2020: Shelter In Place / April 7, 2020 by Bradley Hanson

Our son Oliver, the human cat, is always finding fun uses for giant boxes in our living room while we pack for our move to St. Paul, MN

A family fishing at Lake Hiawatha in Minneapolis the night before the “stay at home” orders from the governor

Well, 2020 started with such promise.

We had just finished a wonderful trip to Amsterdam, Rome and Naples, Italy, 3 weeks before a massive change was underway.

Things were off to a great start, and by the end of the month, it was clear that Covid-19, the latest coronavirus, was going to upend our lives for the next few months. The year was filling out nicely and then even more dramatically than late 2008: near total radio silence as people stopped making plans and changed the ones they had.

I work all year round, but the majority of my work is in the months of June through October. The rest of the year I am booking weddings, editing existing weddings, meeting with clients, designing wedding albums and photographing family portraits, landscapes, our family adventures and road trips, and anything that catches my eye.

The current day to day is staying indoors with our 6 year old son, working on his distance online learning program until we figure out if and when his school will resume or even at the start of the next grade in September. I’m also working with existing clients to reschedule their weddings. I was supposed to be photographing a destination wedding in Jamaica in late March, then another in Washington State in early May. Both of them have been rescheduled. I’m rescheduling with all of my clients, particularly for June and July 2020 weddings, to find dates that work for them later in the year or moving them to open dates in 2021.

As always, I have my camera with me at all times and although I rarely leave the house now aside from bicycle rides for exercise and walks with my family for my sanity. I hope you and your families are staying indoors as much as possible, away from others and getting re-acquainted with the joys of organizing, cleaning, and finally unable to say “I wish I had the time to do (insert task here).” We are lucky to have some talented, artistic friends make masks for our whole family. When I go to the grocery store or food co-op, it’s clear that it’s another means of self-expression. Part of our new wardrobe!

Watching a little too much TV (Ozark 3, Fargo, Breeders, Catch 22, Lady Dynamite, etc), but also finally crossing off some great books from my reading list and organizing the house.

I’ve been self-employed for 21 years. I’m used to being home. Most people aren’t. Still, I am starting to have a harder time figuring out what day it is…

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the people all around us who are making life better: those pulling long shifts in hospitals and putting their own health at risk to help others. The restaurant workers and cooks still there making our food, the delivery people bringing it to our houses. The hard working people working in grocery stores and pharmacies, stocking the shelves, and everyone else still showing up to work.

As I write this, the US still doesn’t have easily accessible testing like Germany and South Korea, part of why we have triple the number of cases of anyone else in the world: 500,000, as well as surpassing Italy for the most fatalities. We need to be as cautious as possible. I hope people take physical distancing seriously and we can get past this. Be safe, look out for each other, help a friend or neighbor if you can, and look for the silver lining. Support your favorite restaurants with take-out orders to help keep them afloat. A lot of businesses, including restaurants will suffer.

In the middle of all this, we are packing to move at the end of April. As the old saying goes, “May you live in interesting times.” We will never forget 2020, that’s for sure.

If you want to follow me on Instagram, I have two accounts: @bradleyhanson is my personal one, all square images from my iPhone since 2008. @bradleyhansonphotography is my professional portfolio, a mix of weddings, family and portraits, as well as black and white and color landscape images. If you are still reading this far, you’ve already figured out how to find my website…

I am a Minneapolis, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading. To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right above this paragraph).

Our son Oliver on a walk outside at the Lake Hiawatha Golf Club in South Minneapolis

Holiday Trip To Amsterdam, Rome and Naples / January 1, 2020 by Bradley Hanson

Happy New Year!

Our son, Oliver is 6 and is obsessed with natural disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis and volcanoes. Of particular interest to him was the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on the city of Pompeii in year 79. We love travel and decided to spend the holiday season traveling to Italy, focusing on Rome but spending a day in Amsterdam on the way. People seem to like to go to warmer spots in the winter, but Italy has been on our list for a while and we found a Black Friday deal we couldn’t pass. My wife also found tickets for a day tour of Pompeii with some time in nearby Naples.

Once we purchased tickets for the trip, we excitedly prepared by getting a couple travel books about Rome (Rick Steves book is the best), as well as watching Rick Steves 3 Rome episodes on PBS and watching as many documentaries about Rome and Pompeii as we could. We even watched Gladiator.

We arrived in Rome on Christmas day, which was, as expected, unusually quiet for the city. After a great dinner in our neighborhood with homemade pasta carbonara, a heavenly Italian red wine, a Neopolitan pizza and a perfect tiramisu, we found a huge neighborhood playground and Oliver immediately starting making friends. You can see a frame from this moment at the very last image below.

