Minneapolis Photo Center

This is probably a blog that only residents of this area near Minneapolis will find interesting; however, if you really love photography you might want to read along!
by Charlie Leck

I spent a wonderful day on this past Saturday at the Minneapolis Photo Center (MPC). It’s located in northeast Minneapolis (2400 North Second Street… on the second floor). It’s a learning center, an exhibit center and a resource center.

I took an all day class on Saturday, trying to push my skills in using my wonderful camera a little more beyond the auto/program settings. It was a good experience and I discovered my camera can go far beyond what I had imaged.

If you appreciate photography, you’ll be happy that MPC is in existence. The center showcases the talents of extremely good photographers and often exhibits their works within the center. For instance, Annie Griffiths will be the featured photographer at an exhibit on October 28^th (an event I will unfortunately not be able to attend because of another commitment). Griffiths was on the first women photographers to work at National Geographic. Among her photographic stories for the magazine are ones about Lawrence of Arabia, Baja California, Galilee, Petra and Jerusalem. She is a Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers. If you want more information about Griffith’s appearance at MPC you can find it here.

For a very nominal fee, I enjoy a splendid class that included a terrific lunch and an opportunity to shoot photographs of a professional model in a variety of lighting set ups.

Orin Rutchick and his wife Abby are the founders of MPC and they are very involved in its every day operations. Orin graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and has 35 years experience as a professional photographer, graphic designer and art director. His vision is that the center will be a spot where photographers might learn together and grow together. Abby is a solid business woman and she applies those skills to the center’s operations.

I’ll be spending some of my time at the center in the future and I’d love to introduce some of my photographically inclined friends to what the center has to offer.

Here are a few of the results I got yesterday during my class.

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Forest Woodward Photography

It’s Sunday, you know, and I need a break from the constant thunder in my head!
by Charlie Leck

Enough for a few days, anyway, with all the hassle about politics, and health care reform, and racism, and humankind’s stupidity – and my own particular brilliance!

I like to get away from that stuff on Sunday mornings and maybe write about the Minnesota Vikings, or the Twins, or our mule, Reva; or, of course, as I like to occasionally, about photography.

Wow! Did I find a photographer for you! You don’t have to be a photography genius to tell that this guy’s work is special. He’s got a very creative eye and a very special sense for light, color and angles. That’s a photograph of his (above), which I purchased from iStock.com just so I could show you an example.

If you want to see a lot more, go to this particular Forest Woodward Blog, and he has lots of his work on display there that you can enlarge to a handsome size; or, go visit his spectacular web site, where you can see a great deal of his very special portfolio.

Here’s something Woodward says about himself and his photography that I found both interesting and intriguing.

“The relationship that I strive to cultivate between my lifestyle and my photography is one of symbiosis; growth in one fosters growth in the other as I pursue new experiences and horizons. My camera has allowed me to travel to amazing places, meet great people and hear fascinating stories. In return I let the camera share fully in my experiences, opening the shutter to my life and the relationships and lives of the real people… people I am fortunate to call my friends and family.”

Woodward’s photographs have appeared in National Geographic, Men’s Health, Prevention Magazine, Passport, Ask Men, Science Daily, Momentum and Forbes.

If you’re a hobbyist or pro, you can find out about Woodward’s photographic equipment on his web site. He is a very young man – certainly in relation to his success. He was the youngest student ever to attend the Rocky Mountain School of Photography and he’s worked on the staff of that school for the last four years. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa this year from the University of Northern Colorado, with majors in Spanish and sociology.

If you go on to examine Woodward’s photographs, you are in for a real treat. He is a special talent. Below are two more of his photographs.