Bradley Hanson Photography

Wedding at Enchanted Barn, WI. September 24, 2011

2012-01-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

Wedding in Tofte, WI. July 23, 2011

2011-09-03T19:41:00.001-07:00

The wedding of Tanya Rogosheske and Demian Lampland in Tofte, WI. Wedding planner Jill Drazowski of Weddings By Nancy.

All images made on film with Leica M3, Leica M6 and Nikon FM2n cameras.

Here Comes The Bride

2011-09-01T19:21:00.001-07:00

Here Comes The Bride. Wedding in LaCrosse, WI. July 23, 2011

Leica M3
90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 lens
Fuji Neopan 400 film

Wedding film trio

2011-08-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

Wedding at the St. Mary's Basilica in Minneapolis.

Hasselblad 500cm camera
80mm f2.8 CF T* lens
Fuji Neopan 400 film

Seattle from Highland Drive on Queen Anne Hill

2011-07-14T15:33:00.001-07:00

This is easily the most common photographic angle of Seattle, but the light was heavenly that night, as was the nearly full view of Mount Rainier on the right side of the image. Click the photo to see larger version.

Enormous puddle by Lake Johanna

2011-05-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Sunny Seattle is a happy place

2011-05-02T11:22:00.001-07:00

I can't feel my toes anymore!

2011-04-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Minneapolis is seeing unusually low temps and extremely volatile high temps, ranging from the 30s to the 70s. Today's 24 mile ride with Aaron and Leslie revealed that are, in fact, STILL piles of dirty snow on the ground. I nearly lost feeling in my hands and feet during the ride, brought back by a long, hot shower. Still, any day on the bike is a good one!

Ice cubes clinking on Lake Calhoun

2011-04-11T11:15:00.001-07:00

A nice early morning ride with Jason along the lakes. With the long winter and the sudden change in temperature, the chunks of ice once covering the lake are now clanking together against the shore like ice in a margarita.

Tweed ride sans tweed

2011-04-10T08:11:00.001-07:00

A great morning ride in Minneapolis with the usual suspects.

Back In The Saddle Again

2011-04-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

After 6 weeks off the bike because of injury, I'm finally back on my bike, thanks to a beautiful ride with Stephen, Jason and John, my long time riding buddies and amazing people. An unusually warm day of 63 degrees and great company.

My first Hasselblad photograph ever: Alki Beach in West Seattle, June 1999

2011-04-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hasselblad 501cm
80mm CFE 2.8 lens
Fuji Neopan 400 film

I love & deeply miss Fuji Neopan B&W film

2011-03-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

In the process of editing film scans from my last wedding in Seattle, I was reminded how beautiful Fuji Neopan 400 and 1600 B&W films are (were). Sadly, this beautiful film, capable of rich, beautiful tones on the extremes of the tonal scale, is no longer produced. I have a small stockpile in storage that I am slowly depleting with current weddings and portraits.

Leica M6
28mm Elmarit-M f2.8 and 90mm Summicron-M f2 lenses
Fuji Neopan 400 film

Snowshoe engagement portraits in Minneapolis

2011-03-17T11:26:00.001-07:00

Leica M6 and M4-2
28mm Elmarit-M f2.8 and 90mm Elmarit-M f2.8 lens
Kodak Portra 400 film

Featured image at Junebug Weddings

2011-03-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite black and white images of all time was featured in this article in Junebug Weddings:

http://junebugweddings.com/blogs/photobug/archive/2011/02/16/phenomenal-photography-silhouettes.aspx

Featured image at Junebug Weddings

2011-03-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

A favorite film image of mine from a wedding in Washington DC was featured here:
http://www.junebugweddings.com/blogs/photobug/archive/2011/03/15/thats-adorable-bradley-hanson-3.15.11.aspx

The Bluest Skies Are In Seattle

2011-03-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

Morning on Lake Johanna

2011-02-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

Winter's Revenge in Minneapolis

2011-02-21T13:10:00.000-08:00

Opening Freewheel Bike in Eden Prairie

2011-02-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

Down By The River

2011-02-16T06:50:00.000-08:00

2 Days In Seattle

2011-02-15T17:56:00.001-08:00

Shadows and Valentines

2011-02-11T07:24:00.001-08:00

Getting up early can be beautiful

2011-02-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

Fun in frigid temperatures

2011-02-09T19:32:00.001-08:00

Winter bike ride with John to Mendota Bridge

2011-02-05T18:45:00.001-08:00

6 degrees: b&w iPhone photos from my bike ride in Minneapolis today

2011-02-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

Snow continues to fall in Minneapolis

2011-01-31T06:51:00.001-08:00

Instagram photos from my bike ride today

2011-01-25T11:15:00.000-08:00

Biking In Minneapolis All Year Means Winter, Too!

