For the 2nd weekend in a row, the city of Minneapolis lit up in Purple to show their support for the Minnesota Vikings. I love purple, I love this beautiful city, and I love the Minnesota Vikings. Ad in that it was about 40-degrees warmer on this weekend than it was the previous purple weekend, and I was also a happy photographer!

I started this weekend at the same place I started the previous weekend, at the Lowry Bridge. This time, the proper purple color was on, instead of the standard and beautiful blue. The issue with getting a great photo of it was two-fold. It is winter, so the Mississippi was frozen, which eliminates the reflections in the river that make photographing this bridge something special. The other issue was the colors on the bridge were moving. There were purple and yellow colors dancing around the arch of the bridge. It was really cool to watch, but also really tough to photograph. I also did something that very much straddles the line between bravery and stupidity. With the Mississippi River being mostly frozen over, I had figured I could stand out on the river a little bit and get a better angle of the skyline. However, as I arrived at the preferred photo spot, I noticed a spot much further out into the river. It was a spot where some other photographers had gone earlier in the evening. So, I went out to their spot. If I had stayed closer to shore, and broke through the ice, it might have been knee deep, at the most. Where I was standing now, if I broke through the ice, I could easily be submerged in a moving river, which never ends well. But, I took that chance as the previous photographers had done, and got the shot. 

After getting the shot at the Lowry Bridge, I again went back to where I could be under the 35W bridge. I thought I could do a much better job from down there than I had done the previous week. I will blame the below-zero temps for that one. I didn't check everything as I should. This time, with the much better weather, I had the time and wherewithal to make sure everything was set up correctly and I ended up with a much better photo, don't you think? Did you see the one from last week? It was good, but not the shot I wanted in the long run.

My next stop was once again, the old railroad bridge that is now a pedestrian and bike bridge that spans the Mississippi River. For the same reasons as above, I did get a good shot from this spot the previous week, but I wanted and knew I could do better. And from this photo here, you can see that it is a much better photo.

For my final stop, I went to a different location this time. I went a little bit south of downtown Minneapolis. There is a pedestrian and bike bridge that spans Interstate 35W that gives a fantastic view of the city skyline with multiple freeways zig-zagging below. There is a constant battle between the photographers of this area, and the city on this bridge. The bridge uses a chain-link fence to completely enclose the bridge, which keeps people from throwing things onto the freeway. Well, the photographers simply cut holes in the fence so they can get a clear shot of the skyline. The city returns and patches the holes, and the photographers re-cut them. This has been going on for decades. The last time I had been to this bridge was back in 2013, nearly 5-years ago! I think, in the back of my mind, I kept thinking I had already been there so I do not need to go back. But as I was thinking about my route for this weekends Purple Minneapolis tour, I realized something. When I go to Walt Disney World, I will take hundreds of photos of Cinderella's Castle on every trip. And I do this because I know each one can be different, even if I had shot it before. I had a "what the heck was I thinking" moment when I realized that it is totally ok to keep going back to the same spots. So, back to the pedestrian bridge on I-35 is where I went.  

 As I was getting the above photo ready to post, I had a crazy idea. I looked at the red taillights in the photo and thought the photo could use some more purple. So I turned those red taillights to a vibrant shade of purple. I hope you enjoy it!

All of these photos are available for purchase in a variety of sizes and media types. There are multiple types of paper to chose from, as well as canvas wraps, metal prints, and acrylic prints too. Check out my Minneapolis Gallery to see all of my Minneapolis artwork for sale. 

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5 Scenic Places to View and Photograph the Minneapolis Skyline From

When Minneapolis Lights Up in Purple, I Take Photographs

A Reflection of Minneapolis

November Has Never Been So Beautiful in Minneapolis

The Vikings Stadium Lit Up in Packers Colors

The Minneapolis Photo That Waited Five Years for Me to Make

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