A Beautiful Calm

A view from a side road in Farmington, Minnesota. 

TWSnow - Spot Check

        I had my wisdom tooth taken out today. What an odd experience it is to wake up from anesthesia for the first time! I'm sucking on a bloody cotton swab now. Mmm...

        When I got home, I opened my new Transworld Snowboarding magazine and was pleasantly surprised to see my photo ran for a Powder Ridge "Spot Check". Congratulations to Yusaku Horii for being published in a photo of a small Minnesota ski resort after flying all the way from his home base - Japan. He is such an entertaining rider to watch and has one of the best looking method grabs I have ever seen. Thanks goes to Michael Weiner and the people at Powder Ridge for making this photo shoot come alive. Finally, thanks to Chris Wellhausen, Photo Editor of Transworld Snowboarding, for giving me the opportunity to shoot this assignment. I appreciate all of your help!

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 Transworld Snowboarding | Volume 26 - March - 2013 | Pg. 116

Yusaku Horii. Gap Method to Backside Lipslide. Powder Ridge. Kimball, Minnesota. 

Artist Initiative Grant

      I am pleased to announce with you all that I am now a recipient of the FY 2013 Artist Initiative grant for the Minnesota State Arts Board. I cannot begin to explain how grateful I am. This grant will work as a huge stepping stone for my photographic career.

      I will achieve the following with the help of this grant: purchase lighting equipment and a computer, continue my environmental portrait work on the Iron Range, and showcase my work in a solo exhibition in the Twin Cities.

      A special thanks goes out to all of my photography instructors from AI for all their support and encouragement. I wouldn't have a clue on how to write grant proposals if it wasn't for Becky Olstad's Specialization class. Thanks to, Colleen Mullins, for her support and willingness to fill me in on notes from the review panel. Thanks to Anthony Marchetti and Caroline Houdek for their support and input on my Iron Range work. Thanks to all of my friends at AI for your critique and support. Thanks goes out to my grandparents, Francis and Velga Robertson - the foundation of my Iron Range work. I love you guys. Thank you mom and dad. Thank you, Sara. Thank you, Jesus.

      Expect to see in-progress blog posts of my Iron Range work throughout the year. For those of you unfamiliar with my Iron Range work thus far, visit my website at www.brandonlepasti.com. Thanks a million!

Uptown Stroll

     Here is a photograph that I have been meaning to make for a while now. The opportunity arose while on an Uptown photo adventure with my friend, Tyler Pomroy (www.tylerpomroy.com), back in mid October. Enjoy!

** Click on photo to view larger. 

Van Dusen Mansion Wedding

     Here are a few of my favorite images from a wedding that I assisted for on September 28th (shows how I am blowing it when it comes to blog updates) at the Van Dusen Mansion. Thanks goes out to the bride and groom for having Matt and I photograph their special day. Thanks also goes out to my friend, Matt, for having me as his assistant / second shooter. I look forward to the next opportunity! Check out his wedding photos at www.sepetaweddings.com. Enjoy!

     It was funny comparing the two atmospheres of the men and women while getting ready for the wedding. While the ladies frantically apply makeup and do their hair, the guys lounge around in the basement of the mansion playing video games on the big screen TV. The difference in preparation time was probably: ladies = 1.5 hours and guys = 15 minutes. Here we have one of the bridesmaids applying eye-liner (or something?) to the bride, Gaoxue. 

The groom, Alex, waits at the bottom of the mansion staircase before the first meet.

     The ceremony was held in the mansion courtyard, which was later transformed into a reception space with cocktail tables. For the left photo, while entering the building to get the window shot of the bride and groom walking down the aisle, the main door was very squeaky, which attracted a lot of attention toward me. I felt pretty embarrassed.  

One of the groomsmen. I think he was feeling pretty good about his mustache. 

     Thanks again for stopping by my blog. I apologize, once again, that my updates have not been as consistent lately. Take care!

Wandering Downtown Minneapolis

Chicago

     Sara (my fiance) and I had the wonderful opportunity to explore Chicago this last weekend! Sara's older brother, Josh, and their friend, Alex, went to the Iron Maiden concert at Tinley Park... and so we came with just to hang out and tour the Windy City. Illinois had a heat blast while we were there with temperatures peaking over 100˚. I read articles later stating that the heat was to blame for Chicago's recent increase in crime. During our short time there, we witnessed a guy steal a full bag worth of items from a Dollar Tree. Pretty hardcore... I know. In other strange occurrences that went down over the trip - a lady apparently had a seizure (at least that's what we assumed) and began biting Alex's arm at Millennium Park. Zombie Apocalypse? I have been watching too much of The Walking Dead lately... Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the few images I posted below. Thanks for looking!

The first two photos above were shot from the Terrace at Trump (16th floor) - facing South / SW.

Part of the Wrigley Building as seen from The Terrace at Trump.

Cooling off at the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park.

Evening congestion.

Chicago Chinatown.

     We began our last day looking around Chinatown. It was interesting seeing all the strange and unusual foods available in the markets. You can purchase shark fin for something around $450 a pound. Perhaps the most disturbing (at least to Sara), were the giant slabs of turtle meat that hung inside one of the markets. After poking around some of the stores in Chinatown, Sara and I spent the rest of the day lying out on the beach and swimming in the great Lake Michigan... a perfect ending to our trip!

     Thanks goes out to Josh, Karina, Alex, and Sara for an amazing trip! Please check out more of my photos at www.brandonlepasti.com. Thank you.