Earlier this year, when I heard that a couple of my friends, both Olympus Visionaries (Jamie MacDonald and Mike Boening) were going to host a workshop in Chicago this past weekend, I knew I had to attend. They are fantastic photographers, and even better people. I have been following their podcast, and now their YouTube channel Mirrorless Minutes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqCm16qk_T2JoDzvin_f9eA ever since I met them a few years ago. I had been looking forward to this past weekend for months. In August, I was able to meet up with Mike while he was in town doing some scouting for the workshop. The agenda for this weekend included several great, signature Chicago locations, including sunrises at the lakefront, and an exploration of one of my favorite neighborhoods, Wicker Park.

Leading up to this weekend, on Wednesday, September 13, I met up with a couple of local friends for the sunset at the Museum Campus. I went downtown a little early, planning to eat dinner somewhere, and then walk over to the campus. The place I settled on for dinner was near the Art Institute, and it was a fairly long walk from there to the campus, but I have made this walk many times, and even longer walks. So, after fortifying myself with food and a beverage, I began the walk. By the time I got to the lakefront, near Buckingham Fountain, my right foot was hurting, right by the heel. And the more I walked, the worse it got. By the time I got to the spot we chose for the sunset, I was in agony. And since I had gotten there early, I ended up standing a lot as the sun began setting, and we stayed around for the blue hour. The sunset wasn’t great, but, there were some very low clouds hugging the tops of the skyline, which made for some great night photos. However, by the time we left, I could not put any weight on my foot. The next day started with the same level of pain. As Thursday went on, it slowly improved, but, since I had taken Friday off from work, I made an appointment to see a podiatrist. I had a feeling I knew what I was dealing with, and she confirmed it the next day- plantar fasciitis. She said my case wasn’t a severe one. If this wasn’t severe, I don’t want to know what a severe case feels like! The treatment plan involves stretching each morning before I even get out of bed, and RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). I told her about the workshop, and that there was no possible way short of death that I was going to miss it. She fitted me with an Air Boot that I wore for the weekend, to help me get through all of the activity without further aggravating my foot.

We met for the workshop Friday evening, and took a quick trip near the hotel to take some photographs overlooking the Eisenhower Expressway at night, getting some great car light trails heading east. The next day started early, we met at North Avenue Beach for sunrise, then, after breakfast and a morning session, we ventured to Wicker Park. The bulk of the afternoon was spent there, exploring the streets. That neighborhood is perfect for street photography- the stores, passersby, the vibe, it’s a great place to photograph. We took a group photo at the new Vivian Maier street art installation on North Avenue, done by the famous street artist Kobra. We went back to the loop, got dinner, and then went to the Adler Planetarium for sunset and blue hour.

Sunday started at Buckingham Fountain for sunrise, then, back to the hotel for breakfast, and the wrap up where we chose our 5 favorite photos from the weekend, and talked about them. Outside of myself, only one other attendee has lived in the Chicago area. The group came from Detroit, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Nashville, Atlanta, Indianapolis and even Winnipeg, Canada ( and I might be missing some other locations, not intentionally). I loved seeing everyone else’s views of my home city. Everyone’s eyes saw something a little different, and it was a beautiful quilt that everyone had weaved through their vision. And now, for me, it gives me yet more reasons to continue exploring, to see a place so familiar but yet in an entirely new way. It was truly a fantastic weekend, even with the boot!