Arts & Entertainment
Mendota Heights Storm Chaser's Photo 'Clicks' with Minnesota State Fair Judges
Combining her passions for photography and storm-chasing, Mendota Heights resident Valarie Namen captures "Terror on the Plains" and a place in the Fine Arts Exhibition.
Every spring, Mendota Heights resident takes an unconventional vacation: She goes storm chasing. While she says she "never gets too close," she loves capturing images of the storms she spots with her Canon camera.
Earlier this year, during a trip to Colorado, Namen snapped a shot that she titled, "Terror on the Plains." The shot reveals the full structure of a tornado traveling across a field and the contrast between the darkness of one side of the tornado and the lightness found on the other side.
The photo impressed the judges of the Fine Arts Exhibition, and Namen's work was one of 413 selected from a field of 2,330 submissions for the 100th-annual juried art event.
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"This is the second time I've entered a digital photo," said Namen.
"Ten years ago, one of my paintings called "Sorrow" was also chosen for the art exhibit, so that was exciting, too."
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Each photographer is only allowed one submission. Namen sent her photo at the end of July and found out the second week of August her work would be included in the State Fair exhibit.
Photography, painting, scrapbooking and glass-making are just a few of the artistic passions of Namen, who has been a St. Paul Police Officer for the past twenty years.
"I really need that creative outlet. Doing art is a huge stress reliever for me," she said.
Asked how long she's enjoyed taking photos, Namen laughed and said that "before digital photography came along, I pretty much kept Kodak in business—that's how long I've been doing this."
Throughout her life, Namen has been the designated family photographer ("It's hard to find me in any of our family photos because I'm the one with the camera," she said) and loves taking pictures of a variety of subjects.
Seeing "Terror on the Plains" on display at the State Fair has been exciting for her.
"All of the artists were invited to attend a sneak peek of the exhibit, and it was so interesting to hear people talk about their art," said Namen. "It's also kind of fun to stand behind people when they are looking at my photo to hear what they have to say about it."
The Fine Arts Center is located at the corner of Randall and Cosgrove at the Minnesota State Fair.