2011-01-21T12:09:00.001-08:00

Yoga!

2010-03-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Winter yoga images for Amanda Cepeda's website and promotional material. March 29, 2010.

Pinewood Derby!

2010-03-21T07:40:00.001-07:00

After a LOT of anticipation, Miles was about to participate in his first Pinewood Derby race ever. In addition to the scout races, there was also a "Masters" class for the parents and friends of scouts.

Miles playing "sponge-tag" before the event began. Here Miles is about to make contact with the unsuspecting boy on the left.

The trophies on display enhanced the excitement and anticipation.

The track was both longer and steeper than it looked.

A few of the cars entered this morning. Miles is the red car in the front row!

Miles looks up at one of the inspectors as the other scouts examine the competition.

Miles and his new friend William (our neighbor in NE Minneapolis) look at the projected scoreboard to see how he's doing. He is about to win his first race!

The race was judged with an electronic eye, with the results visible on the large scoreboard projected on the wall. Things are a little more sophisticated than when I was a scout 30 years ago.

Miles realizes that he's not only won his 2nd race in a row, but set a new track record of 2.400 seconds and a scale speed of 206mph! The difference between winning and being 2nd place was often in the thousands of a second. Miles ended up winning four races in a row, taking the 1st place trophy for his Wolf Scout level.

I'm very proud of Miles, who worked hard designing, sanding and painting his car! We are also very thankful for Deanna's brother in law Chris, who had the bandsaw, sanding wheel, wood putty, postal scale and everything else we needed to win. Miles had 4 wins in a row, Gabriel had 4 wins in a row, Deanna had 4 wins in a row!

Miles is extremely proud, carrying the trophy around with him, even when he's playing outside. He's asked me twice to get it down of the mantle so he can admire it!

Plans have already begun for next year's race!

Wedding: Masayo and Charles Duba (8/8/09)

2010-02-28T08:00:00.001-08:00

Masayo and Charles wedding began with a lovely evening cruise on Lake Washington courtesy of Argosy cruises, with dinner, drinks and dancing on board.

The next evening they had their first meeting at the Arakawa home on Lake Washington, and I also photographed them at the Olympic Sculpture Park. Time was tight so we zipped back to arrive to the ceremony on time!

The ceremony was set up on the shore of the lake, with the cocktail hour on the lawn behind it.

The wedding was coordinated beautifully by Amy Vallejo of Anticipate Wedding & Events. Food for both events was the always wonderful Herban Feast.

A January weekend in Minneapolis

2010-02-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

Miles at the Science Museum in St. Paul

A park in Minneapolis

Gabriel and Miles playing hockey on Lake Johanna

Gabriel and Miles playing around in downtown St. Paul

Miles and Gabriel writing in their journals

Miles showing off his new wig from a magic store in St. Paul

Gabriel at his drum lesson at Twin Town Guitars in Minneapolis

The sun spattering the Hamm Building with dancing light

Wedding: Jennie and Mike Fujimoto (7/25/09)

2010-02-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

Mike and Jennie's wedding began on a gorgeous, warm sunny day in Seattle. As soon as I arrived, I could see everyone was in a playful mood, something that not only stayed true through the entire event, but also made the whole day feel like an hour.

I love shooting at the Snoqualmie Ridge Golf Club because of the light, the sense of space and perspective.

The ceremony was out on the lawn, in full view of the golf course and mountains behind. I loved the little red wagon with the ringbearers, as well as the vines the groomsmen were wearing in addition to their boutonnieres.

After the ceremony was a cocktail hour out on the lawn, where a magician entertained the kids, and there was a variety of local wines and beers for the adults. On display was the engagement portrait I made for them several months earlier, now presented with a signature board in place of a guest book.

The couple and the wedding party entered the reception with a bang. The toasts, particularly from the best man, were the funniest I can remember.

