Author: timothyk68

2016 Highlights, Part 4

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July and August. There may have been fewer days in each month when I was not out photographing something than when I was out. July started with an excursion to photograph the demolition of the original Malcolm X College and one of the older buildings on Rush University Hospital’s campus. I made two trips, the first with my friend Teresa, then I went back the next day with smaller camera that I could fit the lens through the chain link fence. It was really interesting to see some items left behind- a lab coat hanging on the door of a room, and a white board left in another. It is sad to see some classic architecture being torn down. The new campus is bigger, but lacks the character of the old campus.

The following weekend, I drove down to Springfield and met up with my friend Cathie, who had driven there from Myrtle Beach. Cathie is a huge Abraham Lincoln fan, so, as she says, Springfield is her Disneyland. We took a tour of his home, which is now part of the National Park Service. We checked out the old state capitol building, and visited his tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery. I really, really tried to convince Cathie to try a horseshoe, a culinary staple in Springfield, but she wasn’t very interested. From there, we both drove back up to the Chicago area, and I had the opportunity to take Cathie around my home turf, finally. We hit a lot of the major spots downtown (Cloud Gate [aka The Bean], Millennium Park, the Cultural Center, the James Thompson Center, the River Walk, had dinner at the Billy Goat Tavern, and then finished the day at 360 Chicago in the John Hancock Center for sunset and nightscapes of the city). That was one day! Over the next few days, we visited the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Bahai Temple, Brookfield Zoo, and we took a tour hosted by good friend Wendy Bright of WendyCity- we took her 1920s Deco and Decadence Tour. And then we finished Cathie’s visit with a trip up to Milwaukee.

The rest of July included a hike in Starved Rock, followed by some amateur storm chasing that day, and then, I finished the month photographing a kitten adoption event hosted by the Animal Outreach Humane Society of McHenry County.

August included two trips downtown for sunset on a couple of occasions, a visit by my friend Karen from Michigan, where we did a photowalk downtown (and took a river taxi to Chinatown), and then a photowalk in Pilsen the next day. August finished with the meet up of the Drink and Click chapter, the theme was “street art” so we went to Logan Square. There were incredible examples for us to see.

A busy couple of months. But, nothing like what I experienced the first week of September. But some of you know all about that. For those of you who don’t you will just have to wait until tomorrow!

 

2016 Highlights, Part 3

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Continuing on with the highlights of this past year, May turned out to be a very light month. I am not entirely sure why as I look back. The big highlights were two trips to the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, where I was finally able to photograph some cactus flowers just after they had bloomed. My timing every year previous was pretty awful, most of the time I was usually too late.

June made up for May. I attended the June meet up of the Drink & Click, the theme that month was “car details.” We went to a classic car show in Schiller Park, and spent the day falling in love with many of the cars, including an incredible 1959 Pontiac Bonneville that you could have fit an Olympic-sized swimming pool in the trunk.

The weekend after, I attended two events that could not have been more different from each other. The morning was spent with a friend of mine at the Illinois Fire Buffs’ exhibition at the Chicago Fire Academy (of the Chicago Fire Dept.). They had a collection of old fire engines which they drove around the block, and tents where vendors were selling anything from old fire equipment to CD recordings of emergency calls from fire departments across the nation. In the afternoon, I went to Millennium Park for the Zombie March. It’s an event that has been running for several years, but, apparently the zombie crowd has been steadily dissipating. There were only a handful of people participating this year.

At the end of the month, I worked at the Out Of Chicago Photography Conference. This was the third year of the conference, and it has grown exponentially each year. More attendees, more presenters, more activities. It is a blast, and it has been a privilege to have a small part in it the past two years.

We’ve reached the midpoint, next part will be up tomorrow!

 

2016 Highlights, Part 2

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The months of March and April 2016 were quite busy, I was out photographing something just about every weekend. The only weekends I missed were just after St. Patrick’s Day, as I was keeping an eye on Reno, my cat. That was the first of two major losses during this time- Reno had to be euthanized on March 21. The other weekend I missed was in the middle of April.

Reno

March started with photographing the Chiditarod, a charity event that raises food for the homeless. Teams decorate shopping carts, and then race through the West Town neighborhood Iditarod-style, with checkpoints along the way. Each team must raise food to be donated, there is a minimum they have to collect in order to participate in the race. It was a blast, seeing all of the work that went into the carts. I caught the start of the race, and then went to one of the checkpoints to catch some of the teams as they checked in.  The following weekend was March’s Drink And Click meet up at the St. Patrick’s Day parade. The month finished with a quick trip up to Milwaukee on March 26. And then, on March 31, I left town to meet up with my friend Cathie Crow in the Washington DC area. We had intended to catch the cherry blossoms, but ended up being about a week too late.

