Behind the Scenes: At the Cabooze
Coordinators :Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Jason S
Makeup: Yvette Rodriguez
Model: Kaytee
Guest Model : Rudy from 93X
This shoot took place at a common Minnesota club called the Cabooze. It is located in Minneapolis and is well known for live music. We had a lot of fun doing this shoot. We started out the shoot with Kaytee standing by one of the pool tables as Rudy (93X DJ) was in the background shooting some pool. We played around with some different poses here and then moved over to the bar to get some shots there. Kaytee was kneeling on the bar while Rudy was sitting at the bar with a drink in his hand. We shot this in the morning before there were actually people at The Cabooze other than a few of the workers. Then from there we moved over to shoot with the black brick wall with an Elvis picture in the background. These shots turned out really cool and kaytee was wearing a rocker looking outfit which we actually ended up using this shot for our January Cover page for our online magazine. We were just about finished with the shoot, but had one more place left that we all thought would be a good idea to capture, on top of the roof, with The Cabooze sign in the background. We all had to climb up a ladder and carry the equipment like the camera, lights, etc. It was a risk, but we managed to do it with out anyone getting hurt, just a little bit cold. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and since we were on top of the roof it only made the wind seem stronger. We got some really hot shots up there and it looked really good on the video. By the time we were done, we had a group of onlookers standing down below watching us finish up the shoot. We then climbed down the ladder and went inside warmed up and headed out!
Behind the Scenes: Christmas with Peter Parker
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Makeup: Nicole Fae
Model: Elizabeth
This shoot took place at photographer Julian Murray's studio. We were fortunate enough to get B96 Radio DJ, Peter Parker to join in on the shoot with Elizabeth. Since this shoot is for the month of December we decided to incorporate Christmas into the shoot. Peter Parker was wearing a Santa Outfit and Liz was wearing a very festive outfit along with a Santa hat for some of the shoots. We played around doing some shots with her on his lap, with just the two of them standing together, and then Elizabeth alone as well. Peter Parker and Liz both have amazing personalities so this shoot was filled with a lot of laughs and the video for the DVD is going to be something you will want to look for when it comes out! Peter Parker made a great Santa, and I think he definitely enjoyed having a gorgeous model like Elizabeth to shoot with.
Behind the Scenes: Lake Calhoun
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Jason Schumacher
Make-up: Nicole Fae
Model: Brianna
This shoot was an early one and the first we shot for the calendar. Mel was
given the job to pick up the vintage bike , I was supposed to get there early to oversee the makeup and make sure that everyone had good directions and
found their way to the location. I eventually got everyone there, directions are not a strong point of mine.
Nicole, our makeup artist, was the first one to arrive at Lake Calhoun.
Shortly after I arrived and proceeded to scope out different locations to
shoot. Lake Calhoun offers some of the greatest people and dog-watching
around. This time though, our model was the one to be watched! Brianna
looked gorgeous and her extensive experience in modeling made our first
shoot fabulously productive.
Julian started shooting different locations the first of which included a
view of the Minneapolis skyline. We used the vintage bicycle to represent
one of the most enjoyable pastimes at Lake Calhoun and Brianna had a fun
time trying to balance on the bicycle while managing to make the poses
look real! She did great. The last place we shot was on the beach next to a
Lifeguard stand. At this point it was mid-day and a group of 10-15 kids
took over the beach while we were shooting and we’re very interested in
what we were doing. If you look carefully you may be able to see them in
some of the photos!
