Isn't it funny how images can speak thousands of words.

The images I captured from the burn captured years of farming, life and memories going up in flames for many in the town of Cleveland, MN over the weekend.

Cleveland. Population 671. 

The elevator, when in full operation, supported many of those 671 residents of Cleveland. 

As times have changed the need for the elevator declined, so the piece of property became more valuable as bare land, not one with a defunct grain elevator on it. 

You couldn't help but see some sad smiles and tears in the eyes of an older generation as they stood and watched the burn. Many cameras came out to capture the destruction of the elevator. Many words of how bitter sweet it really is to see it go. Many people wondering what the town would look like without a landmark that people came to recognize while passing through on HWY 99. 

Cleveland. Population 671, now without one large and historical grain elevator. 

(Pictured above is a star, that was lit up on the elevator every Christmas for many years. It burned with the rest of the elevator on Saturday.)

Catching Up!

I did a couple family shoots this fall.

I had one gorgeous little baby girl. A beautiful mom and her 2 growing kids. And one of my favorite repeat customers for a on location shoot in Northfield! 

Here is a peek at what I did to catch everyone up!

What I did on my Saturday morning!

It has been forever since I've posted!! I apologize for my lack of postings! It has been a busy semester! 

This morning, I had the opportunity of being the photographer for Le Sueur County Emergency Management today at a training burn in Cleveland, MN.

Cleveland was home to the Sunderman's Elevator for many years, but after another elevator opened up in Le Center and the decline for the need of elevators, this one had minimum operation over the years. It started to become a hazard, so the Cleveland Fire Department decided to use it as a training burn. They invited other departments to participate such as Kilkenny, Eagle Lake, Waterville, Madison Lake, Eagle Lake, Le Center, Le Sueur, Kasota, St. Peter and Shakopee. 

What started out as pretty bitterly cold morning, quickly heated up once they started the elevator on fire.

People came from all over to watch the burn, and a little piece of history go down in flames.

My only regret from today- no one went and took the Chuckwagon sign down off of the elevator prior to burning it. It was a restaurant in Cleveland, MN and unfortunately the sign burned with the rest of the elevator. Too bad, it would have been a nice piece of nostalgia. 

(I will post more throughout the week as I continue to edit, but I had to quick share a few favorites from today.) 

New Templates

I downloaded 5 new templates for use in photo shop! Here is one of the ones I did for Tasha! (Please click on it to view full size. Its grainy because it was compressed for the blog. I was too lazy to resize it just for internet use!)
-Sara

Tasha Marie Merritt Class of 2012

2012? How did that happen? I graduated in 2008 so that means I've now been out of high school for 4 years. My age is starting to catch up with me ;) 

Tasha Merritt is one of my 2012 Seniors! We had a great photo shoot at a scout camp in Cannon Falls! Talk about a beautiful location full of fun areas for photos! I posted a few below for a sneak peak! :) 

-Sara 

Where did the past 6 months go?

My poor camera has sat in my closet for the past 6 months! College has kept me crazy busy!

I want to apologize for not updating this more frequently and getting some new shots up!

I have a few photo shoots scheduled: a family, senior, and child! So I will hopefully be able to get some up soon!! I have been crazy busy with school. I finished this year with a 3.7 so pretty decent! I am now in the process of working full time and taking 4 online classes! My blog has definitely been neglected! I have some awesome vacations planned so watch for some landscape and journalism photography to pop up too! 

I am busy planning my own wedding as well! But. I'm making a resolution to do 3 postings a month so you get an update! Thanks for following! :)

-Sara