Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

About photography & more Rice County farm show images September 5, 2025

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Wagons heaped with harvested oats provide an interesting backdrop for the approaching horse-drawn wagon at the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

PHOTOS TELL STORIES, record moments in time, preserve memories, prompt emotional reactions, convey messages and more.

The first picture I took at the farm show, just outside the entry gate. I love the creativity and humor in this scene. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

My venture into photography began when I studied journalism in college with a photography class as part of the degree requirement. This was back in the day of film and darkrooms. Chemicals, water baths and contact sheets were part of a long process to get from photo snapped to photo printed.

I love capturing moments like this of someone so focused on a task that they are unaware of my presence. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

During my twenties working as a small town newspaper reporter, I honed the craft of photography. I juggled interviews and note taking with shooting photos. Today’s reporters do the same unless they are employed by a metro newspaper with a staff photographer.

I opted to zoom in on this mammoth steam engine, focusing on the steam and wheels, emphasizing the power of this long ago agricultural work horse. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

After a while, I got comfortable with the camera, confident in my abilities to shoot images to accompany hard news, features and other stories. Practice may not make perfect, but it certainly builds skills.

I was sitting on the ground underneath a tree eating lunch when I aimed my camera lens up and took this photo of a guy driving this 1955 Oliver Super 66. The perspective makes this photo. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

I’ve grown to love photography through the years, especially after acquiring a digital camera while freelancing for a Minnesota magazine. Digital unleashed the photo creative in me. I no longer had to worry about the cost of film or running out of film. So I took a lot more photos, tried new perspectives, began to see the world through an artistic lens. More often than not, I find myself thinking, oh, that would make a good photo.

I didn’t even realize I’d captured this joyful moment until I uploaded my photos to the computer. I’d been firing off shots of the kids’ pedal tractor pull and this one, among all, is my favorite. It shows a moment of pure happiness. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

But vision issues are now affecting and limiting my photography. My eyes are misaligned, meaning my brain works hard (even with prism-heavy prescription eyeglasses) to see. It’s exhausting. I do my best. Yet it’s challenging sometimes to tell if an image is sharp. I can feel the strain on my eyes when I use my camera for an extended time and when I process images on my computer.

I stood in the doorway of the dining room to photograph these women visiting in the kitchen of the 1912 farmhouse where homemade cookies awaited guests. I like how the doorframe frames this photo, as if the viewer is eavesdropping on a private conversation. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

Still, I persist. Until I either have another bilateral strabismus eye surgery or try a different (and expensive) prescription, this is the way it is. At least I can see. I manage. I can still create with my 35mm Canon EOS 60D.

During the tractor parade, I noticed these sweet kids riding in a wagon behind an old corn picker mounted on a John Deere tractor. I like the perspective and that part of the corn picker shows in the upper left corner of this photo. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

Last Saturday I did the longest photo shoot I’ve done in several years. I took hundreds of images during six hours at the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show. It’s a fun event to document with so much happening and so many people attending. I don’t want to stop doing what I love.

This close-up image of corn shelling shows exactly what I had hoped: the dust. I sometimes zoom in to focus on a smaller part of the broader picture. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

My biggest challenges in covering the event came in dodging golf carts that swarmed the grounds and in avoiding dust from some of the farming demonstrations. Cameras and dirt are not friends. I also always had to be cognizant of unintentional photo bombing by people and those pesky (but necessary for some to get around) golf carts.

This photo shows off not only tractors, but human connection as the driver waves to the crowd during the tractor parade. I love this moment of humanity when nothing else matters. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

I’ve already shared many show photos with you in an overall post about the event and in a second focusing on art. Today I bring you a hodge-podge of more favorites, with an explanation in the captions of why I like the images. Enjoy!

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The art of a southern Minnesota farm show & rural flea market September 4, 2025

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Vintage posters displayed from the early years of the current Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show, before the name and location changed. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

ART EXISTS EVERYWHERE, even at a farm-themed event. My photos from the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show last Saturday in rural Dundas prove that. As a creative, I view life through an artistic lens. So I’m naturally drawn to photograph items that others may not necessarily see as art.

