Sharyn Shoots

Follow the Leader
It has been an exceptionally hot and generally dry summer, filled with activities. I’m pausing on this rare rainy day to look back at a subset of these outdoor activities. Marching band parades. One was a dry run along the West Bank, from the Mixed Blood Theatre to The Nomad World Pub. That was just a week before a bigger performance with the full band, for the 2012 Northern Spark festivities on the Stone Arch Bridge.

Saturday, June 9th, 2012 – for Northern Spark

Saturday, June 2nd, 2012 – on the West Bank

Heliotrope Nine at The Lab Theater
I’m still in happy blissed-out mode after three days of Heliotrope – an annual experimental music festival. This year marked its 9th installment. The week before a “Players Without Instruments” interview was posted with me, where I tried to namedrop Heliotrope as much as possible as it really is my favorite live music event in the Twin Cities. A gathering for and by our “oddball music community” as Zak Sally put it in this City Pages article. This year I was in attendance for the entire thing and saw (and photographed) nearly every performance. If chronological order is your thing or you are a completist you can view all the photos here:

• Day One
• Day Two
• Day Three

Otherwise my favorites are posted below. I took nearly as many candids as performance shots and have divvied them up into those two groups.

Photos of People

Photos of People Playing Music

9th Annual Fools Day Variety Show
Spring sprang and suddenly it’s April. Which means today is APRIL FOOLS DAY. A day I generally try to ignore (ever since my son learned about whoopee cushions) but this year we were invited to a backyard variety show. Billed as “a time for feeling foolish, and acting on those impulses for idiocy!” We only caught the middle part but that included an adorable duo with a guitar and an accordion, a man who sang a funny Irish song about itches in britches, several comedians, a poet, someone banging on pots and pans, and a guy performing yo-yo tricks (while wearing a Blade Runner hoodie).

Battle(s) of the Bands
In some ways, winter in Minnesota can yield more inspiration than our warm weather months can. More time to sit still and allow plans to form. Not that I’ve been sitting still much. With this winter being so very mild I’ve been going out more, instead of falling into the cozy trap of couch and cats and comforters. But even with, and maybe because of, my active social life the ideas for my new photo series have been coming together nicely. I’ve been talking it through with friends and acquaintances and hope to start shooting in early Spring. I’m excited! In the mean time, here are some photos from a few lovely shows I’ve attended so far in 2012.

American Cream / Jabberjosh / The Deaf / Seawhores at Kitty Cat Klub

Cadette, Oaks, Crimes at Memory Lanes

Ice Rod Chatroulette, with Littlefoot and NV

Girls Night Out at the Amsterdam with Hot Rash, Cadette and The Pinsch

Perish at the Kitty Cat Klub, with Bloode Folke and Blood & Sun

The Deaf’s Saturday night residency at Grumpy’s

A Tale of Two Henrys
Fall is my favorite time of year. The changing of the leaves, the onset of sweater weather, and my most favorite of all holidays – Halloween! I love it all. And I was thrilled when asked to take outdoor portraits during this season for not one but two little boys named Henry. I photographed the first Henry on the day of his first birthday, in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Minneapolis.

The second Henry is double the age of the first. Not much of an age difference really, in the grand scheme of things – two years old versus one – but a huge difference in mobility! This Henry led us on a merry chase around Minnehaha Falls. Up and down stairs and across bridges and pointing out statues and throwing and kicking fallen leaves around.

My own son is just as enthusiastic about Fall and Halloween as I am. There are many spooktacular events coming up this weekend but we may go with an old-timey option, with the Old-Time Halloween at the Gibbs Farm Museum this Sunday, October 30, 2011 from noon – 4:00pm.

In the mid-1800s Europeans, especially Irish immigrants, brought their Halloween traditions to America. Trick-or-Treat at Jane Gibbs’ house; make popcorn balls in the Red Barn; find pennies in a haystack and enjoy a cup of cider!

Before you know it November will upon us and with it the holiday stretch from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. I plan to schedule a few days’ worth of mini sessions at locations around town, like Krueger’s Tree Farm and Pine Tree Apple Orchard. Stay tuned!