The weather was lovely and mild. The highs were in the upper 50s, but somehow with the sun and the euphoria that accompanies exotic new locations, it felt more like 70. The timing was perfect as we had been watching the weather in the weeks leading up to the trip and arrived just after a week of straight rain.

It was immediately apparent was that the light in Rome was unusually lovely. Like Los Angeles, but even softer. There is an amber haze that seems to flatter everything and mysteriously, there was no harsh noon light. It always looked like the sun was low in the sky like morning sunrise or evening sunset. We saw the sun every day and this pattern of beautiful light remained throughout the trip.

The next day we spent at the Colosseum, also walking around nearby neighborhoods. We had the best gelato we’ve ever had (tip: avoid the bright artificial colors and make sure it’s not whipped with air as it often is in the US) and some of the best espresso, pasta, pizza and wine in Rome and Naples.

Oliver is also a Lego addict and a great builder, so it was a happy find to see “I Love Lego” exhibit at Palazzo Bonaparte, one of the many art museums in Rome.

We tried one of the “hop on/hop off” bus tours, which was a painless way to get around the city and get one’s bearings, but we still walked an average of 8-9 miles a day. We checked out the Pantheon, the Vatican, the ruins of the Roman Forum, and countless other sites. While all major European cities are old and have a rich history, Rome is unique in the sheer scale and volume of it’s 2000+ year old sites, a remaining byproduct of a former empire that covered Europe and part of Asia and northern Africa.

The bus tour to Pompeii is 3 hours each way, with stops in the middle to stretch and get a snack and a local espresso. The tour guide on the bus, Valentina, was truly amazing and the other guide once we got to Pompeii, Giuseppe, was hilarious. Oliver was gathering “treasures” during the tour, finding old stones, actual pieces of ancient terra-cotta pottery and some of the 2000 year old volcanic ash from the Vesuvius eruption. Oliver showed his finds to the tour guide, who referred, sweetly, to Oliver as “the bambino” and confirmed that he did actually find a piece of terra cotta pottery. The tour guide comedically and strategically made the Pompeiian brothels kid-friendly an even told a few funny jokes for people paying attention. He would often punctuate his sentences with “Okey dokey artichokey.”

On the way back to Rome, we stopped in Naples for an hour or so. Naples is definitely a much denser city and requires greater fortitude and strong elbows to brave the heavier crowds. From the edge of town, Mt. Vesuvius is visible (you’ll see a color photo of this below).

I highly recommend both Rome and Amsterdam. Naples was good (and I do recommend Pompeii tour), but I’ve heard Florence or Venice might be a better pairing with Rome. PS. Wear comfortable shoes that are already broken in. It was a wonderful trip. I would have loved to spend more time in Amsterdam, but we were grateful for every minute.

In the spirit of traveling light, I brought one camera with one lens.

Click the first image (or any) to view it at full size, which will also allow you to scroll through the entire gallery with the full frame, un-cropped images.

Intimate Winter Elopement At The St. Regis Hotel In Downtown Atlanta Georgia / December 2, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

I got a call out of the blue to photograph this private elopement in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The bride was born in Turkey and the groom is from my neck of the woods (Minneapolis, MN). The couple now live in Los Angeles, but got married in Atlanta because the bride’s family is still there. Like the Hitchcock movie “Rope,” most of the wedding took place in one room. In this case, the lovely and regal St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. There were only 9 family members lucky enough to be there. I was only there for 2.5 hours, but we packed it in. There was a 5 minutes ceremony and a small dinner, with toasts and even a little dancing. We enjoyed some time at sunset on the rooftop deck of Restoration Hardware, which had a uniquely beautiful view of downtown Atlanta. Never one to hesitate to leave snowy Minneapolis in the winter, it felt good to enjoy 73 degree sunny days, if only for 48 hours…

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New Work From Summer 2019 Minneapolis Weddings And Family Portraits / October 10, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

Groom and bride laughing before the ceremony while signing the marriage license. Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis, MN

Bolting from a family portrait at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis

Senior portrait session along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN

Baby on the move during a family portrait session in Minneapolis, MN

Outtake during a family portrait at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, MN

Exploring Minneapolis art museums with our son Oliver and friends

It’s the end of peak wedding season. My priority is keeping up with editing wedding photographs for my clients, while trying to get as many wedding album designs as possible completed and off to the album company before the holiday production deadlines. Watch this space for new wedding blog posts, travel images, and personal highlights from 2019.

To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading. To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right above this paragraph.

