the tripod in the car if you want to successfully engage in street photography.  But sometimes getting a good shot requires you to leave your comfort zone and approach someone--perhaps a street musician, a market vendor or a cafe worker.  In these cases the photographer often seeks permission or a non-verbal consent (a nod of the head maybe) before shooting--but not always.

Breaking out of one's comfort zone is not always easy yet it can be done with some practice.  Shooting with a partner or a small group helps to overcome insecurities and build confidence.  I have had the good fortune of shooting with some wonderful mentors (Valerie Jardin, for one) and many photo friends, and through these opportunities I've discovered that--for me, anyway--it's much easier to engage in street photography when I'm with other photographers or another person.

A woman waiting on a bench in downtown Minneapolis watches a street performer with a seemingly passive interest.

Sometimes being on the street or out in public space with a camera we get to capture special moments-maybe a marriage proposal, a playful exchange between two friends or a tender moment.

But I didn't intend for this to be a post primarily about street photography, as I'm certainly no expert in the matter.  Instead I wanted to share a couple experiences I've had in which the subjects requested copies of the image or images.  The photographers I've talked to all seem willing to share photos with their public subjects.

The first time this happened to me I was in Rice Park in Saint Paul.  There were a few young adults splashing about the in fountain, generally having a good time, seemingly oblivious to anyone else.  I took a few photos of them engaged in their fun and frolic in between bites of my sandwich.  Before packing up my lunch and leaving the park, one of the teens tentatively approached me and asked me if I had been photographing them.  Before I could respond, the young lady continued, "Because if you were, we were wondering if you'd send us a couple!"  I said I would be happy to do so and she gave me their email addresses.

Cooling off in the Rice Park fountain

Admittedly, the images I took of the kids weren't all that good; they weren't carefully composed and yet they told a story.  To these two teens and their friends, the images will serve as happy reminders of this carefree moment in their young lives.  They were so thrilled to get the copies that I knew I would always be willing to share the moment, if possible.

I was again able to help someone document a moment recently in Duluth while visiting the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. There were many organized activities occurring such as banding and releasing songbirds and raptors.  One of the ways the organization raises money is to offer "sponsorships" of the released birds. In so doing, the sponsor gets to be the one to release the bird back into the wild and can track the bird's movements.  A mother decided to sponsor a bird so that her daughter could release it. She had no camera with her so I offered to take a couple photos and send them to her.  She was so thankful.  Again, these were not fine art photographs--I was simply capturing a memory for the mother and daughter to enjoy years into the future.

Also up in Duluth on a separate weekend, we came across two women preparing to paddleboard on Lake Superior from Brighton Beach.  I asked if I could take some photos of them as they got their gear ready.  They were fine with that and gave me their email addresses so I could send them a couple photos, which I said I'd be happy to do to return the favor.

On their knees, the two women paddled out into the Lake, and far enough out to be beyond the breaking waves, they stood on their boards and with the single paddle, maneuvered across the water.

Paddleboarders Emi and Kathy paddle their way out in Lake Superior

The 520-foot long Alpena cruises past Brighton Beach on her way to the Duluth harbor

Calling back to her friend:  "C'mon, slow poke!"

Another view of the padleboarders with the Alpena in the background heading toward the Duluth harbor

A sea plane buzzes the paddleboarders on Lake Superior

The women were far enough out into the lake that I needed every bit of my 300 mm lens to get some good shots.  After shooting a few dozen images we took off, having saved their email addresses on my iPhone using the "Notes" app.

It wasn't until a week or so later when I was getting ready to send them the photos that I realized I no longer had the ladies' email addresses.  I was terribly sad to not be able to share these images with Emi and Kathy.  I took to Facebook in the hopes that someone would recognize them, even reaching out to websites like the Duluth News Tribune, North Shore SUP Paddleboarding and others asking for help. Getting no response with the shared images, I researched the issue of disappearing notes from an iPhone and learned it's a frustrating issue shared by many people.  After a few more days of research, I finally found the missing note, along with other notes that had previously gone missing, on my laptop in my Yahoo folder.  I was happy to have found the note, but terribly irritated that a note saved on my phone would somehow, on its own, without prompting from me or without being backed up or synched, would delete itself from my phone and migrate to a buried folder on a webmail account on my computer.  (Lesson: if you're missing a note and it was important--there may be hope!)

I sent Emi and Kathy an email with a link to where the photos were saved, sparing them the details and saga of how I lost then found their addresses, and I got this response back from them the next morning:

"What a complete and wonderful surprise to wake up to! These pictures are fantastic! How can I express enough how grateful I am.  That was quite the adventure that day.  I took a quick peak at some of your other images and they are beautiful. The north shore has always felt a little bit like going home for me. So many amazing memories there, and now we have these to add to it.  Thanks so much again. Happy Thanksgiving!"

