Editorial

Best of Restaurants 2014 // MPLS St. Paul Magazine!

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The current issue of MPLS St Paul Magazine is on newsstands for just a couple more weeks and it is the Best of Restaurants 2014. I photographed many different locations for this feature and I am SO proud of the way it turned out. At each restaurant, we photographed various dishes, behind-the-scene moments in the kitchen and some fantastic looking cocktails that didn't make it in print. I wanted to take a moment to share some of these images with you! If you haven't checked out the full issue yet, it is absolutely gorgeous and there is still time to pick it up! In the meantime, here are some of my favorite unpublished photographs from this assignment!  

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Forrest Wozniak

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Forrest Wozniak is the shit. He's a sign painter, he is an artist and he also listens to mixed tapes. He's a badass dude who grew up in South Minneapolis and still lives and works out of his original neighborhood. In a way, Forrest is a bit of a Minneapolis institution. He's a hard worker and a true artist who has created more work around town than one might realize. I didn't know how much I would appreciate Forrest before I walked into his shop to photograph him for MPLS / St Paul Magazine's Best of Issue, where he was named Best Sign Painter in the city. I loved his space, I loved his energy and his message. I also really love these images and wanted to share more with you all! ForrestWozniakBlog0001 ForrestWozniakBlog0002 ForrestWozniakBlog0003 ForrestWozniakBlog0004 ForrestWozniakBlog0005 ForrestWozniakBlog0006 ForrestWozniakBlog0007 ForrestWozniakBlog0008 ForrestWozniakBlog0009 ForrestWozniakBlog0010 ForrestWozniakBlog001121

Milkweed Editions //

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The people of Milkweed Editions might just be some of the coolest people you have never known about. I was able to photograph them for the "Best of Twin Cities" issue for MPLS / St Paul Magazine. The company was voted 'Best Bookmaker' and their entire staff was pretty impressive. The more I researched this organization, I discovered that they are a little powerhouse in the literary world. As the writers described. " In a world overrun by teen-vampire books and marginally literate detective novels, Milkweed has flourished by, gasp!, catering to the tastes of people who like to read, who appreciate quality writing, and who have come to trust the press’s carefully curated sensibility of accessible intelligence." If you like to read, most definitely check out this amazing non-profit! Here are a few more of my favorites from our shoot, in addition to the images that ran in the article! MilkweedBlog0001 MilkweedBlog0002 MilkweedBlog0003 MilkweedBlog000421

Mpls / St Paul Magazine // Best of the Twin Cities!

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For the December issue of MPLS / St Paul Magazine, the feature story was 'Best of the Twin Cities'. I photographed some people, some places and some very special things for this article and in the coming days I will be sharing a breakdown of these shoots and some of the images that didn't make it in print. In the meantime, I wanted to share the complete layout with you all. Can we take a moment to recognize how awesome this layout is? Those letters? I have SO enjoyed collaborating with the team at MPLS / St Paul Magazine in the past few month, but more specifically, I have been incredibly inspired by the art and design director, Liz Gardner. With each coming issue that comes out, the design and layouts get even more visually interesting. I think it's simply the best to work with people who are forward thinking and push the limits. Liz and her team make me look good on these pages and for that, I thank you!

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MPLS / St Paul Magazine // Holiday Entertaining

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So, I'm a little late on this blog post, but the good news is that we're in the prime season for holiday entertaining, so this article is still relevant! For the November issue of MPLS / St Paul Magazine, I photographed the main feature, which is all about dining and entertaining for the holidays! For this shoot, we created four different tablescapes to inspire our readers! We were on location at Parlour, Butcher and the Boar, and some private homes to photograph these sets and it was a blast! Even though the issue is off of newsstands, check out the article online! pg 74-89.indd pg 74-89.indd pg 74-89.indd pg 74-89.indd pg 74-89.indd pg 74-89.indd pg 74-89.indd pg 74-89.indd2

