vintage chicago in shadows and sunrays

the soot and the shine of the city after dark

chicago. hipster style.

cleveland: witnesses of decay.

Took a deeper look at the wastelands of Cleveland, when I was home for Christmas. It surprises me more and more each time to find moments of incredible beauty in the way this city has fallen apart. It’s bittersweet, but absolutely fascinating at the same time.

bliss.

The top of the Hancock Building. Glorious silhouettes and cityscapes. My two favorite things.

some things are just better in b&w

“We should have framed this place, and kept it on your shelf, next to your big city dreams.”

chicago round one- river north.

According to unnamed sources on Wikipedia, the River North area has the largest concentration of art galleries in the U.S. outside of Manhattan. Cool, huh? I didn’t notice lots of art galleries, because it was below freezing outside, and we were intently focused on finding the best gritty urban shots on the way back from the pizzeria to my mom’s apartment. River North is, as my mom fondly says “the only place i’d live in Chicago.” I will agree that it is a wonderful part of town. Decidedly upscale but unassuming. We ate amazing fancy latin food at Nacional 27, delicious deep-dish pizza at Lou Malnatis, and perused the design mecca, also dubbed the “BMW of Home Depots,” by Z- The Merchandise Mart. Anyway the point is, we really wanted to stay close to the apartment because it was so cold outside, so it was a good exercise in choosing a district and seeking out the subtle moments of art on the streets.

sneak peek.

Get ready for the best set of Chicago pictures yet! Z and I went to Chi town right before Christmas for some anti-tourist touristing, in an attempt to get to know the city on our own terms. I’m excited to show you the kinds of things we discovered.

chicago: trip 2, part 2

More photos from Chicago Trip 2. These are more about the people; the frantic pace of the city and the fleeting moments of quiet found amidst all the noise; contrasting the old and the new styles and schools of people and architecture; and my ongoing obsession with funky bridges and food photography.

chicago: trip 2, part 1

Going through the photos from my second trip to Chicago, I noticed that it seems like I took a strange mishmash of all sorts of different things away from the experience- there is a distinct lack of unity and theme through the collection. Then the more I looked through them and sorted them out, I realized there are actually are a couple interesting themes going on that I wasn’t aware of when I was shooting. These particular photos are going to be the first installment from this trip. They are representative of the details of the city. The intricacies and seemingly uncoordinated bits and pieces that make up the bigger picture of the Chicago. The small things that may or may not be noticed as you walk through the city streets, but nevertheless hold great importance in the grand scheme of things.