Wedding: Andrea and Brian Scully (7/11/09)

2010-02-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

Andrea and Brian's wedding was my first trip to Napa, California, and I left with the desire to return immediately. Their wedding was held near Brian's family winery on Mount Veeder. The wedding was designed by Kathy Higgins of Napa, and everything was bathed in a rich orange, yellow, fuschia and reds, particularly at the reception.

Day one began with a wedding rehearsal and an evening dinner by the pool, ending with hilarious slideshows and toasts that became spirited roasts.

The next morning we began with Andrea and Brian at the winery, a relaxing drive up a winding single lane road to the top. I let them just hang out and soak up the amber sun so they could take a moment to themselves before the wedding.

The ceremony was on the lawn under a floral canopy, with a sunny cocktail hour.

At the reception Kathy set up a vintage style photobooth, and guests put their photos by the massive collection of images from the family weddings.

Wedding: Katherine and Chris (5/23/09)

2010-02-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

Katherine and Chris Zappala's wedding began as an intimate and sunny beach wedding and ended as a surreal piece of performance art at sunset. The wedding took place at Golden Gardens in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, a location that is a favorite of mine for it's consistently otherworldly sunsets over the Olympic Mountain range to the west.

As a photographer who craves backlight, the light at this wedding was as much a treat for me as the Trophy Cupcakes were to the guests at the reception. The sunset was golden and the light in the room was heavenly as the reception began. The catering was the delicious Herban Feast, whom I am lucky to work with so often.

After dancing, we walked out to the beach and noticed about 30 beds on the beach, many of them inhabited by women clad in vintage sleepwear, along with giant rabbits in tuxedos. We never did figure out exactly what was happening, though they were kind enough to include Katie and Chris in the performance, as well as allowing me to photograph them in one of the beds.

A surreal ending to a perfect day.

This wedding was featured on the blog Grey Likes Weddings: http://greylikesweddings.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/real-wedding-katherine-and-chris/

Holga and Minneapolis Winter

2010-01-30T08:58:00.001-08:00

I love shooting with the Holga, a $20 medium format camera. Everything about it is pure instinct. You can't control anything but the focus, which is extremely ambiguous, and the exposure options are "cloudy" (f5.6) or "sunny" (f8). The shutter is fixed at 1/60th of a second. You figure out three things quickly:

1. Previsualizing what will be in the final frame vs what you see in the finder

2. What situations and lighting conditions will look best with whatever film you have loaded. I use Fuji Neopan 400 for almost everything, Ilford Delta 3200 in low light.

3. How beautifully the plastic lens flares when turned toward the sun.

Above are 5 images made the day of a massive January snowfall here in NE Minneapolis.

Seattle to Minneapolis

2010-01-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

Take a moment to welcome me to 2004, or whenever everyone else starting blogging. In 1998 when I started shooting weddings, I was one of a handful of photographers with a website. (Yes, it sucked). Now I'm one of the last photographers on Earth to start a blog. Not lack of desire so much as trying to prioritize from the two most chaotic years of my life following the end of my marriage and relocation from the mountains and scenery of beautiful Seattle to flat and frozen Minneapolis.

Now I live in Northeast Minneapolis and still do most of my work in Seattle. I'm on pace to get 100,000 air miles in 12 months. I love that I get referrals and still work monthly in Seattle, but I'm also looking forward to expanding my work in Minneapolis.

My highest priority in life is being a good father two my two beautiful boys, Gabriel (9) and Miles (7). You are going to read and see a lot about them. I'm a photographer who does a lot of travel for weddings all over the world, so you'll read about that, too. Oh, and music is my constant soundtrack so I'll opine about my current favorite new albums regularly.

I used to write regularly and actually became fairly skilled in my early high school days. I even began my college career as an intended English major. Well, those days are LONG gone. Severe atrophy from years of email and texting have crippled all but the last of my creative writing skills, so I'll spice things up from time to time with stream of consciousness meanderings of random wit, sarcasm, and uncontrollable run-on sentences like the one you are enduring right now.