Behind The Scenes: Iron Range
Model: Whitney Bensfield
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Make-up: Whitney
This shoot was a 3 ½ hour drive to just north of Grand Rapids Minnesota. We
shot at a few different locations in the Iron Range. The first spot that we shot at is a very well known spot to any one familiar with the iron range. It is a spot way
up high on the mine dumps where a lot of four wheeling is common. The spot is
called 7 cities. It gets is name because when you are up there you can see 7 of
the surrounding cities. It was very windy up there so the red iron dust was
blowing everywhere. We took the first set of pictures withsome props we had
gathered from various people. These props were things you would find in almost any iron rangers home. Things such as, a rustic looking shovel, steel toe boots, a hard hat,safety vest,and safety goggles. The next spot we went to is yet another very well known spot called Buckeye Pit This cliff is of beautiful red rock. There was recently a dock built so that when people jump off the cliffs into the water they can get back up with out having to grab a rope to climb up which was the previous way of getting back up in the past. This location was the hardest one to get to. It is about a mile walk down to the water, then from there you have two very steep hills that you have to climb up by grabbing onto tree branches or a rope. This was kind of difficult since we had all the camera equipment with us to carry as well. We managed to figure out a way to get up with everything anyways. Everyone from the crew was a good sport. We took some of our last pictures here and wrapped up our Iron Range photo shoot. Afterwards, the whole crew, including Whitney, jumped off the cliff into the water.
Behind The Scenes : Minnehaha Falls
Model: Vanessa
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Makeup: Yvette Rodriguez
We started our first set of pictures in the beginning of the park. There was a bridge with rocks underneath it and shallow water. We then moved from there so that we were shooting from behind the falls with water behind Vanessa. She was wearing a green and brown one piece swimsuit so with the background the pictures looked amazing. We then moved down below the falls. Vanessa was a very model easy to work with and had no problem going into the cold water below the falls. Considering it was a cold day, and raining off and on that just shows what a good sport she was. Also, there were huge fish jumping out of the water while she was in there. As she was in the water, Minnehaha Falls was behind her, and the pictures look very beautiful.
Behind The Scenes: Minnesota State Fair
Model: Sandra
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Chance Sheckissa
Makeup: Yvette Rodriguez
We were unable to get permission to shoot while the State Fair was going on, but we did get the approval to go there and shoot afterwards. We went two days after the fair had closed, so some of the rides and stands were still up fortunately. We started out by driving and having Sandra's makeup done on one of the benches on the fair grounds. Then from there we started to shoot our first set of pictures by the well-known State Fair Slide. It was green and yellow, and had just been freshly painted, so we were unable to touch it. We gathered props for this shoot from various places to kind of stage the shoot as if the fair were really going on. I went to Super Walmart and bought some cotton candy and a huge colorful sucker. I bought some cheese curds from the deli there and threw them into a container looking like one you would see at the State Fair.
The next place we decided to shoot by was a large carousel. We had her sitting on some of the horses as well as standing by them. She was wearing a black and gold swimsuit that looked really good with the carousel in the background. We then wrapped up the State Fair shoot by a sign over a bridge that said State Fair on it. Sandra is a great model and made this shoot a lot of fun
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Behind the Scenes: Duluth
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Makeup: Yvette Rodriguez
Model: Tanaya
This shoot was taken place in some of the more common and well-known areas of Duluth, Minnesota. We actually shot our Split Rock Lighthouse shoot the morning before doing this shoot. Once we got to Duluth, we started out by the Aerial Lift bridge, which is a landmark of Duluth and one of the first vertical lift bridges built. Then from there we shot Tanaya with some boats in the background and we actually got to see some boats passing under the bridge, and even managed to capture a few shots with the bridge up! Then from there we decided to move down to the pier and get some shots with all of the rocks by the water line. It is a beautiful sight to see, and our calendar model, Tanaya made the sight even more beautiful! After that we got some shots with the lighthouse in the background as well. There were a lot of people that had gathered around and by the end of the shoot we had quite the audience. After these two shoots were done we were all ready to head back after a long day of shooting. It was a great shoot and definitely had amazing sights since these shoots both took place in the fall and the leaves had just begun to change colors.
Behind the Scenes: Metrodome
Coordinators:Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Makeup: Nicole Fae
Model: Bethany
This shoot was taken place outside of the Metrodome which is a huge landmark of Minnesota and a very well known place to sports fans. We started makeup at the MN Finest Office and then drove to the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. Bethany was a very brave model since we shot her in a swimsuit outside of the metrodome on a day that was not very warm at all! We then shot her below the huge sign that says Metrodome on it. We next moved to the side of the Metrodome where we practically had the onlookers and cars driving by at a stand still. For some shots Bethany was even brave enough to lay down on the ground that had just started to freeze as winter was nearly there. We also got some shots with her by the teams schedule outside of the Metrodome. This shoot went very well and Bethany did an awesome job of looking as though she weren't even cold!