I see tractor emblems, including this one on a vintage Ford, as works of art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

In this photo essay, you’ll view a sampling of the “art” I discovered. I found art on vintage tractors, on clothing, at the flea market, especially at the flea market, and beyond.

Two brass sculptures offered by a vendor. They are not solid brass, so not as heavy as they appear. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

Let’s start there, among market vendors selling a variety of goods ranging from toy tractors to glassware to home décor and everything in between. The art that drew my deepest interest—two massive brass sculptures of African men—sat on a flatbed trailer. They were nothing short of spectacular. Such grace. Such power in their muscular arms and legs. Truly, truly stunning. Seller Daniel Bell of Faribault, who calls himself a picker, found the matching pair in Iowa. The sculptures once supported tabletops, now missing. He’s priced each at $575. I can connect you with Dan if you’re interested.

Vintage tray art from the 1950s. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

Almost as interesting, and certainly thought-provoking in 2025, is a 1950s image of children dressed in western attire and brandishing pistols. When I reflect on that scene printed on a tray, I remember how I, too, owned a toy cap gun and played “Cowboys and Indians.” That all seems so terribly wrong now when viewing this as an adult in a world riddled by gun violence. I’m thankful for changed attitudes and perspectives about our Indigenous Peoples and about toy guns.

A Jolly Green Giant themed plastic mug. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

I spotted art on a plastic coffee mug from Minnesota Valley Canning Company featuring the Green Giant brand of GREAT BIG TENDER PEAS. The back side of the mug is imprinted with the story of the Jolly Green Giant. I should have purchased the cup, which belonged to the father of the flea market vendor. He worked at the canning company in Le Sueur until its 1995 closure. This mug is more than a mug. It’s a collectible piece of regional literary and visual art.

The artsy cover of the 1984 Northfield Arts Guild commemorative cookbook. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

And then I found art on the cover and inside the Northfield Arts Guild’s 25th anniversary cookbook from 1984. Not unexpected, it features the art of rural Northfielder Fred Somers, whose work I admire.

A damaged work of art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

At another vendor, I spotted a bullet-riddled cow weather vane, a form of functional rural art. And apparently a shooting target, too. I saw a horse weather vane inside a showgrounds building.

Pop art in my eyes. The vendor saw the lips as otherwise, as a bill holder. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

And then there were the duck decoys, the red plastic lips and the jar full of colored plastic clothespins, all viewed as art by me.

The leather goods vendor paints while manning his stand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

I even saw a vendor painting, freshening up the words “C’MON MAN!” on his van. He was selling mostly leather belts, an inventory purchased when a leather goods shop closed.

Show buttons on a straw hat and even a keychain are forms of art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
Creative arts of yesteryear shown inside the old farmhouse. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

Elsewhere around the showgrounds, art exists also. I discovered it on commemorative buttons, stickers and signs. Inside the 1912 farmhouse a vintage sewing machine and fabric scraps highlighted the creative arts.

Brand loyalty in fashion. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

I even found fashion art—in a John Deere/Hawaiian shirt worn by a John Deere tractor owner.

Among the art displayed inside the old Waterford School and then community center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

Art (prints and photos) graces a wall of the Waterford Community Center, once a one-room school, moved onto the Steam & Gas Engines showgrounds and opened to the public this year.

The culinary arts in pies crafted by the Amish. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

And then there are the culinary arts as perfected by an Amish family selling handheld fruit pastries and pies plus homemade ice cream crafted on-site as attendees watched. They are new-to-the-show vendors. The peach pastry and ice cream, oh, my, so delicious. They sold out of pies and handhelds.