I hope you had a great summer and are looking forward to a wonderful fall and inevitably, snow…

Holly And Kyle's Northern Minnesota Lake Wedding At Maddens Resort On Gull Lake In Brainerd, MN / August 1, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

Holly grew up in California and Kyle came from Alexandria, MN. Kyle and Holly spent the first three years of their relationship traveling long distances to see each other. When they first started dating, Kyle lived in Finland and Holly lived in Denver. Within a year, Holly had moved to San Francisco and Kyle to Salt Lake City. Eventually, Kyle ended up moving to Sacramento for work. Holly jumped at the chance to live with him, but that meant a 7+ hour per day commute for her, in order to chase her man and her career. As a result, they learned to cherish each moment together like it might be their last and to make adventures and excursions a constant theme in the life they very deliberately built together.

It was easily one of the strongest bonds I've ever witnessed and a wonderful day all around.

The entire wedding took place at Madden’s Resort on beautiful Gull Lake on one of the ideal summer days on a hot and humid day that cooled down nicely in the evening for a perfect sunset on the lake.

I am a Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading. To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right above this paragraph). If you are planning a wedding at Maddens Resort, I’d love to photograph your wedding as it is a perfect venue and the quintessential Minnesota lake resort.

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Brittany And Ted's Backyard Wedding On The Mississippi River In Northeast Minneapolis / July 21, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

Brittany and Ted got married at film director Phil Harder’s Minneapolis Air BNB on the Mississippi River in Northeast Minneapolis, next door to The Sample Room. They did everything themselves and the rustic setting was augmented by golden sunset off the Mississippi River.

Gauthami And Moulin's Joyful 3-Day South Indian Wedding At The St. Paul College Club, Intercontinental Hotel And Landmark Center In Downtown St. Paul, MN / July 10, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

The next wedding in a series of Indian/Hindu weddings this spring was this one in three locations I love shooting at: The St. Paul College Club on Summit Avenue, the Intercontinental hotel on St. Paul’s downtown waterfront and the historic Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul.

I’ve photographed over 600 weddings (25-30 Indian weddings) and this was one of those weddings where everyone seemed to be smiling the entire time. When the bride sent me an email, one of the words that peppered her comments was “joy.” Looking over the highlights, that’s all I see: people having fun and a couple with a great connection, surrounded by loving and supportive friends and family.

This was a south Indian wedding, which has a few different customs. The ceremony is a little longer, and typically starts earlier in the day. The marriage ceremony takes place on the mandap (stage), led by a Vedic priest who chants ancient hymns and verses, recalling the names of three generations of ancestors of both, the bride and the groom before all who have gathered to witness the wedding. The bride and the groom are hidden from each other, then exchange garlands when they are lifted onto the shoulders of their respective uncles.

A little background into the bride and groom: Moulin and Gauthami met in college, taking summer organic chemistry. They were good friends for a long time, then started dating when they were studying abroad in Paris. After college they’ve been following each other from Chicago to Madison to New Haven, finally getting married in St. Paul and now living in Massachusetts. They are both physicians now: Gauthami is in Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship at Yale and Moulin is in Electrophysiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.

To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail. I have extensive experience with Indian weddings in Minneapolis, Seattle and even in Rajasthan, Udaipur, India.

Shruti And Erik’s Majestic Washington DC Wedding At The Andrew Mellon Auditorium / June 4, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

I’ve had a series of Indian/Hindu weddings this spring, so I wanted to get a few of them posted.

The day after the Mehndi at the bride’s parents house, Shruti and Erik got married at the majestic Andrew W Mellon Auditorium in Washington DC. As is typical of Indian and Hindu weddings, it was a 3-day event. It rained the entire time except for an hour before the ceremony. It did convert to a little mist during the Baraat, but resumed again during the ceremony. Unfortunately, the bride was feeling a bit under the weather, occasionally sneaking hits of some cough syrup during the day. You’d never know from her energy level, though…

I’ve photographed over 25 Indian weddings and this was probably my favorite Baraat (the processional with the groom on a white horse) of all of them. It began in the beautiful but wet alley of the historic Mellon Auditorium. The old stone building amplified the sound of the music, the drummers and the family and friends clapping in time. Erik, on horseback, really got into it and his gigantic smile was reflected by those around him. One never knows what is coming during the Baraat, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a very stylish couple on coordinated bicycles, watching the whole thing in the alley.

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Inspiration: Vertical Images From History Altered The Way I See The World / March 18, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

To address my feelings about vertical photographs, and to discuss why I regularly shoot vertical photographs with my wedding work, I’ve decided to create this blog post to provide additional insight. The eighteen images above are some of my favorites from my wedding photography career. All but three of them were created on film. You can view my wedding images via the two galleries under “portfolio,” or you can view my favorite vertical wedding images through this link here.