Our first day, April 1, was the day when the second of the major losses occurred- that morning, my friend Paul lost his battle with cancer. We spent our time in DC visiting many of the popular attractions, but sometimes, we had to improvise as it was Spring Break, and some of the crowds were just crazy. A storm hit Saturday night, and the next day (our last day in DC), the temperatures had dropped and the winds had picked up very strongly.

The other huge highlight for me in April came at the end of the month. I decided to take a short trip to Arizona for my birthday. Before leaving, I booked a Pink Jeep tour in Sedona for the Sunday afternoon when I arrived. Monday, I went back and spent the entire in Sedona, I took another Pink Jeep tour, and, in the afternoon, we got snow and winds gusting up to 60 mph, which made standing in “The Vortex” even more intense than it is normally.

The next day, I went to the Grand Canyon. I had never seen it with my own eyes before. Along with the first Pink Jeep Tour, I had booked a helicopter tour of the Canyon before I left Chicago. It is by far the best way to see the Canyon, you truly get an appreciation of how vast it is. After we landed, I explored the east rim for the afternoon. Having gotten this taster, I will have to return for more exploring, it is truly an incredible place.

Next up- May and June, tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

 

 

2016 Highlights, Part 1

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2016 had a lot of personal highs, but also some real lows. Within the span of less than three weeks in March and April, I had to euthanize my cat, Reno, and then, on April 1, one of my closest friends of almost 20 years lost his battle with cancer.

And yet, 2016 was a great year for my photography. I managed to photograph every month, and, through the local chapter of the Drink and Click (a worldwide organization of photographers), I had the chance to photograph some very unusual events. Then, there were some absolutely unforgettable trips, particularly to Arizona and South Dakota. And, my two get togethers with my friend Cathie, first, when we met up in Washington, DC, and then when Cathie made the trip up to my home turf here in Chicago (by way of Springfield, IL).

And then there were the two photography conferences I was fortunate to attend as part of the planning team- the Out of Chicago Summer Conference in June, and the first Out of New York Conference in October. It’s a great group that I am fortunate and honored to be a part of.

To tackle this all, I have divided the year into bi-monthly segments. January’s highlights started with a meet up with some local photographers for sunrise at North Avenue Beach, on January 10. It was insanely windy, and as a result, very dramatic, but intensely cold. Still, we captured some amazing photos. Later in January, I met up with some other friends downtown for a fun Saturday of exploring interiors (the Harold Washington Library and the Cultural Center), and some alleys, and puddles (we were bizarrely fascinated with puddles lol).

We Found Another Puddle

Then, at the very end of the month, I met up with the local Drink and Click chapter to photograph at 111th Annual Winter Ski Jump Tournament at the Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove, IL.

In February, I again met up with the Drink and Click chapter to photograph Cupid’s Undie Fun Run in Wrigleyville, on another intensely cold day. The month finished with a drive to far western Illinois, starting with a stop at the frozen Mississippi River, and then driving through the countryside. I get cabin fever in winter, so, even though it was cold, it was great to get out of the apartment for several hours.

Winter doesn’t stop me from photography, and I will be out and about again this year.

Tomorrow will be the next chapter, stay tuned, as they say!

Winter Photography

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Nelson Algren once wrote “Chicago is an October kind of town, even in spring.” Chicago is a city that shines in every season, and spring, summer and fall offer the best photographic opportunities, mainly due to the weather conditions. Winter should not be ignored, though. With the right preparation, some incredible scenes can be captured. In 1988, during a February snowstorm, I picked up my camera gear and took the Blue line downtown. I walked around for several hours, photographing the city during a typical winter storm. The images I captured are among my favorites, not just of that era. I captured a frozen Chicago River, with a view of the river that no longer exists, for instance.

chicago-river-winter-1988

 

 

 

 

 

I was much younger back then, and didn’t give the weather a second thought. More recently, we had a couple of very tough winters- 2012-2013, and 2013-2014. Even though the last two winters were milder, by comparison, we had a major blizzard hit in February 2015. Be that as it may, I have gotten out, braved the cold, snow and ice, and captured some pretty amazing scenes. The photo below was taken at Montrose Beach in March 2014, and the sand was frozen completely solid like concrete. Just one piece of evidence of how brutal that winter was.

Montrose Beach, March 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before embarking on winter photography, there are some very important considerations (the preparation I spoke of earlier):

  • Dress for the conditions. It should go without saying, but make sure you wear layers. If the temperatures are below freezing, or if the wind chill is below freezing, make sure you have proper head, face and hand protection.
  • Speaking of dressing properly, having a good pair of winter hiking boots is essential, especially if you will be exploring rural areas. Traction and warmth are crucial!
  • Make sure your camera is rated to operate in the temperatures you will be shooting. High-end DSLRs are usually rated to operate in sub-zreo weather, but some consumer DSLRs and point-and-shoot cameras might not be.
  • If at all possible, keep your camera under your coat to keep it warm. Cold temperatures significantly reduce battery life, so bring some extra batteries with you and keep them in a warm place (pants pockets if you’re wearing a long coat).
  • Practice operating your camera while wearing gloves. If you have to remove your gloves to operate your camera, make sure you don’t have your hands exposed for very long. I bought a pair of gloves from an Army surplus store, which convert from mittens to fingerless gloves by opening the finger covering, and they were extremely helpful for shooting last winter.
  • Condensation is a constant concern, if you’re going from warm interiors to cold exteriors frequently. Anyone who wears glasses knows what happens when you walk into a warm, humid building from the cold outside. Keep some microfiber cloths with you to wipe off any condensation or fog that may build on your lens.
  • When shooting in bright sunlight, snow can have a blue glow. Even in mixed sunlight conditions, the snow will have a bluish tint in the parts that are exposed to direct sunlight. The easiest way to counteract this in the camera is to change your white balance setting to “shade” or “cloudy”. If you are shooting RAW, you can adjust the white balance when you edit your photos on your computer, but adjusting the white balance in the camera first will yield much more natural-looking photos.
  • Consider bracketing your exposures, to see how the scene looks with different exposures.

As with anything in photography, practice and trial and error will help sharpen your skills when shooting in winter conditions. And most importantly, have fun! Don’t be afraid to explore, as long as you’ve made the preparations. You will no doubt see something truly incredible!

The Out Of New York Photography Conference, Part 2

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My last blog post took us through Saturday evening, but there was one more day. This second part is dedicated to Sunday, because that was an incredible end to an incredible few days in the Big Apple. As part of the staff of Out Of Chicago, I was able to choose one of the all day workshops that were happening throughout Manhattan. I chose Steve Simon’s workshop. I have admired Steve’s work for years, he has a very unique vision, and is able to capture the human element like few photographers I have seen. Plus, I have been wanting to do more street photography, so the choice was easy.

We met at the entrance to the High Line. The High Line is a Rails-To-Trails conversion of an unused section of track of the New York Central Railroad. The High Line stretches for 1.45 miles in lower Manhattan, from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street. Some great architecture has sprung up around the High Line, there are great views over several streets, and a great mix of people. For this excursion, I shot predominantly film, Kodak Tri-X 400, and the rolls are yet to be developed. We encountered an interesting slice of life there, but this was just a taster of what was to come. I did get a few digital shots, the one below is looking toward upper Manhattan, looking up 10th Street toward midtown Manhattan.

 

Up 10th Avenue

We had a few more locations to go to, so we left the High Line at 23rd street, and walked to the MTA stop for the F train to go uptown to 57th and 5th. This corner is known as Bill Cunningham Corner. Bill Cunningham was a New York Times fashion and street photographer, and this corner was where he camped out to document expressions and fashion. He passed away in June of this year, and it was a weird feeling standing at the corner where so much of his work was done. But, I quickly realized why he spent so much time there. The gentleman in the next photo came strolling by not long after I camped out there. He knew he was getting attention and he enjoyed it.

 

57th and 5th Dude

Our next stop was Washington Square Park, another very unique New York location. They have everything there, including a grand piano at one end, a comedian at the other doing “Stand Up In The Park”, to Abraham Lincoln, jazz musicians, tarot readers, chess players, and the list goes on. You want to see a cross section of New Yorkers? Go there.

 

New York Abe

Our last stop was Chinatown. I have seen the neighborhood in countless movies. It was just as I had imagined it to be. Some people wanted their photos taken, but most did not. I  got some photos anyway, and our group posed by what was supposedly a Banksy piece of art depicting Donald Trump, although its authenticity as a true Banksy is up for debate.