I see this collage of farm show stickers as art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

This may be a show themed to farming of yesteryear. But, as I discovered, art also abounds. Sometimes you just have to look through an artistic lens to see it.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Rice County Steam & Gas Engines fall show honors farming of yesteryear September 3, 2025

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Hundreds of tractors in all makes and models lined the showgrounds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

SIX HOURS OF ENDLESS WALKING, many conversations, one shared handheld peach pastry, a small taco, several bites of a burger and fries, one molasses cookie, a couple swallows of soda, one shared dish of Amish-made ice cream and hundreds of photos later, I left the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show on August 30 exhausted. In a good way.

Plowing with horses. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
There were lots of steam engines at this year’s show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
Tractors provide the power to shell corn. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

This event held at the showgrounds in rural Dundas over Labor Day weekend saw ideal weather and record crowds during the 50th anniversary celebration focused on “preserving a bit of yesterday for tomorrow.” That’s exactly what this organization accomplishes. From horse power to steam power to gas power, the early days and evolution of farming are on display in living history demonstrations. Rows and rows of vintage tractors and other agricultural equipment and on-site old buildings also showcase history.

This could be one of my brothers back in the day driving tractor. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

I love everything about this show as it takes me back to my rural roots, reconnects me with the land and reminds me of the importance farming had, and still has, in Minnesota.

Two generations work at shelling corn, one by machine, the other by hand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
Horse-drawn wagon rides by Tom Duban, rural Faribault, transport attendees around the showgrounds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
Tossing oats into the thresher is labor intensive. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

I love, too, the passion I see here in tractor collectors and in those operating massive steam engines, guiding horses, shoveling and shelling corn, pitching and threshing oats, sawing wood, making ropes, creating commemorative wooden shingles, stitching leather, pounding hot metal, and much much more.

The barrel train passes the threshing area as it winds through the showgrounds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
There are several vintage merry-go-rounds at the site and kids love them. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
One of several contestants I watched at the kids’ pedal tractor pull. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

I also love people-watching, seeing young and old alike immerse themselves in the past. This truly is a family event for all ages with hands-on activities for the kids and lots of reminiscing for those of us who grew up on farms. I watched kids spin on old-fashioned merry-go-rounds, grind corn, toss basketballs into hoops inside a grain wagon, pedal with all their might in a competitive kids’ pedal tractor pull, ride in an old-fashioned barrel train and on a mini train, steer tractors…

The event included music and dancing in the music hall, where a beer garden is also located. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

A flea market, music, food…they, too, are part of this well-organized show. It takes a lot of volunteers, a lot of work and dedication, a lot of time and commitment to pull this off.

Transported from the Rice County Historical Society in Faribault, this 1916 Case steam engine sparked the interest leading to the first show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

This organization has grown this event, which began with a threshing demonstration in Faribault in 1974, sparking formation of the Rice County Steam Association and the first show near Warsaw in 1975. The 1916 50 hp Case steam engine that started it all 50 years ago was pulled out of storage at the Rice County Historical Society Museum for display at the 2025 show.

This young boy is focused and determined as he drives a John Deere during the tractor parade. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
Three on board a Case for the tractor parade. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)
I love the look of joy, admiration and contentment on this young boy’s face as he rides a John Deere in the parade. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

Everywhere I walked, everywhere I looked, I saw smiles. I saw, too, an inter-generational connection over a shared love of tractors, farming of yesteryear, the rural way of life.

The lengthy parade of hundreds of tractors began at noon daily. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

In the noise of roaring farm machinery, in the belch of steam from massive steam engines, in the dust flying from shelling corn and threshing oats, in the clop of horses’ hooves, even in the scent of horse manure, I observed and experienced rural life as it once existed. Labor intensive. Dangerous. Family-centered. But at it’s core still the same. Valued. Honored. Truly a way of life rooted in the land and cherished by those who live upon and tend it.

Allis Chalmers guy. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

PLEASE CHECK BACK for more posts about this show.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A boy by the lake with a shovel August 27, 2025

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Isaac on the beach at Horseshoe Lake, rural Merrifield, Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

SOMETIMES A PHOTO isn’t perfect. And this one certainly isn’t, at least not technically. The image of my 6-year-old grandson is not sharp. And that’s because I was sitting a beach away, zooming in with my cellphone camera.

