The Minnesota Project | July – Horsing Around, MN

Aug

2017

by cbayless_blog |

My daughter started horseback riding lessons this summer and with that brought a few new adventures this month, for July’s blog circle. She has always loved horses and has asked to have lessons for at least a couple of years now. Since she wanted to take a break from soccer we decided to give horseback riding lessons a try. She absolutely loves it! I love that she learns everything that goes along with caring for a horse as well as how to saddle her own horse. She is learning a lot and what it takes to care for an animal, which is no easy task.

Last month we were invited to watch her instructor in a horse competition. It was fun seeing all of the horses, but I think my daughter enjoyed hanging out with her dear pony, Peggy Sue, the most! She also seemed impressed by how fast her instructor rode. I’m not sure if she will get into the competitions herself but she has mentioned she’s interested in jumping.

We also made our way out to Canterbury Park to watch the horse races. It was lots of fun, yet a very hot day! We didn’t actually bet but we would mark down our guesses between the two of us for a little friendly competition. They also had some fun animal races in between with ostriches, zebras and camels. It was quite comical and I think my daughter found that to be more entertaining than the horses. We will definitely be making our way back there again!

Thanks for taking the time to read and look through my blog. Be sure to circle through all of the other Minnesota adventures, next up on the blog circle is Jo Davis! If you have any suggestions of where I should go next please let me know, I love trying out new places!

Posted in blog circle, explore mn, Fun, Lifestyle, mn adventures, the minnesota project Tagged blog circle, explore mn, horseback riding, Lifestyle Photography, mn adventures, the minnesota project |

The Minnesota Project | June – Little Falls, MN

Jul

2017

by cbayless_blog |

School is out and it’s always exciting to kick off summer with going up to lake. We pass through Little Falls along the way and decided to stop by the Pine Grove Zoo and Park. It was just us girls and we had lots of fun walking through this beautiful little zoo. I think both of our favorite was the bear cubs, so cute! The howling wolf, the petting farm and the free range peacocks were all apart of our fun little adventure. It was quiet and felt as if we were walking through a park, such a pretty layout. Afterwards we went to the playground. My daughter was quite taken with this park, lots of old playground equipment. I think her favorite was the merry-go-round. I use to love going on them too, not sure I can handle it like I use to any more…I ended up very dizzy, very fast! I loved how tall the trees were, it made you feel very small. I think next time we will have to plan on bringing a picnic. I definitely recommend stopping by if you are every in or near Little Falls, MN.

Be sure to circle through all of the other Minnesota adventures, next up on the blog circle is Jo Davis! If you have any suggestions of where I should go next please let me know, I love trying out new places!

Posted in blog circle, explore mn, Fine Art, Fun, mn adventures, the minnesota project

The Minnesota Project | May – St. Cloud MN

Jun

2017

by cbayless_blog |

Welcome back to my monthly blog for The Minnesota Project, which is a blog circle I do with a few other local photographers. We share our experiences and pictures of different places we visit exploring the great State of Minnesota. As a photographer I am involved in many different photography groups and meet ups, one of them being clickinmoms.com which I have been a member for many years. They do an annual meet up called clickinwalk, where groups of photographers meet up on the same weekend all around the world. For the last few years I have helped co-lead this event here in Minnesota in the St. Cloud area. This is a fun event where you can walk around taking pictures with other photographers (of any skill level) and then afterwards we usually end up going out to eat and have a few drinks. This year we started at Barden Park walking our way through the SCSU campus leading us to Lake George where we ended the walk. It was a gorgeous day and the buds sure were blooming!

One of my favorite things about meeting up with other photographers besides the obvious getting together with others that share the love and interest of photography, is to see all the different images that are captured. We are all taking pictures in the same area but the images are usually so unique from one another even if it is of the same subject as one will have a different perspective from the other. If you are into photography I definitely recommend finding a group that meets up from time to time. It is so much fun to share stories, ideas, tips from one another! I get inspired when I am around other photographers, I’ll be sure to post reminders for next year and would love it if you joined us on next years clickinwalk.