And that's why I don't mind selectively sharing photos.  I don't think sharing a few photos diminishes the value of my work nor do I think helping out others by providing photographs they'd otherwise never have in any way undercuts the role of the professional photographer, although I'd be interested to hear dissenting opinions on that topic.  There's a time and place for monetizing my craft but I presume I will always be willing to make someone happy by sharing a photo they were not expecting.

So my twist on Street Photography is simply giving back.  We take photos, and we can just as easily give back.  If I'm on a street, a sidewalk, a plaza, a beach, at a nature center or any other public space and I'm shooting for pleasure rather than "on assignment" and I take a photo of a street musician, a vendor, a restaurant worker, a couple, a kid holding a bird, or brave women  paddleboarding, I won't mind sending them a copy of the image.  

Thanks for listening!

Split Rock Light House

Lori and I ventured north last weekend, or, part of the weekend.  I had an obligation Saturday night, so our departure had to wait until Sunday morning.  Fortunately, we both had Monday off in observance of Veterans Day, so we had an extra day to work with.  The purpose of the trip (as if anyone really needs a purpose to go the the North Shore!) was to attend the ceremonial lighting of the Split Rock Lighthouse.  More on why that's significant later.  In addition to the visit to Split Rock, I also needed to pick up a few of my photos which were on display at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais, plus pick up a Selenite carving from the rock shop in Beaver Bay which I had won in an online auction.

Lori was kind enough to drive the morning shift which allowed me to sleep a while longer.  I think I slept all the way to Duluth!  We're a good team that way.  After stopping in Tofte to drive by a couple properties and Lutsen to check out the Kah-Nee-Tah Art Gallery cabins on Highway 61, we made it up to Grand Marais by a little after noon, with some time to kill before the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery opened.  We checked out a couple properties, including one that has a fantastic view of the big lake:

We love the view but the building site is solid rock, and neighbors report they had to drill their well 300 feet deep.  Because of the minimal ground cover, a septic system would also be problematic.  Still, look at the view!  Ah, we're still a few too many years from retirement but we still dream.

We picked up my prints from the art gallery in Grand Marais and met fellow "Frozen Photographer" John Heino who does great work.  Also had the chance to meet gallery director Don Davison.  In the photo below, I am posing with five of my images hanging in the gallery.

The Frozen Photographers exhibit was ending which is why we needed to pick up the photos.  We said our goodbyes to Don and packed the car with the four remaining prints (two had been purchased by gallery attendees.)  With that out of the way, Lori and I settled in for lunch at our favorite Grand Marais staple, Sven and Ole's pizza, dontcha know.  Uff dah!

After lunch, we said goodbye to our home-away-from home, Grand Marais.  While it was hard to drive Highway 61 and not stop along the many beaches to pick agates or snap photos, we wanted to be at Split Rock before 4:30 pm.  Here's some history regarding the lighthouse:  The lighthouse was constructed in 1910 at a time when there were no roads, so all the materials were hauled in by boat and raised up the 130 foot cliff by crane.  59 years later, with advancements in shipping navigational technologies rendering the lighthouse obsolete, the US Coast Guard decommissioned Split Rock.  Now owned by the state of Minnesota and operated by the MN Historical Society, the lighthouse is one of our most recognizable ad oft photographed landmarks.

We had to park quite a distance away from the lighthouse due to the incredible number of people that showed up.

The lighthouse beacon is lit one day each year on November 10, marking the anniversary of the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald with a public program that includes a reading of the names of the 29 men who lost their lives on the Fitzgerald on November 10th, 1975.  After the reading of the names (the last muster) and the tolling of the bell for each name, the light came to life and rotated on its base of liquid mercury until precisely 7:10 pm, the time of the last communication received from the Fitzgerald.  This marked the first time either Lori or I had attended the ceremony, and it was a somber event to be sure. After the ceremony, Lori and I were the first people to go to the top of the lighthouse while the beacon was operating.

Two views of the mechanism which creates that strong beam of light--a third order, bi-valve type Fresnel lens manufactured by Barbier, Bernard and Turenne Company in Paris, France.

The Lighthouse Keeper explained how the lighthouse and beacon functioned.

 There are vents near the top of the lighthouse to allow the kerosene fumes to dissipate.  In 1940, the station was electrified and the kerosene powered lamp was replaced with a 1000 watt electric bulb.

Despite forecasts that included a mix of rain and snow, we experienced neither, although it was quite chilly.  Fortunately we had flashlights with us because it gets quite dark by 7 pm! 

On the way back to Duluth where we had a room waiting for us at the Inn on Canal Park, we stopped briefly in Two Harbors to get a couple photos of the Two Harbors lighthouse and the ore docks in Agate Bay.

