Patiently waiting to cross State Street after a bit of shopping. Very patiently. Though it was very busy this afternoon, the streets look empty.
Tag Archives: Street photography
Best of Film Photography: 1989-2003
I have been going through the massive task of scanning, organizing and cataloging all my film photography from negatives all the way back to 1989 when I got my first SLR.
Back then I shot with a Ricoh XR-M with a 50mm lens. Later I got a 18-200mm zoom. Then a friend gave me her old Olympus OM-1 with just a 50mm lens. Toward the later years (and I still have it to this day) a friend of mine gave me his old Nikon N70 with a small zoom lens. Between these cameras I got my chops and I see glints of my obsession as it has grown today.
I wanted to do a best of series from the 1990s, back when I was more interested in finishing school and working. My photography reflects that.
1989. My earliest favorite was taken at my grandma’s place in northern Michigan.
1991. When our Close Up class took a trip to Washington DC I caught this candid of an officer chatting with us.
1992. We drive to northern Michigan to pick up our friend for New Years’ Eve.
1993. One of my first attempts a night shot was taken in Vanderbilt, Michigan during a camping weekend.
1994. My earliest attempt at street photography at a bus stop in Toronto. Black and white suited this photo best.
1997. A friend of mine had the great idea to visit Hartwick Pines near Grayling, Michigan.
1998. More street photography, but at a safe distance in the diag on University of Michigan’s campus.
2000. Our dog Tasha rests in the sun.
2001. One of my most favorite images to show the vastness of the lakebed at low tide.
2002. Taken in the tunnels of Kentucky at speed.
2003. First time on the North Branch Trail, this is one of the last images I would take on film for years.
In looking back at 14 years of amateur photography, I miss film. From time to time I will take out the Nikon and shoot a roll or two. It feels good, sounds good. To this day I get excited at the prospect of heading to Central Camera to get my film developed. I don’t think that feeling will ever go away. Now if I can just stop chimping…
Walking around Lincoln Park
From Out of Chicago‘s website I took advantage of a Lincoln Park architectural tour hosted by Bob Segal, a local photographer and architectural guru who has lived in the Lincoln Park area for many years. (We know this to be true since we visited most of the homes where he lived.)
Oddly I found myself discovering more about the people than the actual architecture we were walking around to learn more about. But I am not upset about that in the least. I did catch some great history lessons, and great snaps in the process.
We also walked an extra bit after lunch and the official end of the tour where we saw “Billionaires’ Row” where many of the newest mansions stay. But it was the mixture of the people and architecture that really inspired me. I chose to highlight my favorites here, but I did actually take photos of buildings, too. 🙂
Memorial weekend
This weekend I found myself in the thick of humanity. With so many people in town visiting, I was only so happy to wander around with my partner and her parents taking it all in. We spend a lot of time on south end of Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park. And in the few hundred snaps, there emerged the theme of family.
Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend as much as I did.
My new personal goal
I have always been interested in photography. If you notice my most recent posts on Flickr I have been pushing myself to capture real people doing real things, versus shooting the same ol’ thing. I will still shoot buildings and what-not but people are always more fascinating than another skyscraper. So let’s see how I grow! Keep me honest and comment critically.