Posted in blog circle, explore mn, Fine Art, Fun, mn adventures, Scenic, street photography, the minnesota project Tagged blog circle, clickinwalk 2017, explore mn, Fine Art, fun, mn adventures, scenic, st. cloud mn, street photography, the minnesota project |

The Minnesota Project | April – Sherburne County

May

2017

by cbayless_blog |

We this month I didn’t get out exploring as much as I was hoping to. It was an active month for the Northern Lights but the weather and clouds came in a ruined things quite often. Even though I didn’t get as many images as I had wanted, it’s always a fun experience going out Aurora Hunting. I usually go with a friend of mine and we always have such an adventure. One time we were able to bring our kids with since it was on the weekend. While we waited her boys enjoyed a little fishing and tree climbing.

I absolutely love exploring the Sherburne County area! There are so many beautiful, peaceful lakes and nature parks. Whether you explore it during the day or night you will love the scenery! One of my favorite parts about exploring at night is that’s when the animals come out, you can hear all sorts or critters… from great horned owls to coyotes and strange sounds splashing in the water. It can get a little creepy with all of the sounds at night especially when you can’t see what it is but it sounds close, but it is well worth the gorgeous light display if we are lucky enough to see it!

Be sure to circle through all of the other Minnesota adventures, next up on the blog circle is Erin VonRuden!

Posted in blog circle, explore mn, Fine Art, mn adventures, the minnesota project Tagged aurora, blog circle, explore mn, Fine Art, mn adventures, northern lights, the minnesota project |

The Minnesota Project | March – MN Zoo

Apr

2017

by cbayless_blog |

The kids were looking to get out of the house, especially my daughter and mentioned she wanted to go to the zoo. So that is exactly what we decided to do, as it has been a while since we’ve done so! We ended up going to the Minnesota Zoo being that my husband loves salt water fish and sharks. I have to admit I love watching the fish, very mesmerizing and relaxing! I love the bright colors and they are much more active than most of the other animals at the zoo. Although it was a little chilly we braved the cold and walked around including outside. I wish I would’ve known about when the baby farm animal exhibit that was happening in a week from when we went as I would have waited a weekend to go. Either way we enjoyed our time there, especially the aquarium. I think my favorite animal was the wolf, such an impressive size and those majestic eyes! What is your favorite animal? What is the next place I shall explore? I would love to hear your ideas!

Be sure to circle through all of the other Minnesota adventures, next up on the blog circle is Jo Davis!

Posted in blog circle, explore mn, Family, Fun, mn adventures, the minnesota project Tagged animals, blog circle, explore mn, family fun, mn adventures, mn zoo, the minnesota project |

The Minnesota Project | February – Minneapolis

Mar

2017

by cbayless_blog |

February I ventured out with some photography friends downtown Minneapolis. Although I have done many meet ups and photographed this area many times, it’s still fun! I try to challenge myself to photograph different subjects or at least new perspectives. I love exploring this area though, it just never gets old. I also find it inspiring and neat to walk about with other photographer friends as even though we are all taking pictures in the same area we tend to photograph different things. Whether we capture it differently or something different catches our eyes, it’s fun to compare in the end.

I love how much character and history is in this area, and it is usually a busy area as well. The day we went, it was so nice out I ended up putting my jacket back in the car… it was crazy to think I could do this in the month of February!

I was able to play around with my new lens I got for my vacation. Over all it was a nice walk around lens, but it does lack the quality I’m use to. I love the range though it is a Tamron 28-300 mm, so I was able to get wide angle shots as well as close up shots with my zoom. I later switched to my wide angle lens Canon 16-35 mm. Once I get around to editing my vacation pictures I’ll be sure to share that on the blog too. I hope you enjoy my walk around Minneapolis, be sure to circle through all of the other Minnesota adventures, next up on the blog circle is Jo Davis. Any suggestions on where I should explore next? What would you like to see pictures of?

