Spent some time in the City last weekend and had some time to kill before and after an engagement shoot.
Literally shot from the hip.
Literally shot from the hip.
Blog
Color my world
Yesterday I was sent out to take a portrait of Bob Mitchler at his home. I got his address but the location was described as, "the house with the big flag in front." Little did I know that "big" flag really meant "Huge" flag. Bob had a whooping 18 feet of American pride hanging in his front yard. The story was about how at the age of 90 he is going to be competing in a canoe race, but the canoe's, he said, were all still in storage. The photo that ran was him by the river, but I couldn't resist doing some stuff around the flag.
Eye in the sky...
Harsh 3:00 sunlight on a clear day . Eww.
Eye in the sky...
Harsh 3:00 sunlight on a clear day . Eww.
Power Lines
I was out in the far west regions of our coverage area the other day and was amazed at the size and number of these structures out there. I know that they are really everywhere, but we seem to have become accustomed to them and go about our buisness without giving them a second thought.
The big debate right now is over the windmills that are springing up all over the place. Makes me wonder if these behemoths faced the same resistance that the skinny white poles are receiving now.
Skaters, Soldiers, and Sunbursts
Four completely unrelated photos but some that I really wanted to share.
Mrs. Lopez lives in Aurora and her son was one of the first in our area to die in combat. She is a great woman and nearly had the reporter and I in tears as we were talking to her. "Just don't forget them. Never forget them." she told us.
The Kane County Drug Court had a graduation ceremony for those that had graduated from the program. Kids from the local high school came out to sing some songs for the graduates and the judges that sentenced them were there to say a few words also.
With the Blackhawks now two games up in the Stanley Cup Finals (HECK YA!) I went out to a rat game (pick-up game) at a ice rink to ask guys about their favorite players. It was a glorified man on the street assignment so I figured I'd have some fun with the portraits. Here is my favorite.
And finally.... Stuck in traffic on hour and a half drive in this morning, I passed the time as usual (by taking pictures out the window) but actually came away with something I liked this time!
Mrs. Lopez lives in Aurora and her son was one of the first in our area to die in combat. She is a great woman and nearly had the reporter and I in tears as we were talking to her. "Just don't forget them. Never forget them." she told us.
The Kane County Drug Court had a graduation ceremony for those that had graduated from the program. Kids from the local high school came out to sing some songs for the graduates and the judges that sentenced them were there to say a few words also.
With the Blackhawks now two games up in the Stanley Cup Finals (HECK YA!) I went out to a rat game (pick-up game) at a ice rink to ask guys about their favorite players. It was a glorified man on the street assignment so I figured I'd have some fun with the portraits. Here is my favorite.
And finally.... Stuck in traffic on hour and a half drive in this morning, I passed the time as usual (by taking pictures out the window) but actually came away with something I liked this time!
Night on the town
My friend Matt and I went and hug out in Downtown Wheaton the other night. Parking garages continue to be one of my favorite spot to shoot.
Lauren + Bryan
Lauren and Bryan tied the knot last weekend with a small ceremony and a killer reception in Lockport. Here are a few from their day...
West High Graduation
West Aurora High School had their graduation last Monday night. Having never shot a graduation I had heard how long and boring they can be, but I got there to find a room full of beautiful colors and shapes. "Heaven!" I thought.
We were there covering both the graduation and as part of another project on one student. I figured I would shoot until he walked and then transmit some images for print and be back out for the jubilation at the end.
That was the plan at least. Long story short: the bowl at Northern Illinois University was a black hole for my cell phone and internet card. So after frantically running around with my laptop in one arm and cell phone in other I found a spot where I could get mediocre service.
In the meantime, the ceremony finished, hats were thrown, hugs were had and pissed off was I.
Oh well, such is the biz I guess.
Mini Special Olympics
A local school held a mini event day in honor of the Special Olympics. It gave the young special needs kids there a chance to see what it is like to compete and tryout some of the events.
