Other stories in "Learning vacations"

• Whitewater 101
  In northeast Wisconsin, novice kayakers learn moves at a resort that refuses to die.
• Classroom in the Clearing
  In a tranquil Door County forest, students gather to reflect and learn.
• Now they're cooking
  For weekenders, rubbing elbows with a real chef is better than TV.
• Slinging cement in Mineral Point
  In a historic Wisconsin village, students follow some dusty footprints.
• Schools of know-how
  In resort areas, many people go home from vacation with a new skill.
• Curiosity camp
  With fun day trips, the University of Minnesota finds a cure for "vacation-deficit disorder."
• Living in a lighthouse
  The first keepers were ready to assist and rescue. Now, volunteers are returning the favor.

Minnesota road trip

Photography students have camera, will travel.

When a swarm of photographers from the city descended on the Red River Valley of Minnesota in the summer of 2005, everyone was in for a surprise.

The photographers, eight students led by two professionals, were surprised by the area's beauty. The locals were surprised the photographers were there at all.

On a deserted county road near St. Hilaire, the two worlds collided. As the students set up their equipment in a field to shoot the sunset, they noticed traffic picking up.

"All of a sudden, here come the sheriff and the town cop," said John Gregor of Coldsnap Photography. "It seemed like half the town turned out while we were in that field. They were checking us out."

The townspeople didn't comment, Gregor said.

"Oh, they were far too reserved to do that. They just slowed down and eyeballed us really well. But the sheriff said, 'You know, sometimes we get pretty callous about where we live. It's pretty country here.' And I said, 'Yes, it is.'"

The prairie around St. Hilaire, Dilworth, Syre and Warren isn't exactly a hot spot of tourism. But it had its day in the spotlight when Gregor's Minnesota Roadtrip crew came to town.

Since 1995, Gregor and Minneapolis photographer Randy Hagar have been teaching workshops, often out of the Coldsnap studio on the scenic North Shore. But for their first Minnesota Roadtrip, a five-day workshop on wheels, Gregor chose to head for the northwest corner of the state, which he'd gotten to know while photographing scientific and natural areas for the Department of Natural Resources.

"You don't have to go to far-flung places around the Earth to capture exoticism," Gregor said. "You can find it right here in Minnesota."

Near Thief River Falls, the photographers rose at 4:30 a.m. to shoot a rosy sunrise over Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge. Near Moorhead, they shot wildflowers at Felton Prairie Scientific and Natural Area. When they spotted a picturesque country church, a distinctive black-and-white silo and an abandoned grain elevator in the middle of a sugar-beet field, they stopped and shot it.

They tried to capture the vastness of the prairie itself. But that proved difficult.

For the post-trip show, Jane DeGross of Bloomington chose a picture of goat's beard she took at Agassiz, following Gregor's advice to "pick out something small."

"I got overwhelmed by the expanse of prairie, and when I get overwhelmed, I have to look down at my feet," she said. "So when I looked down, this is what I saw."

The prospect of photographing people was even more intimidating to the students, despite pre-trip coaching. "I've taken a lot of workshops from these guys, and now they're trying to teach me social skills," joked Gary Miner of New Brighton, who said the trip was like going to "summer camp — Camp Wannashoot."

But when they hit Warren for the Marshall County Fair, which Gregor chose for its photogenic grounds, the shy students found themselves in photo heaven.

They flocked to the ATV mud run, where local teens were piloting machines through plumes of muck, and to the stock-car races. "I learned to pan with cars blowing by me at 120 mph," Miner said. "And 2½ rolls of film later, I got one good one."

They found many adorable children, including Chelsea, who wore a Stetson and a star-studded cowboy shirt: "When I saw her all dressed up in this garb, I thought, 'Oh, boy,'" said Carol Madison of Columbia Heights.

At the pedal-tractor pull, David Perez of Northfield found a little girl with flags tucked into her pigtails. At the 4-H exhibits, Gregor shot portraits of a boy with his blue-ribbon pig and four girls with the ducks they'd raised. Sandy Ryan of Chanhassen shot a portrait of 16-year-old Nicole Dietz and her horse, Sabotage, named because, when it belonged to a rival, it used to play tricks on Nicole and her horse.

Madison and Jean McDonough of Fridley spent hours with the friendly women manning the lefse stand, and at the Historical Society dance, McDonough photographed a smiling man propped between two partners: "This old man, he could hardly stand by himself, but he had rhythm," she said.

After the trip, the 10 photographers picked out their favorite images, made large prints and donated them to the Marshall County Historical Society. The photos tell an engaging story of small-town America — a story in which the photographers took part.

"It was kind of exciting for everybody," says Howard Person, extension agent for Marshall County. "These folks came in with their exotic cameras, nothing like the local newspaper has, and they're snapping photos all over the place. It was kind of a treat for us."

Sandy Ryan, who came on the road trip with her daughter, Kelly, said she loved getting to know the places and people they encountered.

"It was a true Minnesota experience," she said, "just like the guys promised us."

Information

About 8,000 images were shot during Minnesota Roadtrip! Six of the photographers used film and four shot digital images. They visited six towns, three state natural areas, a Nature Conservancy preserve and a national wildlife refuge.

A Minnesota Roadtrip! now is held every summer. Lodgings are in modest motels.  For details, call 1-218-384-0756, www.coldsnap.com.

Last updated on October 22, 2008