The conference was an experience I will never forget. I fell in love with New York. As a life-long Chicagoan, spending many, many hours in the Loop, the vibe of Manhattan was extremely familiar. And yet it had a different pace altogether. I doubt I will get used to the insanity of most of the drivers. Maybe if I lived there it would become part of my fiber. Regardless, I will be coming back to New York, sooner rather than later. There is so much yet to see. Also, as with the previous Out of conferences, I made new friends. I met some incredibly passionate and talented photographers, of every level of experience. Some were from Turkey, some were from San Francisco, some were from New York and Long Island. Meeting these folks, and learning from them, seeing things in a new way, sharing ideas,  this what it is all about for me. So for this, I am eternally grateful to the Out Of Chicago team- for letting me be a part of the crew, and continuing to inspire me.

Chinatown

The Out Of New York Photography Conference- October 14-16, 2016

Gallery

It has been a privilege to be involved with the Out of Chicago organization. It has opened many doors for me, expanded my network, and sparked a lot of creativity. The cornerstone events are the conferences, which up until this year, happened once a year in Chicago. This year, we took our conference to New York City, in addition to our normal summer conference. Planning these events takes a tremendous amount of time, but in the end, the effort is worth it. It’s such a great team, and I am honored to be in their ranks.

The conference this year began with a Thursday evening sunset cruise on the East River, which I had every intention and desire to attend, had it not been for a very disorganized and geographically challenged shuttle bus driver. He took us from Laguardia Airport to midtown Manhattan, and he drove right past my hotel on 33rd Street, to go all the way to 92nd Street to drop off the first group. As a result, most of us sat in Manhattan traffic for over 2 hours, and by the time I got to my hotel, there wasn’t enough time to get to the 35th Street Pier.

Friday morning was an early start to help get the conference venue set up. My job is to help coordinate the photowalks, so I spent the better part of the day making sure the groups went out on time, make sure they knew the route, any special instructions, maps, etc. But, Friday evening, I had the opportunity to lead my own group to Grand Central Terminal. You think you are ready for the grandeur of the interior, but still, seeing it for the first time was incredible. We spent a few hours exploring the main hall, but naturally, everyone was feeling the effects of the long day. I got back to my hotel, which was only a 10 minute walk from the Terminal. Grand Central Terminal

Saturday morning, up early again, got the photowalks organized for the day, and spent the day at the conference. Saturday night, we had to shuffle schedules a little- I was originally taking a group to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Overpasses) and Brooklyn Bridge Park, but, instead, I took a different group to the 9/11 Memorial. The Memorial was at the top of my list of things to see while I was there, so it worked out. The scene was as heart-wrenching as I anticipated it to be. The tragedy of that day, even 15 years later, was still palpable. The Memorial consists of two fountains in the footprints of the North and South Towers. There is also a museum, but due to the hour, we were not able to go in. To get to the Memorial, we went through the Oculus, which is the new transportation hub at the site. The design is astounding, it’s also a must-see.  The group was a little smaller than the night before, and we all dispersed once we had taken it all in.

9-11 Memorial

 

Civil War Battlefields, Part 1- Vicksburg, Mississippi

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I have decided to start a series of blogs about my other passion, the American Civil War. As an amateur student of history, and having an ancestor who fought in the Civil War, I have had a deep interest in the War for over 30 years. In most of my travels over the past 20 years or so, I have tried to visit as many of the battlefields that are left as possible. There are still some I have not seen, and I hope to see them over the next few years.

The battlefields are part of the US National Park System. While the parks themselves are well preserved, some do not encompass all of the acreage that was fought over. It was not practical for the government to try to turn an established town or city into a National Park, for obvious reasons. But, not long after the war ended, the effort began to preserve as much of the battlefields as possible.

The first installment of this series is about the battle of Vicksburg, which really wasn’t so much a battle as a siege. It is really easy to get to, either by car or plane. I prefer to drive, as I can carry more camera gear with me, and I can stop in Memphis and spend time there to and from Vicksburg.

For an historical perspective, Ulysses Grant had been trying since late 1862 to capture the city. Vicksburg was crucial, as it is situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Union naval vessels and northern merchant ships could not navigate up and down the Mississippi while the Confederates held the town. Several attempts to take the town directly had failed, so Grant, during the early spring of 1863, marched his troops through the swamps on the west side of the river, crossed back over the river, and circled aback to surround the town from the east. Once he reached the town, it took another 47 days, but finally, on July 4, 1863, the Confederates surrendered the town to Grant.