Behind the Scenes: Split Rock Lighthouse
Coordinators:Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Makeup: Nicole Fae
Model: Vasilena
This shoot was take place at the Split Rock Lighthouse which is quite a drive from the twin cities area but the sight you see when you get there makes the drive completely worth it! It is located in Two Harbors, Minnesota. If you are planning to see some beautiful scenery in Minnesota then this is a trip to take. There is a Visitor Center, Museum Store, and this is a state park. Since it is a state park the one thing you will need to have is a vehicle permit for parking. We started out doing makeup at the MN Finest Office at 7 in the morning. Since Duluth was on our way we decided to do that shoot on the way back from this shoot as well. So both Vasilena and Tanaya (Duluth Shoot Model) had their makeup done and then we all headed up north where the shoots begun! It was quite a drive, but after some coffee, the four of us girls were talking, napping, or sight seeing to make the drive go by a lot quicker. When we got there we started out shooting by some huge but beautiful rocks along the water line. Then from there we moved over to an area with the view of the lighthouse in the background and Vasilena looked amazing! This shoot was a little bit of a trip to get there, but the sights you see when you get there are unexplainable. It actually had a romantic atmosphere to it! So any of the guys looking for a new place to bring a date. You will sweep her off of her feet if you decide to bring her here!
Behind the Scenes:
Boating
Coordinators:Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Chance Shekissa
Makeup: Yvette Rodriguez
Model: Amanda
It wasn't one of the warmest, or the sunniest of days but we still managed to capture some amazing pictures! Another obstacle we faced was the amount of room we had to work since we were on a boat with our whole entourage. It got kind of tricky with the whole crew on board, along with the owner of the boat, and the model. Fortunately there was a boat nearby that came along. For some of the shots Julian and Chance actually got on the other boat to shoot Amanda from a little bit farther of a distance. We got some shoots on the dock before loading onto the boat as well. After the shoot was wrapping up Amanda even drove the boat away to close out the shoot and we captured a great outro for the DVD that will be coming out soon as well!
Behind the Scenes: Kieran’s Irish Bar with Ray Erick from KQRS
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis
Make-up: Nicole Fae
Model: Kirsten
Kirsten’s shoot was at Kieran’s Irish bar in downtown
Minneapolis. This bar is considered one of the most authentic Irish bars in
Minneapolis, with live music and eclectic décor this was a perfect place
to shoot for the month of March!
Ray Erick from KQRS was the guest DJ. He was the only one who was on time
and he made friends with Kirsten right away. They both made the shoot one
of our favorites (it didn’t hurt that this shoot was inside out of the
cold and we blasted Daddy Yankee and Kanye from my laptop for inspiration).
We started this shoot by decorating the background for St. Paddy’s Day, the place didn’t need too many additions, It was packed full with everything Irish, we just added a couple of Irish flags and Ray added some Guinness. We chose four of the most charming places in the bar that we thought represented the venue and the holiday best. The camera loved Kirsten she looked beautiful in everything we put her in and she was having a lot of fun exchanging jokes back and forth with Ray. We hope you’ll enjoy the finished product as much as we enjoyed shooting it. Thank you to Ray Erick and Kirsten for the smiles. And thank you to Kieran’s Irish bar in Minneapolis for collaborating with Minnesota’s Finest and lending us such a great setting!