It's a snowy day in Minneapolis. While I don't care for the cold and snow, the first snow is always beautiful and makes me sentimental. I miss Seattle. I REALLY miss Seattle. Most of all, I miss my friends. Occasional visits and Facebook are painfully inadequate. I miss going over to Pete Hilgendorf's house and listening to music. I miss the parties and hanging out by the bonfire at Stephanie's house. I miss Ocean Shores and Long Beach, and the sound of the waves and look out at the infinite. I miss living with my brother Joel and him kicking my ass to motivate me in biking up the steepest climbs I've ever made around West Seattle. I miss bonfires with Daniel and Jana, Ema and Claire at Golden Gardens in Ballard. I miss hanging out with Sean and Leslie. I miss the spontaneous lunches with Kelly Rae. I miss seeing bands with Sarah. I miss the constant site of snow-capped mountains in every direction. I miss the surreal beauty that was Mt. Rainier painted over the entire skyline off in the distance on I-5 heading south. I miss the mild weather and relatively warm winters. I miss the smell of the sea in the air and the constant sound of seagulls. I miss having beautiful mountain skiing less than an hour from the front door at Stevens Pass. I miss the fresh seafood, particularly sushi, salmon and oysters. I miss walking around the neighborhood farmer's markets that operate year-round every Sunday. (The Ballard Farmer's Market was literally right out my front door). I miss the gorgeous ferry rides to the islands, particularly Bainbridge Island, Vashon Island and San Juan Island. I miss the drive to West Seattle ending along Alki Beach and the beautiful Seattle skyline in full splendor from the dock near Salty's. I the miss the chaotic bustle of Pike Place Market. I miss the smell of DeLaurenti's deli in the Pike Place Market, especially the chocolate croissants. I miss the great Mexican food from the myriad of taco trucks around the city. I miss taking my boys to EMP, the downtown library, the Pacific Science Center, the Odyssey Museum at Pier 66, the Children's Museum, the Seattle Aquarium at Pier 55, the Olympic Sculpture Park and the countless other parks around the city with views that have to be seen to be believed. I miss sneaking into Shiro's at 5pm before the rush to sit in front of Shiro at the sushi bar to get the freshest sushi I've ever had and to watch Shiro laugh his ass off at his own jokes. I miss the hundreds of great bands from Seattle and the dozens of great shows going on all the time. I miss walking around Pioneer Square and ending up looking for books at Elliott Bay Books. I miss world class espresso from Vivace, Caffe Ladro, Uptown Espresso, Victrola, Zeitgeist, Cafe D'Arte, Bauhaus, Caffe Vita, Neptune Coffee, Lighthouse, Fiore, Cafe Besalu and dozens of others. I miss the Bloody Dog drink at Hazlewood on Market St. I miss the view from the Space Needle and the monorail ride there. I miss walking down the steep hills and even biking back up them. I miss the walk down Post Alley to the unmarket restaurant Pink Door for live jazz or just a drink on the terrace to watch the ferries come and go from the islands. I miss seeing movies at Cinerama, Harvard Exit, The Metro, Seven Gables, Neptune Theatre and all of the other amazing Landmark Theatres there. I miss digging through vinyl records at Easy Street, Sonic Boom, Everyday Music, Jive Time, Bop Street Records, and Neptune Records. I miss the smell, taste and texture of Top Pot Donuts on 5th Avenue, as well as sitting at a table out front as the monorails rush by every 10 minutes. I miss the Thai food seemingly on every corner, particularly in Fremont. I miss the view from Kerry Park in Queen Anne and the steep walk up to get to it. I miss the Dim Sum at Sun Ya in Chinatown, and the wonderful, transformative smells of just being in that neighborhood. I miss the sense of perspective one gets looking out at the Olympic Mountains from Greenwood Avenue in Phinney Ridge. I miss taking the water taxi from West Seattle to downtown, and getting clam chowder with my boys at Alki Crab and Seafood Co right before the trip. I miss bicycling with my boys along the beach and then running out at low tide to collect stones, but mostly their excitement at finding them. I miss the jaw-droppingly delicious French toast at the Portage Bay Cafe in the University District. I miss the sandwiches at Salumi, but I don't miss the long line required to wait for them. I miss the spicy fish tacos at Matador, washed down with the Mac & Jack's African Amber Beer. I miss being able to walk down the street at see bands at The Tractor Tavern. I miss walking downstairs to get a sangria at Madame K's on Ballard Avenue. I miss the way seeing the Columbia River Gorge off I-90 in the middle of Washington State always made me feel good. I miss driving my boys to school at AE2 and stopping at PCC Co-op on the way to get a snack.

Most of all, I miss being there with my boys.