After I had seen my friend and fellow photographer Chris Andersen’s picture of the Minneapolis Central Library way back in 2007, I knew that we had an architectural marvel on our hands. See image here.
His image gives a spaceship like feel to the structure and it gives one a sense of the possibilities that there are for capturing the incredible edifice in many unique ways.
From the web site archrecord.construction.com
The Minneapolis Central Library is a dynamic, resource-rich downtown destination, conveniently located between Hennepin Avenue, with the arts and theater district to the west, and Nicollet Mall, the backbone of the city’s business and shopping district to the east. These two downtown districts each have their own orthogonal street grid, creating the unique, trapezoidal site for the library when they converge. This shifting urban geometry carries through the massing of the building, with one block following the east grid and the other block following the west grid. The resulting “courtyard” informs the shape of the five-story, glass-enclosed galleria and the sculptured, wing-like roof that spans over the
So it was my turn to finally get out and attempt to capture the wonderful structure in a new and interesting way. I was surprised how nervous I was as I was riding in on the train thinking about how I was going to attack this project. It was a mostly overcast morning so I was worried about the light. Would it be flat boring light? Would the sun peak through and give me an explosion of interesting morning light? Would there be throngs of people mulling about the structure keeping me from capturing the building in a clean and uncluttered way. These are some of the challenges of being a photographer.
I knew I wanted to photograph the front main entrance. There is so much there to capture the imagination. I also decided to use an extra wide lens to attempt to capture the grandeur and immensity of the structure and also distort it to allow for all kinds of new possibilities.
The sun did indeed pop out from behind the clouds and gave me some moments of magic.
The warm light in the library’s interior catches the eye and warms the heart even as winter is approaching.
If you have not been to the Minneapolis Central Library I like to encourage you to go, both for the books and for the experience of the art of the architectural wonder. And if you are a photographer be sure to bring a tripod. They are very photographer friendly there.
Have a great adventure and happy shooting.
Many images are available for sale at the gallery.
http://waynephotoguy.imagekind.com/
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