Dessa // A Pound of Steam

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Dessa is a badass. She's the lady in town that every dude has a crush on and every girl does too. She's just one of those people that is that cool. In October, Dessa released her first book called  A Pound of Steam, published by the folks at Rain Taxi. We all know that Dessa can write. Her lyrics are some of the most brilliant I've read, so to venture into the world of poetry seems to be a natural transition for her. I was lucky enough to photograph Dessa for MPLS / St Paul Magazine and wanted to share a few more portraits than what ran in the issue. What I learned about Dessa in our short time together is that she is equal parts vulnerable and confident, outspoken and sweet, yet approachable. She is a talented beauty and voice that we are are so lucky to have here in our city.  And yes, she is that cool. Check out A Pound of Steam, Tour Dates and the full article with Dessa here! DESSA_EliesaJohnson_0001 DESSA_EliesaJohnson_0002 DESSA_EliesaJohnson_0003 DESSA_EliesaJohnson_0004 DESSA_EliesaJohnson_0005 DESSA_EliesaJohnson_0006 DESSA_EliesaJohnson_00072

MSP / St Paul Magazine // Satchel B. Moore

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With a name like Satchel B. Moore, how can you not be an interesting person in this town? For those of you who aren't familiar with Satchel, he is part of the team at Black Blue, a great shop in St. Paul. More than that, Satchel is crazy passionate about good, quality denim. I had the pleasure of photographing Satchel for MPLS / St Paul Magazine for the current issue and for this portrait, we were invited into Satchel's home. This dude really takes customer service to a whole other level. He cares so much about his clients that he personally hems their jeans in his home for them. I think that is pretty cool. Make sure to check out Satchel's full article in the October issue, which is on newsstands now. This space was soooooo cool that I just had to share a few more portraits that didn't run in print. Enjoy!  

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MPLS/St. Paul Magazine // The Beer Issue

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It's October and you know that that means - everyone is in the mood for a good brew. This month's issue of MPLS / St Paul Magazine is on newsstands now and I am SO proud to have been a big part of this issue. There are a few stories that I was invited to photograph, all that I will be sharing, but I wanted to start out with the big story - beer. This story took me to Fulton, 612 Brew, Indeed Brewing, Schells Brewing and even a stop to the Better Beer Society University. I have always loved the beer culture in our city, and it was great to learn even more about it! The story revolved around the sense of community that the tap rooms bring and is full of information!  

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Mpls St Paul Magazine // Burger Feature

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Sometimes I take an assignment that is totally out of left field, just to challenge myself. As we all know, I mostly concentrate on photographing people. Whether that be environmental portraits, fashion or ad campaigns - people are usually the main focus of the work I create. When MPLS St Paul Magazine approached me about photographing their burger feature for the August issue, I couldn't help but say yes. I'm a GIANT foodie at heart and it was a challenge I was happy to accept. There are overall 20 pages devoted to burgers in this issue and we had the pleasure of photographing 17 different restaurants for this article! I brought along some help for this shoot - our all-star-intern Melissa and our awesome-video-dude, Chris. Chris was our resident burger-eater when we needed someone to really dive in, but he also offered his talents for this sweet behind-the-scenes video! I also learned that I can shoot one mean burger...  

Burger// Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine from Chris Wegner on Vimeo.

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Twin Cities Business Magazine // Train Feature

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I love getting back to my documentary roots as a photographer and going on assignment. I've had a few gigs now with Twin Cities Business Magazine and this last story I photographed was awesome and I absolutely loved every last minute of it! The story brought me all the way out to Glencoe, MN to photograph the men on the railroad. My favorite subject was a man named Kenny. This is the only job he has ever had in his entire life and the quiet pride he has for this job is very telling when you meet him. Sometimes, we dream about 'making it' and 'following our passion' and it always seems to be doing something big and ambitious. For Kenny, his passion lies on this railroad, in this community and it's simple. Here are some out-takes that didn't make the spread, enjoy! TrainBlog0001 TrainBlog0002 TrainBlog0003 TrainBlog0004 TrainBlog0005 TrainBlog0006 TrainBlog0007 TrainBlog0008 TrainBlog00092