Highlighting Humanity

words and images by Sarah Whiting

As a professional photographer, I have walked through many doors that would have been inaccessible to me otherwise. From past presidents to the Dalai Lama, my camera has let me into many worlds, but in the last decade, I have dived most fully into the world of Minnesotans.

In 2023, I photographed Devin Brown (above) , a young woman in training to kayak the Mississippi from source to sea. We both got in the water under the Lowry Avenue bridge, and my strobe light, on a stand, also went in with us. I pushed away the fear that the Mississippi would knock the light into the water, and we focused on making some magical shots. The normally muddy water turned into a brilliant glass from the sun’s angle. The following year, Brown made her first attempt to kayak the length of the Mississippi but had to pause in Missouri due to heavy storms that swelled the river past the banks.

An earlier project of mine was a book of artists working in Northeast Minneapolis. Open Studio — named as a reference to the many days the artists open their doors to guests, was an homage to the community that I was a part of for many years — in fact, I still live in that community. Artists like Aldo Moroni, Nick Harper, and Terry Gydesen sat for my lens.

I fondly remember many moments from that project. In accordionist Dan Turoening’s studio, there was a rope hanging from the ceiling. When I asked him what it was for, he simply said, “Exercise.” I knew I had to get a shot of him hanging from that rope. It was impressive how long he hung there, laughing at the silliness of it all.

The photographs I make are my small way of honoring the people I see through my lens. I try to show their humanity and perseverance. Though I do not exclusively photograph the environmental portraits that accompany this article, they are my favorite type of image to make. I get to know, if only briefly, some of the most amazing people in the state. It remains a true honor to do this work.

When photographing ceramicist Steve Hemingway, he pointed out how much his sculptures were shaped like his head. He started to balance one on his noggin, I was holding my breath the entire time the piece rested on his head. The repeating shapes make that shot for me.

Angela Dawson is another Minnesotan powerhouse. I met Angela while on assignment in 2021. Angela owns a 40 Acre Co-op farm in Sandstone, MN. It is the first—and only—nationwide cooperative that supports Black and other socially disadvantaged farmers. Angela showed me around the farm, proudly displaying hemp that towered above our heads and walking through a field of goats in her red rubber boots. She filled the space with joy.

Later, I began working full-time for the Minnesota Women’s Press, and the array of impressive Minnesotans I was meeting grew. In February 2018, my subject was Winona LaDuke. She met me in a random spot in town to show me the way to her new hemp farm. LaDuke never stopped moving. As soon as she stepped out of her truck, she gave me a farm tour. As I photographed her, she wandered through the horses, talking about each of their personalities. Then she invited me inside to warm up with tea. She was just as animated in the cozy house. We talked for over two hours, covering topics from pipelines to parentage. Her ideas and energy left me just as in awe of her as before I had arrived.

A very pregnant Kristin Arden posed with her blow torch and welding goggles. At the time, she was working on such a large-scale project that she met her husband, got married, and had her first child before the project was completed. In addition to photographing her for my project, she had me photograph her sculpture too. I remember the CEO commenting that the sculpture must be good luck for fertility. “If you want to have kids,” he joked, “just touch the sculpture.”

This year, I had the pleasure of photographing Nadia Mohammed, the first Somali mayor in the United States and the first Muslim mayor of Saint Louis Park. Elected at 23 years old, she is also the youngest elected official for that role. Her little sister came to the shoot with her, an obvious fan of the big sister who had already accomplished so much. Mohammed’s quote from the article says it best, “I just show up with my values, with my hijab, with what I stand for. And I do what I can to provide the things that residents need.”