Allison and Reid: Winter Photo Session at the Boom Island Park Minneapolis Mn

I first met Alison and Reid, a few months ago, in a coffee shop in Saint Paul,MN.

While Reid made his surprise proposal in Illinois, they decided to have their engagement session in Twin Cities, and the wedding in Minneapolis. I showed them my wedding albums, explained to them my way of working (as I always do) and they decided to hire me for covering their wedding.

They are planning to get married in one of the most astonishing venues of the Twin Cities, the American Swedish Institute. So, of course, I was super happy.
She is the dreamer and he is the serious guys. Or maybe it’s the opposite. She is an architect (which is the kind of work that requires rigor) and she designs buildings such as schools (impressive!)

He is coordinating the activities of the Boy Scout Association of half the Wisconsin! Both of their activities sound pretty neat. They lived in Milwaukee, but given they are both from the North Star State, they decided to host their reception at the Swedish institute.

A couple of months later, they were about to shoot their engagement pictures in the Twin Cities with their professional photographer. To have the best light, we met shortly after sunrise at the Stone Arch Bridge (Minneapolis) for the first part of their session. This is the second and last part.

Boom Island, a place for photo session

Close to downtown

The boom Island Park is located in the north-west of the city, near Minnetonka.
It is situated close to the famous Main District, and in consequence close to all the other well-known photography spots such as the Stone Arch Bridge, the Mill City Museum, the Guthrie Theater, Nicollet Island and the Hennepin Bridge. This park is mostly known and used by the local Minnesotan community as a picnic recreational area.
The park is spread on several acres. It is pretty flat, with some pine trees and a few deciduous trees. It offers primarily a vast lawn, in addition to direct access to the Mississippi River front.

Despite its name, the Boom Island is not an island anymore. Indeed, in his previous life, it served as a sorting place for the log industry. Since then, they filled back the black channel that separated it from the rest of the land.

A lot of mini sessions and family sessions take place at the park.

A lot of in-love couples and families come there, not so much for the nice large grass-covered field, but mostly for the outstanding point of view offered on the City’s Skyline (much better than the Nicollet Island’s). Moreover, it is a huge park and thus barely crowded. Indeed, each group can easily be isolated from other people and so enjoying the nature without any immediate interaction with visitors.

These two points are actually great advantages for photo sessions. Indeed, a nice background is great for a photographer. It is also a necessity to be able to help his clients to be relaxed, whereas it is with a couple or a family! And the less a location is crowded, the easiest it is to relax.
We didn’t meet many people, mostly some local boys petting their dog. Yes, it’s a dog-friendly park!

Winter photo session at Boom Island

Well-dressed partners to tackle a winter day

As you probably know, besides the Vikings team and the Mayo Clinic, The North Star Sate is also famous for its exquisite winter temperatures. And on this winter day, the falls were probably completely frozen. Several times a year you wish that next summer will last forever. But let’s stop this digression. I hope I don’t sound too much sarcastic! Actually, when I’m telling my French friends that I am living in the 10 000 lakes state, they usually start to mention Fargo (the movie where they dye frozen in the car).

Anyway, as you understood, it was one of those freezing days with a lot of wind.
As I had suspected, Alison had coordinated their outfits, and Reid played the game. The shopping was well done, and they both wore a nice coat of high quality craft felt made from wool. They both had some leather gloves (black for Reid and Red for Alison). And, as you may notice, Alison matched her gloves with her coat red line and her lipstick’s color.

It was a smart, efficient and elegant way to dress regarding the temperatures! Indeed, when clients show up with a massive winter coat looking like a ski outfit, suddenly taking great pictures becomes more complicated for the photographers.

A Calm Morning

For Alison and Reid’s photo session, we used the view of the city, which was grayish on this cloudy day. We also used the pine trees and the old fashion industrial bridge going over the Mississippi River. The wind was blowing and, despite our warm clothes, we were all freezing. Nevertheless those two lovers managed to have fun! And I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Alison and Reid are a very nice couple, and I am looking forward to cover their wedding day at the Swedish Institute!

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A variety of locations to marry with Boom Island