At the end of my second full year at the Star Tribune, I’ve started to notice the rhythms of this place. The changing of light, the colors – warm enveloping brightness of summer slowly turning to the cool slanting light of winter. There are definitely cycles and seasons here to savor and appreciate. Though nothing could have prepared me for the news year that was 2016. Here are the images that stuck with me this year. May the year 2017 bring us all good news.

“If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than
contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracles of
technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the
beginning, not just after we got through with it.” - Lyndon B Johnson

Voyageurs National Park is like nothing I have ever seen. It’s the definition of vast. Photographing the park is like trying to photograph the whole earth in one frame. Getting up into the sky helps. Though beautiful landscapes tell some of the tale, I also tried to focus on how people experience and enjoy this wild land. I spent two and a half days photographing Minnesota’s only national park for a special Star Tribune travel story and came away with a new appreciation for the beauty of the world as it was in the beginning.

I had the chance to photograph Garrison Keillor during his last season hosting A Prairie Home Companion this spring. Photographing him is almost akin to big prey hunting. One must be patient and quiet. His final show was last week at the Hollywood Bowl. Although I only had a chance to photograph him during two shows – at the State Theatre in Minneapolis and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville – I feel like I got a tiny glimpse into his world and the particular genius that is Garrison Keillor. Here are my favorites: