Photographer Chris Spah Finds Inspiration in Nature

Graphic designer and photographer Chris Spah finds beauty around Maple Grove.

For Chris Spah, daily work turned into a hobby. As a graphic designer, he is always using photos for the websites he creates. “I always need more photos than what is given to me, so I started [photography] in my free time and it turned into another type of art,” Spah says. He likes snapping pictures of what is around him every day, though he prefers nature settings to other photographic subjects, because he also has a passion for watercolor art, and he finds inspiration in the outdoors.

Relatively new to the Maple Grove area, Spah ventured out on a lunch break to West Arbor Lake and captured this shot, the second-place winner in the City Landmarks category of our annual Focus on Maple Grove photo contest. Seeing the sun shining brightly on the untouched landscape, he noticed the chairs that he imagines would have people enjoying the scenery at all times during the year.

Though he can’t claim a favorite, a few of Spah’s favorite places to shoot photos include Elm Creek Park, Arbor Lakes and especially the new Central Park of Maple Grove. “Central Park is gorgeous,” he explains. “It’s easy to take photos there because it’s all so beautiful.”

The camera used for this photograph was a Sony Alpha 6000 with a E55-210 mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS lens.