This is next to the Two Harbors lighthouse, you can see the breakwater at the
horizon in the distance

We finally arrived at our room by about 9:00 pm, and found out we'd been upgraded from a poolside interior-facing room to a lakefront room with a balcony.  While "chilling" on the balcony, we watched a very bushy-tailed fox cross the courtyard, walking through the patio area where five minutes later we'd be roasting marshmallows for S'Mores.  Because we can't survive on S'Mores alone, we had supper at Old Chicago and afterwards watched the 1,000-foot freighter American Integrity enter the canal and pass below the raised lift bridge.  And as the snow started falling, we called it a night, putting an end to a very long yet very enjoyable day on the North Shore.

The next morning, after a filling breakfast of sausage, eggs and Belgian waffles, we drove back to Two Harbors to collect agates and beach glass in Agate Bay and also Flood Bay.   The winds were howling and the temps were well below freezing so we did not stay long, opting to head back home from our very short excursion northward.  There's no better way to spend 36 hours, in my opinion!  

Hope you enjoyed the photos!  My work can also be found on Flickr and Facebook:

Flickr:        http://www.flickr.com/photos/superiorimagery

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/superiorimagery

If you have questions about anything or would like to purchase a print, send me an email at jhe63@yahoo.com.

Chasing the Northern Lights

I have always been fascinated by the Northern Lights, for as long as I can remember.  Perhaps fueling this fascination is the relative infrequency of their appearances near the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  Sure, Minnesota is often described as being a stone's throw from the arctic tundra, but under the pervasive and inescapable glowing lights of a "major" metropolitan area, even stars are sometimes challenged to shine brightly.  So Aurora sightings are pretty rare in these parts. Yet drive a few hours north and the likelihood of Aurora sightings increases substantially.

Such was the case on the night of October 1, 2013.  A friend who lives in Grand Marais posted an update indicating that the Northern Lights were visible in his neck of the woods.  A quick check of Spaceweather.com confirmed that conditions were indeed ripe for geomagnetic activity.  Without going into the technical and scientific details that drive the statistics, all of the indicators suggested that Aurora viewing in our area was a distinct possibility without having to trek north of Duluth.  This has happened a few other times this year after solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) hurtled toward Earth, however previous instances coincided with poor weather conditions--hard to see Northern Lights during a rainstorm or even under a thick soup of clouds.  

After scouting a couple places on Google Maps that might provide for an interesting northern exposure, my daughter and I packed up a few things and jumped in the car.  She brought her Chemistry homework and I my trusty Nikon D5100 and tripod.  We drove north, exiting the interstate on the other side of Forest Lake.  The moonless night sky was filled with brilliantly twinkling stars, an awe inspiring sight in and of itself.   As our eyes started adjusting to our very dark surroundings, we began to pick up on the green glow of the Northern Lights near the north horizon across a small lake. The longer we looked to the north, the clearer they became.  We had hit Aurora pay dirt.

I set up the tripod and checked the settings on the camera.  Taking photos at night requires a tripod since the shutter is going to be open for a period of time and the camera needs to remain perfectly still. Even the act of pressing the shutter button can cause a slight jiggle or shake which can be seen in the resulting images.  To combat this, I used a wireless remote to control the shutter actuation.  With the camera in manual mode, auto focus and image stabilization turned off, shutter speed set between 20 and 30 seconds, aperture wide open and ISO bumped up to 1600, I began to shoot.  While I tend to be my own worst critic, I could not have been more excited seeing the photo thumbnails on the small LCD monitor on the back of the camera.

Here are a few of the images from what would be an awesome night viewing the Northern Lights with my darling daughter, who had set aside her Chem homework to absorb the heavenly spectacle.

Such a nice spot to watch the Northern Lights... you can clearly make out the reflection of the big dipper in the water!

 Kira sitting on the dock.  It's not easy trying to remain motionless for 20-30 seconds.

In this one, I was able to to use a ten second delay before the camera would take the photo, which BARELY gave me enough time to get down the dock.

The water was dead calm, although the fish were jumping constantly, as if they too were trying to get a better look at the Auroras.

We did not anticipate for how chilly it would be after midnight; fortunately I had a blanket in the car to keep Kira warm.

The Aurora colors were mostly the typical green though some purples and reds were evident as well.

Some pretty interesting patterns of light developed.  The Northern Lights were like curtains shimmering in the sky; we could even make them out directly overhead, albeit faintly.

I think about this time a critter decided to join us near the dock, perhaps to see who'd be silly enough to be staring at the sky for hours on end.  It was just a cat, but it spooked Kira.  :-)

In this image, you can see a shooting star right as it dips below the tree line.  It was pretty bright--most of the shooting stars were more faint.  We counted a dozen or so while we were out.

Kira wrapped up in a blanket of stars, at one with the universe, contemplating the vastness of the heavens, ever alert for shooting stars and passing cars.

We had a great time hanging out together on our Northern Lights expedition, watching the Auroras, counting the meteors and otherwise taking in all the celestial beauty that's suspended overhead.