Good times.
Good times.
WildKatz
The Aurora Wildkatz are a semi-pro football team that give the kids who either didn't get drafted or had another commitment at the time, another chance to make it big.
They had a practice the other night in preparation from their home opener on Saturday.
I love shooting practice's. It's a chance to play and shooting things under less pressure since there is generally no imdiate deadline and the players are a lot more laid back.
Their practice field, a local high schools football field, had a completely red endzone. Amazing.
The coach and one of the players had their kids there and during a lull before the practice started the kids started playing from opposite sides of the fence.
A few frames later, they noticed the camera and attacked me.
They had a practice the other night in preparation from their home opener on Saturday.
I love shooting practice's. It's a chance to play and shooting things under less pressure since there is generally no imdiate deadline and the players are a lot more laid back.
Their practice field, a local high schools football field, had a completely red endzone. Amazing.
The coach and one of the players had their kids there and during a lull before the practice started the kids started playing from opposite sides of the fence.
A few frames later, they noticed the camera and attacked me.
Days Gone By
A few frames from A few days ago...
Abuelo's
Nanny.
Pop.
Pop.
Blue Beach
Flea Land
Our trips seem to be planned around food. Before we even got into Bowling Green, I am pretty sure we had every meal planned out strategically so we would hit all our favorites. Our problem then becomes filling the gaps between chow time.
Sunday brought lots of rain which killed any plans of walking campus. After some head scratching, we settled on Flea Land- an indoor flea market billed as "Kentucky's Largest."
Now, having grandparents in Florida (Hi Grandma and Grandpa!) I have logged my fair share of miles in what may be the flea market capitol of the nation. If this is Kentucky's largest....... well that would just be sad.
It did make for some fun photos though!
One of our many must have food stops this trip was Chaney's Dairy Barn. After devouring a amazing double scoop Cookie Dough bowl topped with Reese's pieces I spotted two big slides in the back. I had to go......
And we will end on a self portrait in a mirror surrounded by what my editor would call, "schmutz."
Sunday brought lots of rain which killed any plans of walking campus. After some head scratching, we settled on Flea Land- an indoor flea market billed as "Kentucky's Largest."
Now, having grandparents in Florida (Hi Grandma and Grandpa!) I have logged my fair share of miles in what may be the flea market capitol of the nation. If this is Kentucky's largest....... well that would just be sad.
It did make for some fun photos though!
One of our many must have food stops this trip was Chaney's Dairy Barn. After devouring a amazing double scoop Cookie Dough bowl topped with Reese's pieces I spotted two big slides in the back. I had to go......And we will end on a self portrait in a mirror surrounded by what my editor would call, "schmutz."
Waffle House Wedding
Sorry about the lack of posting these past few days, Jordan and I took a trip down to Western Kentucky to visit some friends before everyone scatters for the summer and beyond. It was great to see everyone again and watch a fantastic end of the year video. You guys did amazing.
On our way down to Bowling Green, we stopped off at one of the greatest places on earth, Waffle House. This particular Waffle House seemed rather busy for the time of night and location, but undeterred we walked in and grabbed two seats at the counter. I looked around to try and understand the busyness when my eyes landed upon two professional camera's at the other end of the counter.
Camera owners, I have found, are a lot like dog owners. When you run into another one you must go in and check out whats tagging along. We started talking and turns out they were photographing a wedding..... wait for it....... at the Waffle House.
"Excuse me?" I thought, "I thought I just heard you say there was a wedding party in this very Waffle House."
After clearing it with the photographers, Jason Allender and his wife, I introduced myself to the Bride and Groom- Brad and Priscilla Smith - who were super cool and joked that the photographers just kept multiplying.
I did my best to stay out of their way, but I couldn't resist. It was a wedding................ at Waffle House!
