THE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY

She uses photo artistry techniques and software to combine one or more of her photographs with various backgrounds, textures, and sometimes, typography to create unique, blended composite images or photo collages.

Her pleasing compositions, vibrant colors, and attention to detail all come together in her eye-catching images. Many of her final images could be categorized as inspirational photo art, because they include a special quote or saying.

Kit Larson

Kit has taken classes and participated in workshops with the Rocky Mountain School of Photography and with other professional groups and photographers. His early subjects as a professional were focused mostly on wild animals and birds. Then He widened his photo subjects to include the environment that surrounded the wild life that he so much enjoys capturing. More recently, he has widened his lens opening to capture more of the beauty of the forests, lakes and sky that our Creator provided us.

One of the biggest joys for Kit, outside of taking the pictures, is the interaction he has with the people that visit his booth. Often people tell him that they have been at the place a photo was taken or that it reminds them of a similar site they have been to and enjoyed. Sometimes a picture was of a place they were seeing for the first time and they marvel at the beauty of it. His next best experience comes when a beginning photographer stops by to “pick his brain” about photography. While talking to them about cameras and tips on taking photos, he also passes on the enthusiasm he has for nature and photography.

Her passion as a news photographer and photo editor has allowed access to beautiful people and places in the upper Midwest and Minnesota’s Lake Country. Coming from a world of glorious film, darkrooms, magic papers and chemicals, she steps out into a new digital format to speak her photo language as an artist.

Shaw’s recent focus highlights trumpeter swans thriving today thanks to a Tamarac Wildlife Refuge program and wildlife advocates who re-introduced them to the region in numbers we see them today. She sees them as the phoenix of the north in that Trumpeter Swans have been taken off endangered and, if not already, threatened species lists and prosper throughout areas in Northern Minnesota.

Additionally, Shaw’s celebrates the beauty and not-so-obvious beauty in her mirroring style that flips obvious beauty on its head. An example of this is with her Mother Trees series. A Smithsonian article about “mother trees” caught her attention. The scientific study explains that mother trees distinguishing her seedlings from others nearby providing nourishment to those seedlings during times of stress such as with droughts or fires. Shaw explores this notion and applies its concept to human mother trees living among us. The mirrored effect celebrates and explores powerful mother trees and examine beauty in nontraditional ways with hopes to expand our interpretation of gifts nature provides and apply them to our vision of strength, relationships, and love.

John Caughlan

John Caughlan is an alumnus of Pequot Lakes. Growing up in this area, John developed a deep appreciation for the natural beauty around him. John’s background is drawing and painting, but he has devoted the last twenty years to photographing the places and people of Minnesota. 

Recently, John has returned back to his roots and has started drawing and painting again. He has produced an amusing Paul Bunyan and Babe cartoon series. John resides in the St. Cloud area, but his heart is always up north.