Behind the Scenes: Ray J’s American Grill in Woddbury with DJ Waz from
KDWB
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis
Make-up: Nicole Fae
Model: Michelle
This shoot was at Ray J’s American Grill in Woodbury, we shot with DJ Waz
from KDWB, Michelle, and a turkey. The theme for this shoot was
Thanksgiving. We had decided that we needed to represent something about
Minnesota for the month of November and realized that Minnesota is known
for turkey farms, 600 turkey farms to be exact. Minnesota is ranked #1 in
turkey production in the United States and collectively MN raises 45
million turkeys annually! That’s a lot of turkey. With this in mind, I
set to work on baking a turkey just for this shoot, basting and stuffing
included. I’m proud to say that my first time cooking a Thanksgiving
turkey was for a Minnesota’s Finest 18 month calendar.
Steve and Michelle worked great together! Steve was a natural and Michelle
looked flawless. We used the turkey in the first few shots, Steve got an
arm workout trying to hold the heavy pan up in complicated angles and
Michelle got a workout trying to dodge it. Overall the shoot was a success,
the turkey was a success and I hope we succeed in impressing you with this
month in the calendar.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Behind the Scenes: Lake Elmo and Hunting
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis
Make-up: Nicole Fae
Model: Samantha
Samantha’s shoot was in the woods of Lake Elmo. Lake Elmo is a
Northeast metro city with a population of about 7,000. The majority of Lake
Elmo is farmland and from the looks of the calendar you can tell.
We shot this month in early Spring, it was cold. This shoot is dedicated to
Travis, our film producer, who lent us his hunting bow and deer stand for
props.
What is a deer stand? In case you didn’t know, like me, a deer
stand is a platform that is set up high in trees for hunters to sight prey.
I’m almost ashamed to admit (being a MN girl) but I expected a few 2x4
wooden planks and a rope ladder. This was not the case, its 2009 and
we’ve upgraded. This deer stand was portable, light, camouflaged and easy
to set up. Travis found the straightest tree he could find had the thing up
within 5 minutes.
Our model Samantha was a natural hunter! She climbed the 15 feet on metal
spikes anchored in the tree trunk up to the small platform, in the cold, in
her sexy Pocahontas suede bathing suit and rocked it out!
The second half of the shoot was devoted to MN hunters! Samantha posed with
a hunting bow and managed not to make skewers out of any of us She did a
fabulous job!
Behind the Scenes: At Midtown Stadium
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Makeup: Nicole Fae
Model: Brianna
The Saint Paul Saints are a very well known minor league baseball team in Minnesota. They Practice at the Midway Stadium off of Energy Park Drive in Saint Paul. We did this shoot on a day when there was actually snow on the ground so shooting for Julian and Travis was kind of tricky at times. We wanted to avoid shooting the snow. They luckily pulled it off perfectly! Brianna was a great model and we got a lot of gorgeous pictures! Even though she was probably really cold standing outside Midway Stadium, her pictures do not show it one bit! We shot at a few different locations around the stadium. We started out of course on the bleachers, in between shot at various locations, and then moved our way down to the wall with the amazing mural of the Saints to finish our shoot. Even though it was a bit chilly, the shoot turned out great! Thank you to the Midway Stadium as well for allowing us to shoot there. All of the people there treated us wonderfully and made sure we were taken care of
Behind the Scenes: At the Winter Carnival
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Makeup: Nicole Fae
Model: Shawna
The Saint Paul winter carnival is something that many people from all around travel to join in on all of the fun. There are all kinds of events and activities from things such as treasure hunts to ice sculpture contests. We have done quite a few photo shoots in the cold, but this photo shoot takes the cake! It was below zero with a wind chill making it even colder! We were only able to shoot in very small intervals and then we would walk across the street from where all the sculptures were, to the Saint Paul Hotel and take a few minutes to warm up, drink some coffee, and then go back into the cold and do it all over again! Julian and Travis both had all of their equipment to move back and forth so they decided not to come in as often as the rest of us to warm up. It was actually kind of ironic that the First place winning sculpture where we did most of the shooting by was actually of a tropical place with palm trees. Shawna definitely did not feel like she was anywhere tropical during the shoot, even though she tried to imagine she was! Shawna said at one point towards the end of the shoot, “I think my face is starting to freeze in one place.”
The whole crew was great, even during such drastic weather! The people at the winter carnival were also very helpful and I would like to give a thank you out to Beth and Jenny for all of your help and for allowing us to shoot there.