My 35 mm Canon was inside the cabin. I knew I would either have to shoot with my phone or miss the moment. I opted to click the white circle on my Android.

Why do I love this photo, despite its technical flaws? I love the moment in time I’ve captured of my young grandson. Isaac was busy digging in the sand at lake’s edge when he paused. I don’t recall the reason he stopped shoveling. And that in itself holds appeal as those who view the image can imagine what Isaac is seeing to his left.

I remember the set up of this scene, though. Randy and I were on lakeside grandparent watch while Isaac’s parents headed into Nisswa for coffee. We were all vacationing together at a family member’s Horseshoe Lake cabin in north central Minnesota. Isaac’s older sister was inside the cabin reading.

The day was cold with a strong wind churning the water. Not a day for swimming or for sunbathing. But, for Isaac, it was still a good day for digging in the sand. He kept venturing closer and closer to the lake, water lapping at his pant legs. I asked Randy to roll up Isaac’s pants.

There’s something about a boy by the water, pants legs rolled up, shovel in hand that speaks to carefree days of summer, to youthfulness and to simple child’s play in the great outdoors. I love seeing kids playing outside, away from video games and electronics. I’m all for handing a child a stick (or a shovel) to encourage creative play.

I love this photo also because it tells a story in a simple and uncomplicated scene of water, sand, shovel and boy. Photography, for me, is often about storytelling.

I like the composition of this photo, too, with Isaac off-center, the sand pile on the right side of the frame. And then the wavy lake seemingly takes on a personality of its own like a threatening intruder. But Isaac didn’t let the moody lake, the cold day or the strong wind deter him from his work.

As with any photo, lighting ranks high. I like the lighting in this image. I like the simplicity of the photo.

Even though not technically perfect, this photo holds what’s most important to me—love. Do you see it?

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

An eye for eagles July 22, 2025

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The bald eagle I saw nearby within hours of arriving at a central Minnesota lake cabin. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2025)

LAST SUMMER, LOON sightings proved common at a family member’s lake cabin south of Crosslake in north central Minnesota. This summer, not so much. While Randy and I heard the haunting call of loons during a recent stay, we only saw them twice—once a threesome swimming near shore and then two flying westward before a thunderstorm rolled in.

But bald eagle sightings more than made up for the absence of loons. We’d been at the cabin only hours when one swooped onto the top of a towering pine near the patio where we were enjoying late afternoon drinks with my sister-in-law. Randy pulled out his cellphone to snap a few photos. I stayed put since my 35 mm camera was back at the cabin. I reasoned that, by the time I walked to the cabin and back, the eagle would have flown away. That’s my usual luck.

And so we continued to chat and catch up on family news, the eagle all the while perched atop the tree like some silent eavesdropper. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer. I headed to the cabin for my Canon, cautiously optimistic that the eagle would still be in the tree upon my return. It was.

Wings spread wide, the bald eagle lifts off from the treetop. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2025)

I moved slowly away from the patio, pine tree and eagle in view, aimed my telephoto lens skyward and snapped a single frame before the eagle lifted off. I can only surmise that my camera lens appeared threatening to the observant bird with exceptional vision. An eagle can see an animal the size of a rabbit running from three miles away, according to the Wabasha-based National Eagle Center.

Nine minutes later, that same eagle was back, but in a different pine near the lake and on the other side of the patio. Once again, I managed one photo before the majestic bird took flight.

Two symbols of America: the flag and a bald eagle. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2025)

I never tire of seeing eagles, whether flying or statue still. They are truly majestic. Regal. Commanding respect. And they are our national bird, a designation officially signed into law on December 23, 2024.

Throughout our week-long cabin stay, I observed bald eagles flying above Horseshoe Lake multiple times. Sometimes high above the water. Other times descending toward the surface, fishing for fish. I hoped I would see a fish grasped in eagle talons. I didn’t. Nor did I see the eagles any closer than that first afternoon at the lake.