Many of the battlefields are dominated by statues, monuments and memorials. Vicksburg has its share, but you can still appreciate the terrain, and understand why it was such a difficult task to take the town. It is a beautiful place, but as with all of the battlefields, it’s very somber at the same time. When you know what happened there, how many soldiers on both sides were lost, as well as the civilian casualties, it gives you pause. The National Cemetery has a plaque, as they all do at each of the battlefields, telling how many are buried in the cemetery, and how many are known versus unknown. At Vicksburg, there are 18,244 interments, of which, 12,954 are unknown.

The photographs accompanying this are just a sample of some of my favorites that I have taken there during my many visits. Some are infrared, some regular photos. Most of the battlefield on the tour takes you around both defensive positions that were dug into the hillsides, or built on them, by the Confederates. Others are the Union positions. At varying points during the siege, the two lines were less than 200 yards from each other. The townspeople dug themselves into hillsides too, to protect themselves from constant Union artillery bombardment. The Visitor’s Center there gives a very accurate depiction of what the civilian experience was during the siege.

Springfield and Chicago Explorations, Part 2

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Day two of our adventures centered on downtown Chicago. I wanted to show Cathie as many of the most popular sites, so we started at Cloud Gate (aka The Bean) in Millennium Park. The great thing about Cloud Gate is that no matter what angle you look at, you get great reflections of the skyline, and of course, you will end up in the photo too. Also, you have to go underneath, the curves of the stainless steel underneath give some great “Rohrshach” reflections. I did some time lapses of the crowds, but having photographed it many times already, I didn’t take many photos.

I had thought about also heading over to either the Crown Fountain, or across the serpentine bridge to Maggie Daley Park, but the day was already getting very hot, and I had some interiors in mind too if we needed to cool off. So, we went across Michigan Ave. to the Cultural Center (the original main branch of the Chicago Public Library, and has been featured in many films, including “The Untouchables” with Kevin Costner and Robert DeNiro). The main attraction there is Preston Bradley Hall, which is topped by the world’s largest Tiffany glass dome.

From there, we went to the James Thompson Center. It was designed by Helmut Jahn, and has a great atrium (very post-modern). We had lunch, I did a time-lapse there too. We then walked along the River Walk from Dearborn all the way to Lake Shore Drive (stopping for refreshments along the way). We then had dinner at the Billy Goat Tavern (world famous, courtesy of the original Saturday Night Live cast- Cheezborger! Cheezborger!)

After dinner, we went to the John Hancock Building. The observation deck gives a 360 degree view of the city: 360 Chicago. They allow tripods on one night, Monday night, so we took advantage of this. We got there around 6:30, caught the sunset from the west side of the building, then got some night skyline photos. All in all, a great day, and there was more fun to come over the next two days! More to come!

Springfield and Chicago Explorations, Part 1

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It’s not often I get to be a tourist on my home turf, but that’s exactly what I had the opportunity to do earlier this month, when my friend Cathie Crow of CLCrow Photography visited the area. I had been out to South Carolina a few times since April 2014, and Cathie got to show me around. Now it was my turn!

The adventures began in Springfield, on Sunday, July 10. Cathie is a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln’s, and as she has said on many occasions, Springfield is her Disneyland. I drove down early Sunday morning and picked up Cathie at her hotel, and from there, we had breakfast at a relatively famous place in Springfield- Charlie Parker’s Diner (featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives). From there, we drove into downtown Springfield and began our tour of the Lincoln sites- Abraham Lincoln’s home, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the old State Capitol Building, and the train station that now houses several props, costumes, and the Presidential Office set from Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln.”  All are worth the visit, you get a genuine look at what life and politics were like in the pre- and Civil War eras. Those of you who know me well know that the Civil War era is the period of American history I am particularly drawn to.

The final stop, somber given its nature, was Abraham Lincoln’s tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery (and yes, Cathie and I rubbed Abe’s nose, another “must”). Down the hill, behind the tomb, is the temporary vault where Lincoln’s remains were kept until the tomb was completed. Also in Oak Ridge Cemetery, we visited the Illinois World War II Memorial, the Illinois Korean War Memorial, and the Illinois Vietnam War Memorial.

The visit finished with a stop at the Dublin Pub, where I tried in vain to convince Cathie to try another Springfield institution, the horseshoe. I had one, it’s a tradition! From there, the three hour drive up to the Chicago area, where the adventures would continue!