Left: Eric Sturtz self portrait. Right: Stony Point.
When looking at Eric Sturtz’s body of work, it’s clear the natural world inspires him. His photographic journey has taken him to the Grand Canyon and the hills of South Dakota, as well as out of the United States to places like Iceland.
A collection of 5,000 photographs by Duluth native Wing Young Huie will soon be available online through the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. The images capture a view of community life in Minnesota.
The first part of the collection, 965 images and supporting material, is already available in the searchable Collections Online database and the Gale Family Library. The full archive of 5,000 photographs and related material will become publicly available over the next five years.
When I served on the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, I was lucky enough to meet photographer and photography instructor John Gregor. John, through his company Coldsnap in Two Harbors, reviews equipment, leads classes and photography tours around North America, and of course takes amazing photos.
He has recently posted a video sharing his insights into taking night panoramas. It’s a great complement to his video introducing panoramic photography.
The Duluth street photography of D. M. Martin recently became available on YouTube in slideshow format. The images were shot between 1968 and 1972, and have appeared in several art shows in recent decades, including two in Duluth: Chasing Cartier-Bresson: Duluth, Superior & Minneapolis 1968-1972, at the Tweed Museum of Art in 2000, and D. R. Martin: Duluth Street Photographer at the Red Herring Lounge in 2016.
Self portrait of Aaron Reichow, shot in a mirror at the Blush nightclub in 2022.
Aaron Reichow started taking photos of the Duluth music scene around 2014 when one of his favorite bands, Low, was doing a residency at Fitger’s Brewhouse. The band’s music got him through “a lot of periods of my life,” Reichow said. Low was set to play all of their songs in a random order across several Thursdays around the same time Reichow’s youngest child was starting to sleep through the night. “In my marriage, I did most of the child care, all the bedtimes,” he described. “And when they started to get older, I thought ‘well, I can go out again without feeling guilty.’” A practice in photography helped him reclaim the intention of going out again. And with time, his hobby turned into a professional art form. Read more about his work in the interview below.
Apostle Island Ice Caves, 2014, photo by Chris Plys
There is still time for the winter of 2023/24 to show its stuff. For now, all we have is the past.
Destination Duluth, a nonprofit that shares images and stories on social media in an effort to promote the city and region, recently declared “We want winter back!” A group of photographers have contributed photos from “when we had real winters,” posted with the hashtag whenwinterwas.
“No. Seriously. Every time,” Duluth photographer Kip Praslowicz insists.
Duluth’s Kip Praslowicz has made a modest name for himself in recent years as a photographer and YouTube video producer. But now he stands on the cusp of mega-influencer status, having achieved an unprecedented feat in photography.
Hidehiro Otake first passed through Duluth in 1999, following a literal had-while-sleeping dream. He had been a college student and budding photographer living in Tokyo when he dreamt one night that he was in a cabin in an evergreen forest and outside was a wolf gazing back at him.
© Mad Chicken Studio
Duluth Boudoir Photography is a gender inclusive photography studio dedicated to helping humans build confidence and see themselves in a new light. Led by Jes Hayes, a Duluth Boudoir session provides clients with hair, makeup, dress, full studio and safe space to feel sexy.
John Keefover poses with the Northern Terminus sign after completing his thru-hike of the Superior Hiking Trail.
John Keefover is the Duluth-based nature photographer behind the photography business Keefography. This June, Keefover thru-hiked the Superior Hiking Trail, sharing photos, videos and journal entries along the way. Keefover used this adventure as an opportunity to raise funds for the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.
John Gregor’s ColdSnap Photography is holding “pro-am” presentations. Last week’s session featured Christian Dalbec. Dalbec finds a way to make a sleepy shore exotic and exciting. Check out the presentation on Zoom.
Duluth-born artist Wing Young Huie uses his photography to explore what shapes our view of the world. In this video, produced by the Minneapolis Institute of Art and directed by Mike Dust, the artist examines his work among community in the Twin Cities, as well as projects in China, where his family is from.
If Duluth’s views are breathtaking from ground level, wait until you see them from up high. Refresh you eyes with an unfamiliar perspective of familiar things.
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.