On the drive back to Faribault, Randy and I spotted many eagles soaring above the land, especially around Mille Lacs Lake. I couldn’t help but think of the eagle’s spiritual and cultural importance among Native Americans. Strength. Courage. Wisdom. All are equated with eagles.

A bald eagle flies over Horseshoe Lake in the Brainerd lakes area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2025)

This wondrous national bird is so common now that I’m no longer surprised when I see one flying in and around Faribault or elsewhere in Rice County or in Minnesota. Yet, despite frequent sightings, I never tire of seeing a bald eagle. There’s something about this bird with an average wingspan of 6-7 ½ feet, piercing eyes and curved beak that makes me pause, take notice and appreciate their fierce, unyielding strength and beauty.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Focusing on folk dancers at Czech May Day in Montgomery May 7, 2025

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Multiple ages perform traditional Czech and Slovak folk dances in traditional costumes. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

WHENEVER I PHOTOGRAPH an event, a place, a whatever, I use my camera to tell a story. And that means framing not only overall scenes, but also focusing close-ups. It means, too, that I am conscious of moments which convey emotions, feelings, all part of the story.

A sweet face conveys serenity during a folk dance. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

The Czech May Day celebration in Montgomery, a small southern Minnesota town, offered an ideal opportunity to create a visual story celebrating the community’s Czech heritage. That event centered on music, dance and traditional costumes.

Colorful traditional Czech attire created a festive scene. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

This was, in many ways, a photographer’s playground. And, by that I mean simply a heckuva lot of fun to photograph with endless photo ops. Colorful, detailed attire and constant movement had me clicking the shutter button of my Canon camera as a story unfolded before my eyes.

My favorite photo from Czech May Day. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Yet, it was the quiet moments, too, which caught my eye. When a young dancer stepped away from the circle of dancers so her mom, seated next to me, could re-tie the ribbon around her neck, I aimed my camera lens upward and caught the tender moment. It was sweet and loving and profoundly endearing. To be witness to that felt like a gift. It is my favorite photo from Czech May Day.

I observed many women holding the hands of girls before, during and after dances. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Likewise, as I zoomed in on the hands of dancers, I saw a woman’s hand clasping a child’s hand. That, too, speaks of tenderness, love, care and mentoring. We’ve all experienced the protection and guidance of a reassuring hand. This photo shows a truly relatable human moment.

The colors of the Czech and Slovak flags are reflected in these traditional dresses. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Full skirts flared during the dances. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
So many beautiful Czech dresses… (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

As I watched the multi-aged dancers, I was taken by their colorful attire, by detailed embroidery, eyelet lace, aprons tied around waists, crisscrossed lacing, vests, flying ribbons and patterns and floral wreaths. It was like looking through an ever-changing kaleidoscope via my camera lens.

This young boy was among the few males who were part of the folk dancers. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

When I caught a young boy with outstretched arm in a circle of dancers, I caught more than that choreographed movement. I also captured his concentration, his sense of pride in being part of a celebration honoring his heritage.

This woman portrays confidence and strength of character in my eyes. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

And when I photographed an emcee in her traditional dress, I saw grace and strength, not just a portrait.

May Day attendees could try on traditional Czech attire at this photo cut-out and a second one. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

The St. Paul Czech and Slovak Folk Dancers and Sokol Children Dancers are only one part of my visual storytelling of Czech May Day in Montgomery. On Tuesday I shared the overall story in images and words. Today I focus on those traditional dancers, on their dress and movement and those stand-alone moments when they connected individually. And with me.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Drawn to the Cannon River on an April afternoon in Northfield April 15, 2025

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The Cannon River spills over the dam by the historic Ames Mill. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

WE COME TO THE RIVER. The Cannon River, spilling over the dam by the Ames Mill. Roaring. Churning. Then flowing under the bridge and between the walls of the Riverwalk in downtown Northfield.

