Winter (Sort of)

This past winter I was actually looking forward to making pictures of the dark, cold, snowy time of the year, but it didn’t really happen. There’s a simultaneous hooray! and FUCK. Minneapolis’s USDA hardiness zone increased this year (which is based on the cold temperature). The foreboding warm creep of climate change brings anxiety to seemingly most people. The Minnesota winter is a thing of lore, yet becoming more and more mild. Will it just become a fable if it truly disappears?

One of my biggest inspirations, Lars Tunbjork, made the seminal book about winter, Vinter. He talked about photographing the winter as an antidote to the depression that inevitably ensues with the lack of light. Coaxing himself through the short days by seeing what creative juices it inspires, forcing himself to be active to stave off depression. Thinking about this process of staying active is something I’ve never really struggled with until recently. I’ve always been curiosity driven, but finding it harder in our ever connected world to wade into the beauty that surrounds us.

I have always wanted to make a Minnesota version of Vinter, since Tunbjork’s is in Sweden, and Minnesota has a history of Swedish immigration and culture. A double influence, on artist and place. The lesson I always took away from Vinter is that sometimes you have to force it, however painful it may be. It could be disgusting outside, leaves you feeling full of doubt, wanting to be a hermit, but there also could be great inspiration oozing out of the salted snow piles that envelop that harsh energy and transcend the darkness.

Here are some pictures from this VERY mild Minnesota winter - Enjoy XO RUBY ; )