On our way down to Bowling Green, we stopped off at one of the greatest places on earth, Waffle House. This particular Waffle House seemed rather busy for the time of night and location, but undeterred we walked in and grabbed two seats at the counter. I looked around to try and understand the busyness when my eyes landed upon two professional camera's at the other end of the counter.
Camera owners, I have found, are a lot like dog owners. When you run into another one you must go in and check out whats tagging along. We started talking and turns out they were photographing a wedding..... wait for it....... at the Waffle House.
"Excuse me?" I thought, "I thought I just heard you say there was a wedding party in this very Waffle House."
After clearing it with the photographers, Jason Allender and his wife, I introduced myself to the Bride and Groom- Brad and Priscilla Smith - who were super cool and joked that the photographers just kept multiplying.
I did my best to stay out of their way, but I couldn't resist. It was a wedding................ at Waffle House!
Mock Prom Crash
With Prom weekend upon us, the Oswego Fire and Police department staged a mock accident in the parking lot of Oswego High School. The scene was set with a car and a van in a T-bone style accident. The car's driver and passenger were supposed to be intoxicated as they were either coming from or going to Prom. The van was the innocent bystander.
It was taken very seriously and acted out in real time by the police and firefighters..... the kids, well not so much. Smiles and jokes were coming from the crowd the whole time.
The actors were kids from the theater department and it seem to impact them the most. After watching one of her friends get zipped into a body bag and put into the Coroners van, one actress said she had to turn away because it was "just to real."
Will it actually have an effect? I don't know. I really hope it does, because I like getting the names of people from themselves rather than an incident report.
It was taken very seriously and acted out in real time by the police and firefighters..... the kids, well not so much. Smiles and jokes were coming from the crowd the whole time.
The actors were kids from the theater department and it seem to impact them the most. After watching one of her friends get zipped into a body bag and put into the Coroners van, one actress said she had to turn away because it was "just to real."
Will it actually have an effect? I don't know. I really hope it does, because I like getting the names of people from themselves rather than an incident report.
Cause everybody needs one....
First go
Aurora had it's own May Day march on May first this year to coincide with the big one in Chicago.
I figured this would be as good a time as ever to dive into the world of video and see what would happen. I've looked at it too much and only see it's faults so I would love to get some feedback from you all that have done this much more and much, much better than I have.
Thoughts, comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I figured this would be as good a time as ever to dive into the world of video and see what would happen. I've looked at it too much and only see it's faults so I would love to get some feedback from you all that have done this much more and much, much better than I have.
Thoughts, comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Feature Hunt
A few from last week that fell short of the press.
The drive-by.
The morning commuter.
The rain cloud.
The evening shift.
The light test.
The End.
The drive-by.
The morning commuter.
The rain cloud.
The evening shift.
The light test.
The End.
Wet Weekend
This weekend was a crazy mix of sun followed by clouds and cold. Made for some fun photos though.
On our way back to the suburbs, a seagull flew right down the middle of the street and nearly flew in the truck.
Saturday brought cloud cover most of the day, but around 3:30 there was a break and the sun decided to coax us, well..... me and then I dragged Jordan with me, out for a walk.
Turns out that break wasn't meant to last and after we got a good 15 minutes away from home the skies decided it was a good time to bring on the rain.
I still haven't heard the end of that one.
On our way back to the suburbs, a seagull flew right down the middle of the street and nearly flew in the truck.
Saturday brought cloud cover most of the day, but around 3:30 there was a break and the sun decided to coax us, well..... me and then I dragged Jordan with me, out for a walk.
Turns out that break wasn't meant to last and after we got a good 15 minutes away from home the skies decided it was a good time to bring on the rain.
I still haven't heard the end of that one.
Cloudy night
Last night we had some wicked clouds come over the city.
Stuck in traffic, I had plenty of time to play....
Twenty second exposure off the balcony over the beach.
Stuck in traffic, I had plenty of time to play....
Twenty second exposure off the balcony over the beach.