Enjoying beverages and time together beside the Cannon River in Bridge Square. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

We come here on a Sunday afternoon, on an April day of temps pushing into the sixties, the sun beaming warmth upon us, upon the land, upon the river. To sit. To walk. To lean toward the river. To simply be outdoors on an exceptionally lovely spring day in southern Minnesota.

The mood feels anticipatory, joyful, as we walk ourselves, and some their dogs, along the riverside path.

Historic buildings hug the Cannon River (and Division Street) in Northfield’s quaint downtown. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

I come with my Canon camera in hand. An observer. An appreciator of the sun, the sky, the warmth, the river, the historic buildings, the people and activities happening around me. In some ways, the scene seems Norman Rockwell-ish, Busy, yet tranquil. A slice of small town Americana. Everyday people enjoying each other, nature, the outdoors. Life.

Fishing by the Ames Mill dam. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

Many carry fishing poles, tackle boxes, containers of bait. Anglers press against the riverside railing, dropping lines into the water far below.

Caught in the Cannon, a sucker fish. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

I watch as a young man pulls in an unidentifiable-to-me fish (later identified as a white sucker by my husband). His friend snaps a photo of the proud angler and his first catch of the day.

The top section of the Riverwalk Poetry Steps. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

After hanging around the river by Bridge Square for a bit, I descend the colorful Riverwalk Poetry Steps, a river poem crafted by a collaboration of 17 poets. We come to the river starry-eyed/across bridges reaching out to neighbors/over the river’s rushing waters…

Following the Riverwalk to find a fishing spot along the Cannon River. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

I trail behind a couple, a family, a dog, another family, all of us connected by the water, by this place, on this spring day. I’m the only one to pause and read the poetry.

A family fishes the Cannon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

Atop the river wall, young women sit, sans shoes, while they fish. We all watch the river flow. Bobbers bob. A pair of ducks—one pure white—flies low, skimming the water before landing upon the surface of the Cannon.

“Lady Cannon,” a riverside mural by Maya Kenney and Raquel Santamaria. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

Across the river, Lady Cannon watches. Fish swim in her tangled waves of locks, flowing like water down steps toward the river. She is the art of the Cannon.

On the pedestrian bridge looking toward the Cannon and the Ames Mill, right in the distance. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

I see art, too, in a railing shadowed upon the pedestrian bridge. I linger, mesmerized by the moving water, the riverside historic flour mill a block away.

There’s so much to take in here. So much that connects us. The sun, the sky, the land. And the river that flows beside and below us.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A tribute to internationally-known Minnesota wildlife photographer Jim Brandenburg April 8, 2025

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A bison photo by Jim Brandenburg hangs to the left and the photographer talks about his work in a video, right, inside the Brandenburg Gallery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2013)

IN MY EYES, he was Minnesota’s best-known photographer. Exceptionally talented. No one even comes close to matching the wildlife and nature photography of Jim Brandenburg. He died April 4 at the age of 79. Not only has Minnesota lost a creative icon, but so has the world. Brandenburg’s prolific work was featured in National Geographic Magazine, earning him the publication’s coveted Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. His award-winning photos were widely-published internationally. He also published numerous books featuring collections of his photos.

The entry to the Brandenburg Gallery, located in the Rock County Courthouse square. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2013)

But there is perhaps one lesser-known place where Brandenburg’s images can be found. And that’s in the Brandenburg Gallery inside the historic Rock County Courthouse in his hometown of Luverne. That’s in the extreme southwestern corner of Minnesota. The prairie. My prairie.

Light plays upon walls, floors and Brandenburg photos in a stairway display. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2013)

Eleven years ago I toured that gallery, studying and enjoying a sampling of Brandenburg’s images. Many in this collection are prairie-themed. Because I’m a photographer, I viewed his photos with a more focused perspective, noticing angles, light, background and all the components which come together in creating an outstanding image.

Some of Brandenburg’s photo books. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2013)

Every photographer understands that light is the very basic element to consider in shooting photos. Brandenburg challenged himself to take a single picture per day between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. The result is his collection of photos, Chased by the Light: A 90-Day Journey, a favorite of mine among his books.