Posted in blog circle, explore mn, Fine Art, Fun, Lifestyle, mn adventures, Scenic, street photography, the minnesota project Tagged blog circle, explore mn, Fine Art, lifestlye, MN, mn adventures, Northern Twin Cities, scenic, street photography, the minnesota project |

The Minnesota Project | January – Ice Castle

Feb

2017

by cbayless_blog |

For this months January blog circle, I took the kids to visit Stillwater MN to check out the ice castle. I grew up visiting the ice castle when they use to do them on Harriet Island in Saint Paul back in the 90s, so my expectations were different than what we ended up seeing. But over all we had a blast, although different than what I expected it was still very neat. It would have been fun to go at night when it’s all lit up and they have fire dancers, something we may try for next year. It was cool to see the blue hues of the ice though during the day, and it felt so much taller when you were inside walking through it. During the day they had Ana and Elsa posing for pictures, so if you have a child that likes the movie Frozen they will love this photo op! We also enjoyed walking around, playing in the snow while we waited for our turn to go into the castle. Stillwater has always been a favorite town to visit, even though it is a bit of a drive for us. If you are looking for a winter activity to do with your family outside, I would definitely recommend visiting still water while the ice castle is still there. Hopefully it doesn’t melt soon as the weather has been so nice lately!

Yet another fun outing, thanks for taking the time to read my blog and looking through my images. Be sure to circle through all of the other Minnesota adventures, next up is Jo Davis.

Posted in blog circle, Fun

The Minnesota Project | December – Tubing

Jan

2017

by cbayless_blog |

I was recently invited to join a blog circle called The Minnesota Project. I love the idea of getting out and exploring my own state, and photographing my adventures to share with others. As a Minnesotan you either hate or love winter. Although fall is my favorite season, I do love winters… so long as the windchill isn’t crazy cold, I like getting outside when I can.

Recently my sister and her family came home from Hawaii to visit for Christmas. Her boys wanted to enjoy the snow while they were here, and that is exactly what we did. We went to Three Rivers Park at Elm Creek in Maple Grove, MN to go snow tubing. It was such a blast! The kids had such a great time and were quite exhausted by the end of our two hour run.

I’ve seen others post pictures and say how much fun it was, and yet still this was our first time snow tubing. I will say be prepared to wait as it was very busy, we waited about an hour before we could even get in line to pay. But as soon as we got on the hill, we found out it was definitely worth the wait. They also had a trail for cross-country skiing and a small hill for beginner-level downhill skiing/snowboarding. This is for sure something we will be doing again!

Well I look forward to my next outing, thanks for taking the time to read my blog and looking through my images. Be sure to circle through all of the other Minnesota adventures, next up is Emily Ockwig.

Posted in blog circle, explore mn, mn adventures, the minnesota project Tagged blog circle, explore mn, mn adventures, the minnesota project |

A New Chapter | Zimmerman MN Child Photographer

Dec

2016

by cbayless_blog |

Christmas has ended, a New Year approaches and this little girl is turning one! If you have children, you know how fast your baby grows in the first year. As the first year comes to an end a new chapter begins, learning and discovering new things as she explores with her new mobility. Walking, talking is just the beginning!

It is always fun to do a session for a past client, especially one that was a newborn. I love being able to see how much they have grown, changed in looks and their personalities are more prominent. Go back in time to see this little cutie’s newborn session!

Posted in baby, Children, Lifestyle, milestone, Portrait

Little Boy Blue | Coon Rapids MN Newborn Photographer

Apr

2016

by cbayless_blog |

We did this newborn session as a take two, being that this little guy wasn’t quite up for it the first time around. He endured quite a bit the first couple of weeks and it is always my first concern that baby is comfortable and well. So if needed I am willing to reschedule and hold off until baby is well enough.

For the little bit he actually slept, he gave me enough time to capture some adorable portraits. And as he woke between little naps he would peer at me with those captivating eyes!

Enjoy!