This undated postcard photo depicts a U.S. Mail boat at a nondescript location. The only clue that it might be on the St. Louis River or some other body of water in the vicinity of Duluth is a penciled note on the back of the card.
This week, photographer David Barthel talks about building a career from his art, how his photography evolved from a hobby and curiosity as a kid, the turning point of a job loss, and some of his inspirations from our area.
DB: I’ve been photographing the natural world for over fifteen years, with a primary focus on the North Shore of Lake Superior and a secondary emphasis on the vast and rugged American West. I’m often asked how long I’ve been involved with photography, a question that would seemingly demand a concise answer. The reality is, my journey into photography didn’t result from any single moment of epiphany, but rather the gradual development of a long-held hobby.
The focus of this Selective Focus series has mostly been current artists and what they’ve been working on, but we also enjoy swerving into the realm of “found art.” This week is one of those times. PDD’s own Paul Lundgren fills us in on this collection.
PL: What we’ve got here is a sampling of old photographs that were temporarily stored at my house while my wife’s Aunt Becky was in the process of moving last year. I don’t know any of the people in the photos, I just pulled some out that I thought had an artistic quality. I asked Aunt Becky about them and she didn’t seem to know much of who was who or what was what in the pictures either. That’s something that naturally happens when you accumulate stuff as your elders die off. Pretty soon half of your photos are of someone’s grandmother’s ex-husband’s third cousin, etc.
It’s time for our annual call for Homegrown banners for the top of the page. We’re looking for bands, friends, events, or general shenanigans. Keep in mind, the photos get cropped to extreme horizontal proportions. If you want to crop ’em yourself and send them, that’s fantastic, or you can send them uncropped and I’ll do my best to make them fit.
Click here for complete submission guidelines, but the basics are: 1135 pixels wide by 197 pixels high, e-mail them to [email protected]. We’ll get them in the rotation during the Homegrown Music Festival, starting this weekend.
This undated photo shows the old Duluth Curling Club perched on a bluff at the shore of Lake Superior. The building at 1338 London Road stood from 1913 to 1984. More Duluth Curling Club history can be found in “Postcards from the Duluth Curling Club.”
Uploaded to Flickr 10 years ago today — April 16, 2008 — is this montage of shots by photographer Jules Ameel. The six members of Duluth band No Wings to Speak Of are shown at Gronk’s Grill and Bar in Superior devouring a six-pound Enger Tower Burger.
This picture postcard was mailed 110 years ago today — April 13, 1908 — from Minot, N.D. William Richert had just arrived in Douglas, N.D., presumably after a stay in Duluth, and sent the card to his brother Charles in Sublette, Ill. The card arrived on April 15.