A September Wedding on Summit Avenue
Last year I took a walk around St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood with a lovely couple, shooting their engagement photos on an uber-hot August day. Fast forward a year and a month and they asked me back, to capture their big wedding day. The weather was much milder this go around but gloomy all morning with the threat of rain. Thankfully the clouds parted, clearing up just in time for the outdoor ceremony. And it was a lovely happening from start to finish.

Such a Tease, Such a Flirt
Ahh, hazy lazy summer and too many half-formed drafts hanging out over here. Time to post something! July may have been unbearably hot and humid but it was also jam-packed with many lovely musical happenings. Here’s a sampling of what I enjoyed.

Rifflord at the Hack Factory’s Handmade Music Series – July 25th, 2011

FALSE tour kick-off at Memory Lanes – July 25th, 2011

The Machine Project / Music for Parking Garages curated by Chris Kallmyer at The Walker – July 21st, 2011

The Machine Project / Music for Parking Garages curated by Chris Kallmyer at The Walker – July 21st, 2011

Harvey Milk at Triple Rock Social Club – July 18th, 2011

Davu Seru at the Gartersnake – July 17th, 2011

Elaine Evans at the Gartersnake – July 17th, 2011

john zuma st.pelvyn at the Gartersnake – July 17th, 2011

Harvest at Triple Rock Social Club – July 16th, 2011

Disembodied at Triple Rock Social Club – July 16th, 2011

The Chambermaids at The Kitty Cat Klub – July 2nd, 2011

Grant Hart at Grumpy’s Downtown – July 2nd, 2011

Maledicere at the Turf Club – June 30th / July 1st, 2011

Blood Folke at The Turf Club – June 30th / July 1st, 2011

Grain Belt at The Turf Club – June 30th / July 1st, 2011

Isn’t She?
The bride really was pretty in (pale) pink. I love that dress! And what a delightful couple to work with. Though we’d all been doing a bit of hand wringing ahead of time. This outdoor wedding had the misfortune of being scheduled smack dab in the midst of near-monsoon rains. But Minnesota-style, of course. This was just the day before the big tornado that tore through much of North Minneapolis. Somehow the skies cleared up just as it neared portrait time. The wedding party met in the Lyndale Park Rose Garden, where we engaged in a somewhat complicated ballet twirling around others in finery – prom parties, other weddings and a Quinceañera – jockeying for the prime spots for portraits. But it all worked out. And afterward the ceremony and reception were held nearby at Beard’s Plaisance park. Where the skies didn’t open back up until after things were already winding down. A perfect Saturday afternoon, sheltered from the storms.

It Isn’t All Cake
Last Spring a couple of my friends embarked on a grand adventure, opening a business together. Running a business isn’t easy and life is about change. One of the original owners, Sheela Namakkal, has taken a once in a lifetime position with The Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago. Rather than shutting down, Twin Cities residents are quite lucky that owner Emily Moore Harris has opted to keep Cake Eater Bakery open and has expanded the savory menu to boot! They’re still serving baked goods and Intelligentsia Coffee but now they have brilliant breakfast meals. Delicious and reasonably priced (the menu can be seen here). I will be going back for more, and soon!

Winter Fun With Strings Attached
Minnesotans must find unique ways to entertain themselves over the long winters. Some are into snowmobiling, skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing. I prefer the more inexpensive yet creative options. Yesterday we braved the sub-zero windchills, bundled up in snowpants, to toddle around on Lake Harriet for the 10th Annual Kite Festival. Sadly the winds had died down a bit by the time we arrived. This was good for us, physically, but not so great for kite-flying. Especially for the larger ram-air inflated numbers like my favorite – the giant octopus kite. It remained grounded. Still, the smaller ones soared and whirled against the bright blue sky. It was quite a sight to see so many of them in the same airspace.

Sadly the Art Shanties are taking a break this year (but will hopefully come back bigger and better than ever in 2012) but this month will see the return of Powderhorn Park’s Annual Art Sled Rally. My son and I really got a kick out of it last year.