Behind the Scenes: Stone Arch Bridge
Coordinators: Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Travis Bowers
Make-up: Yvette
Model: Erica
The Stone Arch Bridge is a staple in Minneapolis but not many
people recognize it’s historical significance or even where it is. The
Stone Arch Bridge is located off of Portland Avenue in NE Minneapolis. We
decided to shoot there because the site made the 2008 top ten endangered
historical places in Minnesota. The 2,176 foot or 23 arch long limestone
and granite bridge was once used for transporting goods by train in the
early 1900’s and is now used by pedestrians and bicyclists.
Once everyone made it to the hidden Mill City Ruins parking lot we
were already running 1 hour late. Not only did we all arrive late but we
had chosen one of the hottest days in August to shoot, not a good mix with
makeup and expensive and heavy equipment.
Luckily I remember to bring along my ipod and speakers which always helps
the atmosphere. Our photographer Julian Murray swears that he works best
with music, hip-hop music, what else. After makeup and costuming we decided
to explore different spots around the area to shoot at. Touring of the
locks was not available that day because the tour guide was sick, lucky us.
Fortunately after 30 minutes of phone calls and flirting with the Army
Corps Guards they decided to give us a private tour in exchange for a copy
of the calendar. (we keep our promises Bill!).
The locks lie approximately 50 feet above ground level. The tour led us
over steel grates with precarious handrails. Remember models in heels and
steel grates do not mix well either. Erica was very brave. After taking a
few minutes to be tourists ourselves and appreciate the beauty of the falls
we set up our lights and Julian went to work!
Midway through shooting, the locks passed a tourist through its floodgates.
The water level in the locks empties about 91,000 cubic feet per second. We
stopped to watch and wave at tourists as they stopped to watch Erica do her
thing.
After 30 minutes shooting the upper level of the docks we’d exhausted the
locations and took the rest of the photos at ground level to shoot the
Stone Arch Bridge. We had a few wardrobe malfunctions but our beautiful
model Erica was a blast to work with, the patrolling policeman liked her
too!
Behind the Scenes:
Christmas Shoot
Coordinators: Melissa Cole
Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Video: Jason Schumacher
Models: Sarah and Bethany
We decided to do this shoot at the MN Finest Head Quarters in Maple Grove, MN. This shot began like all the rest, with makeup and hair done first . The only difference was that after makeup and hair was done here, we were already at the location of the shoot. There is a gorgeous Christmas tree with beautiful decorations we had set up and some fake presents underneath it. Sarah and Bethany worked together wonderfully. For these shoots they started out wearing red matching swimsuits and red heals. After shooting by the tree we then moved to the fireplace that is inside the MN Finest office. Both models had changed into different matching swimsuits. They were great models and looked great together as well.
Articles written by Melissa Cole and Jeanie Pebbles
Behind The Scenes Valentines Day
Coordinators: Melissa Cole
Jeanie Pebbles
Photographer: Julian Murray
Model : Julri
Julri's shoot was one of the only ones shot in a studio, we were going for a Fergalicious style and she pulled it off beautifully!
I had to buy all the props for the shoot and it was perfect timing because we shot it a few days before Valentines day. Because it was so close to the actual holiday, there was a large variety of props to choose from. I picked out as many Valentines decorations that
I could find: teddy bears, candy, flowers and I got a lot of funny looks carrying armfuls of giant valentines Bears and fake flowers through the department stores. All of us had to take one bag each because there was so much to carry, and soon after the beautiful Ms. Julri arrived. Nicole from MakeupDo finished her
makeup in record time, in fact the whole shoot was finished in record time because Julri was so great to work with. We started with her favorite swimsuit from Everything but Water, red for valentines day of course, and shot with all of
the props set up covering the entire studio. The candy was tempting and we were surprised that it lasted the
whole shoot!
Overall this shoot felt like the most themed out of all of months and Julri had a lot of fun
getting into character. The shots were smokin' and we can't wait for you to see them!
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