St. Paul, MN Photos

LeDuc Estate - Hastings Minnesota

The first day of March has me thinking about how wonderful it would be to take photos of architecture without snow in them.  There are some advantages to this time of year.  In the summer this shot would have showed more tree than building but I long for green grass, flowers and warm weather.

The home pictured is part of the DeLuc Estate in Hastings Minnesota, and is in the Gothic revival architectural style. Kind of busy but I like the combination of wood and brick, and those wonderful huge old oak trees.    Hastings is a small town of about 30,00o.  There are many wonderful historic buildings churches and houses to photograph.  I need to go there more often.

The Rossmor

I list units in this building on a regular basis. With each listing I attempt to get a decent photo of the outside of the building.  This is my best to date but it isn’t quite there yet.  The building is a big rectangle and it is on a hill.  There isn’t any place to stand that is far enough away from the building to get it all in so the camera is always at an angle which doesn’t work so well with a wide angle lens.  I know I don’t have to get the entire building in the photo but it looks better having it all in the photo or most of it than part of it.

The Rossmor is a block long.  It was a shoe factory until it was converted into artists lofts.  I like the lofts in the Rossmor, they are big, clean and simple.  The last shot I took of the exterior was my second most stolen photo. I even found it on a flier the back door advertising a loft for sale.  It will be interesting to see if this one gets lifted too.

Weisman Museum

Some say it is an ugly building, some say it is beautiful.  I think it is interesting.  It was built in 1992 and houses the Weisman museum on the University of Minnesota campus.  The building is very well known and a favorite of local photographers.  The best time to shoot it is probably at sunset but it is kind of interesting at dawn too, as it  becomes what ever color the sky is.   I make no apology for my messy verticals but plan to go back again for another try.

The University of Minnesota has it all for those who like to take architectural photos.  There are very modern buildings and plenty of gems from the past.  I keep promising myself that I will spend a day on campus when it is a bit warmer just to take pictures.

Popcorn Stand

I went downtown so I could go for a walk through the skyways. It is always warm in the skyways, maybe too warm.  I love popcorn and so this is where I bought my lunch at the popcorn stand in the Osborn building.   The shadow of the man to the left talking on his cell phone isn’t supposed to be in the picture so please just ignore him.

Seventh Place

This is a picture of Seventh Place in downtown St. Paul during the lunch hour.  There are always people walking on this mall, I guess that is what it is there for.  I took three bracketed shots to make an HDR photo even though there are people in the shot that were moving and I knew they would not line up, which means the shot is ruined.  I don’t think it is ruined. Who decided that it it all has to line up to be considered a success?

Nina's Coffee Cafe

There are so many choices when it comes to what to take photos of and what angle to use and then how to process them.  I decided to straighten this one because it was crooked but in doing so part of the sign got cropped.  It is now Ina’s offee shop.  I think I made the right choice.