Minnesota, MN

Minnesota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. The 12th-largest state by area in the U.S., it is the 21st most populous, with just over five million residents.

Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858.

The state is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", and those lakes and the other waters for which the state is named, together with state and national forests and parks, offer residents and tourists a vigorous outdoor lifestyle.

Nearly 60% of Minnesota's residents live in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area known as the Twin Cities, the center of transportation, business, and industry, and home to an internationally known arts community.

The remainder of the state, often referred to as "Greater Minnesota" or "Outstate Minnesota", consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; eastern deciduous forests, also heavily farmed and settled; and the less-populated northern boreal forest. While the state's residents are primarily white and of Northern European ancestry, substantial influxes of African, Asian, and Latin American immigrants have joined the descendants of European immigrants and of the original Native American inhabitants.

The extremes of the climate contrast with the moderation of Minnesota’s people. The state is known for its moderate-to-progressive politics and social policies, its civic involvement, and high voter turnout.

It ranks among the healthiest states by a number of measures, and has one of the most highly educated and literate populations.

Origin of the name

The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota language name for the Minnesota River: Mnisota.

The root Mni (also spelled mini or minne) means "water". Mnisota can be translated as sky-tinted water or somewhat clouded water.

 

 

 

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Minnesota".

10 Tips for fantastic holiday photos

by Jack Walters

At PhotoBox we appreciate that part of the fun of any holiday is browsing through your photo prints. It's a great way of prolonging the feel good factor, especially when your photos reflect what a brilliant time you had. So here's our guide to capturing fantastic holiday photo prints.

Get up to date

Digital cameras have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years so if your camera is a little ancient it could be holding you back. How about treating yourself to a new one with tax free prices at the airport.

Endless energy

Pack a spare camera battery and your charger to ensure you've plenty of power whilst you're away.

Take it to the max

Always take your photos at your camera's maximum resolution setting, so whenever you take photos you really love you always have the option to turn them into big canvas prints or photo gifts galore.

Think before you click

Consider the overall balance of your photos. You don't want to end up with endless photo prints of the same stretch of beach.

More memory

Memory cards are as cheap as chips these days so there's no excuse for not having enough.

Get inspired

Take a look at local postcards to give you an idea of where you can find the most interesting photo opportunities. You don't have to copy what they've done but it will certainly inspire your own photos.

Take plenty of pictures

Any photographer will tell you, to get great results it helps to take lots of photos, then when it comes to photo printing you can take your pick.

Have a little patience

Once you find a great location try waiting for a bright blue sky, interesting cloud formation, or breathtaking sunset, believe me it will make all the difference to your photos.

Sense of scale

Consider what other areas of interest you can add to give your photos a sense of scale, such as your kids in the foreground making sandcastles, or colourful boats along the shore.

Tell a story

When you're out enjoying dinner try and remember to photograph your food before you tuck in! It is things like this that give your photos a real storytelling element.

About the Author

Article written by Photobox. Find out more at http://www.photobox.co.uk