With some regularity, I get messages from photographers commenting about the vertical images I’ve posted on Instagram (@bradleyhansonphotography) or on my website. Some of them ask about shooting vertical images at weddings, others are about vertical images in general or “how do I get started when I only photograph horizontally,” etc. I’m happy to share my thoughts as I am very excited about this format. I don’t talk about equipment much because it’s not a priority for doing good work, but to me, there is a sweet spot for 50mm, 75mm, 85mm and 90mm lens that lends itself well to vertical images. Normal to short telephoto focal lengths can assist the photographer in creating compositions that tend to make the vertical orientation easier to see. There are countless exceptions to this, of course, and some of them can be seen in the historical gallery I’ve created below, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Square format images remove this consideration altogether. I photographed weddings for a few years with Hasselblad square format cameras and film. The format was easy to work with, and once you get into the zone with seeing in the square format, everything seems to fit. (The main challenge with weddings with that system was the slow f2.8 and f4 lenses in low light, not the format itself). When I make photographs with my iPhone, I crop them square as a separate discipline. I’ve also created a separate gallery for those, which you can see as a menu option from my portfolio heading on the upper right.

Sometime in the winter of 1988, I bought Ralph Gibson’s book “Tropism,” from the bookstore at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. I had seen vertical images before, of course. They are not new, and many of the images in the gallery below are from the 50s and 60s, most likely a Leica M3 camera with a 50mm lens. Still, there was something about Ralph Gibson’s high contrast vertical images that made them even more abstract, surreal, and appealing to me. While paging appreciatively through the book, I discovered that one of my favorites, the glowing hand at the opening door, was an image I’d seen before on the inner sleeve of Joy Division’s classic 1979 record, “Unknown Pleasures.”

The simple act of buying this book changed my perspective on photography forever. I didn’t suddenly starting shooting only vertical photographs, but I often found myself seeking out compositions in that format and trying to change the way I saw the world to be open to this exciting format. The 3:2 ratio of 35mm film (aka “full frame” in digital format) also lends itself better to vertical compositions because it closely approximates the “golden ratio.” (Click here to read the Wikipedia page about the concept).

I’ve redesigned my wedding portfolio to feature my vertical images, something of an anomaly in this industry that appears to be 99% horizontal. I get it. Walk into a wedding reception and you see the tables spread out wide. Go to the ocean and you see width. Our eyes are side by side, not on top of each other. For these reasons and more, vertical images can be compelling as they are outside of our day to day perspective. Ralph Gibson referred to vertical images as having a “tension” in the way they can make it feel like the frame is compressed. He even had an exhibit called “The Vertical Horizon.”

Downtown Minneapolis Snowy Wedding In The Historic Lumber Exchange Building / March 17, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

Illyas walks out on the roof of the Lumber Exchange Building as the snowstorm begins on March 9, 2019.

I’ve been photographing weddings for 20 years now. I’ve personally been to 600 of them. Yeah, I know. It’s gone by quickly since April 1999. Anyway, 13 years of that was in Seattle, the last 7 here in Minneapolis. As someone who grew up in Minneapolis, the feeling is often that there is snow on the ground 6 months of the year. It can start as early as October and it can happen as late is May. We don’t get the kind of heavy snow we used to get all winter when I was a kid, but we are getting wild extremes. This year, we had a bone dry December, then February was 40 inches of snow rather than the average of 7.

Snow gets old when you grow up with it, but it still has a magical quality to me, particularly the first snow of the year. There is a quiet and peacefulness that happens both from the visual minimalism and the sound deadening of the snow itself. It literally absorbs sound and the combination enhances the beauty.

When Anna and Illyas hired me to photograph portraits for them, it was a relatively humid day. They had just gotten a sweet little dog named Louie who didn’t want to be away from them during our time together.

Fast forward to a week ago. The wedding day, March 9th, came quickly and meteorologists forecasted a late winter storm of 8-10” in the Twin Cities. I was excited because I could finally take photographs of a bride and groom in the snow. Well, the serious part of the storm ended up hitting the part of the state south of Minneapolis and while we ended up with more like 5 inches of snow, it was beautiful: large, heavy and dense snow that fell slowly and accumulated quickly.

In a brief moment after the wedding ceremony, Anna, Illyas and I went to the roof of the historic Lumber Exchange Building to take a few photographs it was the opportunity I’ve been waiting for. I rarely use flash, but with snow it highlights every flake on its way to the ground.

I’ll be adding images to this blog post in a few weeks.