Beautiful natural scenery on the prairie near Blue Mounds State Park. The part of the prairie where I grew up is not rocky like this and is a bit further north. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2013)

When I traveled to Luverne in 2013 to visit the Brandenburg Gallery and other attractions, including Blue Mounds State Park, I was returning to the wide open land and big skies of the prairie, the place that shaped me as a person, photographer and writer. The same can be said for Brandenburg. He loved the prairie and, in fact, established the Brandenburg Prairie Foundation aimed at southwest Minnesota native prairie education, preservation and expansion. His organization partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to purchase nearly 1,000 acres of untilled Rock County prairie, creating Touch the Sky Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge.

Those environmental efforts are revealing. Brandenburg cared deeply about the land, especially the prairie. After college, he returned to the prairie and worked as a picture editor at The Worthington Daily Globe. While there, he freelanced for National Geographic Magazine. And so his career developed until he became that homegrown photographer whose work so many worldwide grew to appreciate and love.

Wolf photos displayed in the Brandenberg Gallery. Brandenburg’s published books include Brother Wolf–A Forgotten Promise. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2013)

I admire photographers who excel in the craft. And Brandenburg certainly excels in wildlife photography, a specialized field that requires much more than understanding photo basics. Photographing wildlife requires incredible patience and knowledge of animals. I have neither. But when you look at a Brandenburg photo, it’s like you are right there up close with the subject. Perhaps a wolf—one of his favorite subjects. Or bison. You can see the deep respect Brandenburg holds for these creatures of the wild.

A familiar scene to me, autumn leaves photographed in the Big Woods of Minnesota, within 20 miles of my home and showcased in the Brandenburg Gallery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2013)

And then there’s landscape photography which, when done well, draws you into a scene and evokes an emotional response. Again, Brandenburg has this seemingly effortless ability to capture the essence of a place and connect it to his audience.

Minnesota has lost an incredibly gifted photographer. But Brandenburg’s legacy lives on in his work, a gift to all of us. And one place to find that is in the Brandenburg Gallery in Luverne. On my beloved prairie. On Brandenburg’s beloved prairie.

FYI: The Brandenburg Gallery, 213 E. Luverne St., is owned and operated by the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce. It’s open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. All photos featured in this post were taken with permission of the Brandenburg Gallery in 2013.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

From Minnesota & Harlem, photographing everyday life February 20, 2025

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I recently finished this book about slavery, freedom and abolition. A must-read. (Book cover sourced online)

DURING THIS, BLACK HISTORY MONTH, I’ve intentionally read books about slavery, Black people and the Black experience. It’s important to me that I widen my knowledge and understanding. Many of the stories are heartbreaking, almost unbelievable in the mental and physical cruelty inflicted upon Blacks. This is hard stuff to read. But it is in the hard stuff that we begin to fully comprehend the importance of empathy, kindness, compassion and the need to stand strong against that which is hateful, hurtful and oppressive.

(Book cover sourced online)

This week, though, I read a Black-focused book which inspired and uplifted me. It’s a children’s picture book, Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy Decarava. The book, written by Gary Golio and illustrated by E.B. Lewis, won the 2025 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award.

This book resonates with me personally and professionally in telling the story of 1940s world famous photographer Roy DeCarava, unknown to me until I read this book. Trained in the arts and in photography, he would go on to photograph everyday life in his native Harlem via work for the Works Progress Administration Project, fellowships and more. He worked as a photographer for major publications, has/had his photos featured in exhibits and art museums, became an art professor… And he was Black.

But what I love most about this story is that DeCarava aimed to photograph everyday life, everyday scenes, everyday people in the streets of Harlem. He shows life in raw reality. He worked back in the days of film, admittedly much more challenging than shooting with a digital camera. I started with film, too. You often get only one chance to take a photo. No firing off shots. No digital manipulation. Just a single, unedited print.

I took this portrait, one of my favorites, nearly 11 year ago at International Festival Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2014)

I will never match the talent of DeCarava. But I do share his focus. I also aim to photograph the ordinary, the everyday, right where I live (or mostly in southern Minnesota). Like him, I notice details. The light. The moments. The expressions. The people, scenes, settings and events that define a place. The anything that might make for an interesting photo.

Unlike DeCarava, my roots are rural. I’ve only ever been to New York City once, while in college. I was awed by the skyscrapers, the street vendors, Chinatown and men hurrying along Wall Street in leisure suits. (This was in 1977.) But I have no desire to return to a place that feels too closed in, too busy, too chaotic.

My photo of Jane chalking art on a Faribault sidewalk. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo August 2020)

Yet, Harlem in Upper Manhattan was DeCarava’s home, where he found the subjects of his photos. Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem gives a snapshot of the images this photographer snapped. A man on the subway. A boy drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Black and brown children dancing in water spraying from a fire hydrant.

Beyond the visuals, the story in this children’s picture book encompasses the essence of DeCarava’s photographic focus on the everyday and the ordinary. I really ought to buy a copy of this book for my personal library. If you want to understand my photographic work, then read this multi award-winning children’s picture book. But, more importantly, read this book to learn about a world famous Black photographer whose talent for visual storytelling is a gift to all of us. To see the world through his eyes presents life as it is. Real. Raw. Unedited.

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FYI: I encourage you to also check out the photography of New York City photographer Keith Goldstein, whose work I follow on his blog, “For Earth Below.” His street photography has opened my eyes to humanity in a way that I never see here in southern Minnesota. His talent is remarkable. Goldstein, I think, works much like Roy DeCarava did, with his camera focused on the everyday, the ordinary. And therein both have found the extraordinary.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

When a cold snap grips Minnesota February 18, 2025

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One of my favorite winter photos, of a farm site along Interstate 35 north of Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2019)

WE MINNESOTANS PRIDE ourselves on our winter hardiness. But this week is testing even the hardiest among us as temps drop into the double digit subzero range. Add the wind and it feels like -30 to -40 degrees outdoors. No wonder extreme cold warnings have been issued for our state. Exposed skin can freeze in minutes. No wonder schools are closing and shifting to e-learning.

A flowering tree, photographed in Faribault in spring. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo May 2024)

The bright sunshine fools no one. It’s an illusion of warmth. But the sunshine also reminds me that much warmer days are only months away, that winter isn’t forever, that we will get through this cold spell. We always do.

Photographed at the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour garden in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo August 2024)

But as I wait and (mostly) shelter indoors, I find myself drawn to floral photos I took during the spring and summer. Images which visually remind me that the snow will melt, the earth will thaw and warm, seeds will grow, flowers will flourish and these frigid days of winter will be only a memory.

Coneflowers, Rice County Master Gardeners’ Teaching Gardens, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo August 2024)

It’s a bit of a psychological endeavor, this convincing myself that spring will be here “before we know it.” Some days, especially during a cold snap, that seems almost laughable. I admit, my appreciation of winter has diminished as I’ve aged. I’m not alone in feeling that way among my Baby Boomer friends, which is likely the reason many flee to warmer climates for a week, or even months, during winter. I say good for them if that’s a feasible option. It’s not for me.

Dreaming of summer days at Horseshoe Lake in the central Minnesota lakes region. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo July 2023)

So I find ways to cope. Read more. Write more. Walk indoors at the mall instead of outside. And when I do go out, bundle up, clamp a stocking cap on my head without care that it flattens my hair. Eat dark chocolate. Drink tea. Cook soups and chili. Pull out my warmest sweater to layer over a tee and flannel shirt. Connect with friends more. Remember hot summer days Up North at the cabin.

Tulips, one of the first flowers of spring in Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo May 2020)

And never forget that the flowers will unfurl in the sunshine and warmth. Bold, beautiful, vibrant blooms. Lovely. Filling my soul and spirit in a poetically beautiful way that winter can’t.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling