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Wow, I've just realized its been over a month since I posted anything on this blog. I'm officially failing at this blog thing. I will hence forth try much harder to give my avid readers (mom) more skinny on what's the lo-down in Chi-town. Oh I'm so hip.
So as everyone knows, the big news around here is about this nobody black guy from south side becoming only the friggin' next president of the UNITED STATES!!! WHOOOO!! Yeah, so I didn't make it to the Grant Park celebration because about 150,000 people got tickets before I could but I did wander around downtown that night after watching his historic speech on tv and frankly the only way I can explain the silence is: otherworldly. I haven't lived in Chicago very long, but I go downtown almost every day and my consensus so far is that this city is juiced 24 hrs a day. Mornings can be a little slow, but there are people out at all times in all places. But Tues night, either everyone in Chicago was at Grant Park witnessing history in person or they were in their home watching it on tv because the streets were dead empty. And if it hadn't been for the 15 cops posted for every street corner downtown, it would have made for a pretty sweet time to turn over some cars and torch some skyscrapers. And luckily the cops were everywhere because the celebrations went without incident. NO ARRESTS. I find that almost impossible to believe, but apparently everyone had eaten too many hope cupcakes to want to riot, loot, or vandalize.
The next morning was even more unsettling. People were just all so happy. but in a weird way. Like everyone was too giddy to not smirk at each other. It was like we were all in on the joke. Less cynical people say that they were still in shock over the election outcome, but I think people in shock generally tend to make much less eye contact. No, there was an air of "Woah, we just elected a black man as president and we're all still alive. The world is still spinning. Cool." People pushed less in line, young black kids held doors open for old white women, and baby deer came right up to you and ate out of your hand. It was so bizarre.
I will admit, I was a bit choked up watching Obama's acceptance speech. For sure it was a strange and poweful feeling, but I think it's one that many of us had. For so many of us, we really wanted, no, needed this election to go for Obama. If a man so charismatic, so intelligent and so different from anything we'd ever seen before was unable to convice America to vote for him and we instead opted for the cranky old white guy, then what hope was there for America? What hope was there that we could again become the great shining beacon of the world if we chose status quo? This election was not only an historical moment for obvious reasons, it was more importantly a repudiation of the currupt and truly criminal leadership that has for too long led the country to do terrible, horrible, and unforgivable things. The world would truly know how unrepentant and completely unworthy of their trust we were if we had failed to elect the man who stood for change, for inspiration, for thoughtfulness and instead chose McBush. If we had said "you know what, piss off world we're 'Maverics'. We do things our way" and voted for more of the same, then we would all indeed need to hang our heads low with shame. Thank God we're better than that.
And perhaps the most frustrating part of the election was that McCain himself was trying to run on a campaign of change. CHANGE! Really? People bought this line of BS? There are simply too many things to say about how incredibly upsetting his campaign was, so I wont, but I will say this: the McCain I liked and respected when he ran against Bush finally showed up again for his concession speech. The man I wouldn't have minded running for president dropped all the silly partisan pretense and disrobed the Republican shroud of intolerance and fear-mongering that transformed him from a truly individual and respectable man into the repugnant incompentant liar he needed to become to win over his party's base finally reintroduced himself to the American public only much too late. I was only too upset to think that this old man who had devoted so much of his life in service of his country had spent all his credibility on running such a horribly dirty campaign that was so contrary to his personal beliefs. His speech gave me hope that when he returns to the senate we'll see more of the good 'ol McCain we used to know.
The most important thing is this: we live in a new world. And not to hyperbolize too much, but we've never had a greater opportunity to prove to the world that America is really all she says she is. I am extremely hopeful for Obama because as Colin Powell said, "whether you voted for Obama or not, we have to take tremendous pride in the fact that we did this."
Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a religious person. Sure, it's probably due to my mom never sending me to church as a kid, and you know what, God bless her because I'm happy to not have faith. And to those who do, and to those who can't understand why anyone wouldn't, I can't point to you a more adequate summation of my feelings on the topic than this film. I scored some advance screening tickets from Aint It Cool News to see this last night in downtown Chicago, and when I left all I could think were 2 things: 1) Everyone should see this movie and 2)no one who needs to see this movie will actually see it. To be honest, I don't really like Bill Maher. Had I not landed free tickets, I probably would have gone to Eagle Eye or something. Love that Shia. But even though Maher comes across as an irreverrant, self-righteous bully at times, his message is totally spot on. Like me, like a small but growing 14% of the country, he is very concerned about the place religion has in an ever-intellectualized world and the stagnating (and more importantly destructive) effect it has on human society. I'm not going to laud it for being a very tight, well structured poignant documentary that is the must see movie of our times, but it's pretty damn close. Bill Maher has questions, the same questions I have, and he's out there getting some important people to try to answer them. Sadly, the answers are simply not good enough. I don't want to say much more. Definitely go see it. Even if you have faith, if you have an IQ above 100 you'll probably have some questions yourself.
I'm really behind keeping up with this blog, and I wanted to get this posted last Sat. I finally had my first Chicago shoot with local musician named Jelani Walker. Jelani's dropping his first record in February '09 and is a pretty amazing talent. Definitely check out his music on his MySpace page.The shoot was a lot of fun, Jelani was very cool to work with, and Kate was an awesome assistant. I really like some of the images I got and I hope to work with Jelani some more in the future because he's got great presence in front of the camera. Jelani and I hooked up through Craigslist believe it or not, so I've got to give some thumbs up for advertising on CL. I have more people interested in doing some shoots, so I'll post them as they come. It's coming slow and steady, but work is work right?
We got to shoot this thing today for the Wired magazine sponsored Nextfest happening in Chicago this next week (promotional photo shown). After a super early morning setup at the Bean in Millenium Park, Jimmy and I were greeted by team Toyota and the inventor of the iRide who proceeded to totally blow us away by how awesome this new car/segway/awesome rascal performs. The inventor was having so much fun racing around in his pimped ride I felt kind of bad we had to stop him to take his photo. It's super easy to use, you just toggle two joysticks in the cockpit and it goes. Fast. The thing has two different positions, upright for slower, pedestrian travel, and low/wide for up to 30km/hr speed. It's tricked out with a titanium skeleton, ergonomic seat, and a really cool active lcd display on the back. This was clearly transported from some crazy futuristic Japanese world we Americans are not ready for. Most cities in the US have outlawed Segways on streets and sidewalks, so there's no way we're going to have something this cool available anytime soon. Still, I'm officially putting it on my X-mas list. Jimmy's photos will be published in Dec. issue of Wired magazine.
Here is a shot of me modeling for Jimmy Fishbein for what was supposed to be a shoot of NBA #1 draft pick Derrick Rose to run in an article for a local magazine. After a back and forth with his PR agent, having the shoot canceled, then on, then canceled, we were finally scheduled to shoot between 4:30-4:32 yesterday. 2 mins was all we had to get the shot. As the awesome assistant I am (as verified by the notebook and requisite light meter in pocket) I didn't hesitate to show off my amazing modeling talents so Jimmy could pre-viz the final shot. The setup was simple, a single bare profoto light with power pack on a c-stand and boom, fired wirelessly by a pocketwizard. Jimmy uses a canon 5D and yes, even as a Nikon shooter, I am insanely jealous of that camera (as I write, the new 5D mark II has just been announced and utterly destroys any Nikon camera available while costing less. Le sigh...). Sadly, after all the headache of setting up, posing like a rockstar in front of the camera, hiring extra muscle and cops to make sure we didnt get mugged while shooting in Sketchville, Chicago, Mr. Rose couldn't find the 2 mins in his schedule to get himself some free publicity. Oh well, I don't think he'll be in any short supply of that once the season starts anyway.
Apparently I have new neighbors. As I came home from work tonight around 11pm, they had just finished unloading the last of their stuff out of the truck. It had been raining for the past 36 hours - flooding in a lot of the county, so I don't envy the work they had to do in the torrent. They were just shuting down the truck and I talked them into letting me take some photos. Like the idiot that I am, I didnt even bother to introduce myself or anything, I was so wrapped up in getting a photo and letting them be. I need to work on that in the future.
I started work this week assisting a local photographer named Jimmy Fishbein. He's a cool guy, works non-stop, and I hope to learn quite a bit from him. Click on the photo to check out his work.
Public transportation! Huzzah! It's so nice to be able to get around this town without having to drive everywhere. Yesterday Kate and I went downtown, hoping to go to the live outdoor taping of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. And even though they did indeed decide to record in front of a live audience of only a few hundred brave souls who could wait out the torrential rainstorm that pummeled Chicago, we decided to take a pass. We went to the museum instead, and ended up taking a late bus back home. It seems that every time we go downtown we are reminded of the excruciating reality that we live incredibly far from downtown.We like to cheer ourselves up by timing our trips. "That didn't take too long, right?" Kate will ask. "Only 35 mins. Not bad," I'll reply. Of course that's before the 10-15min walk home from the bus stop. It's mental how long it takes to travel 7 miles in this town. Having passed out from the gental lulling of the bus, I woke up to find almost no one left onboard, so I took this photo of the only person in Chicago who apparently has to commute farther than we do.
It's been a while since I last posted, and I feel like I haven't really had much to say lately because day-to-day stuff has become a little bit routine. But really, I guess if I think about it, nothing in Chicago has become routine yet. I'm working at REI Northbrook right now and adjusting well, but really I'm trying to get photo work with talent around town. I've been applying and interviewing for jobs like crazy, and it just never seems to end. Routine: check craigslist in the morning, sift through tons of crap to find one good listing. Send cover letter and resume. Wait. Check emails for replies. No new replies. Wait. Check emails one last time before going to bed- nothing. Wake up, see a new batch of craigslist postings...send out cover letter and resume...rinse and repeat. I've finally snagged a few good interviews with photographers who have all been mostly positive, but I'm not sure I'm a good fit with some of them. My most promising one yet offered me a job as a photo assistant, but technically it's a freelance position, so it could fall out whenever they're out of work. I think I'm going to take it though, since it offers not only the best money of all the jobs, but this is a big agency with an 80,000sq ft studio, lots of clients, and tons of chances to gain experience. Fingers crossed, I could move up fast into a shooting position.
Tomorrow is my day to rest and go find some more photos to shoot. The top is one I started last week and just completed tonight. Not sure what it means...but I'm sure I'll find an excuse to make more like it.
So I'm trying to build this new body of work centered around found or man-made objects that are horribly ordinary and mundane, but essential to our world. I think it's worth examining those things that surround us that we pay no attention to. Why can't they be valued for their true worth? How do they change when we alter our perception of them and they become beautiful or even heroic? I'm seeking out those built spaces, those designed objects and I'm trying to strip away ordinary and reveal something extraordinary. So, if anyone has any suggestions of things that should be photographed, let me know.
Anyway, the title's a work in progress, the aesthetic is a work in progress, it's all a work in progress, but I wanted to share this latest photo because I thought it turned out really quite nice.
Chicago's Air and Water Show. 3 days straight of thinking the city was under attack. When you hear a plane fly over your apt at low altitude, you think "well, crazy flight path, but the airport's not far away, so I understand." When you hear fighter jets passing overhead every 7-10 mins at 3000 ft, however, you begin to think that maybe Godzilla just crawled out of Lake Michigan and we're in a lot of trouble. Turns out, all the shenanigans are really just the Blue Angels doing laps over the city and dialing in their coordinates for the weekend's events.
Let me just reiterate... over the city.
So not only is Chicago's Air and Water Show the biggest, baddest, free-est air show in the country, but they like to fly their jets suuper low over the city. Kate and I were meeting up with one of Kate's new classmates who just happens to live in a really nice building right next to Navy Pier where all the festivities where happening, and as we got off the bus and started walking down the street, an F-14 did this earth shattering air-thrust maneuver down Michigan ave kind of like that one scene in the Transformers movie. The roar of the engines bouncing off the sk
yscrapers magnified the already awesome power of the jet. It was intense. One thing that has always been kind of lame about air shows in America is the fact that the planes are not allowed to fly towards the crowd. This isn't the case in Europe and I always thought they must get a much better show than we do. But then again, unlike in Europe, when a plane crashes here in America, nobody in the crowd gets hurt -trade off I guess. Well, all that seems to mean nothing in Chicago, because not only do the planes fly right towards the crowd, they fly really low, and really fast, and around buildings. It's insane.
So we were having a good time on the roofdeck of Kate's new classmate's flat, and she had some people over and there were a million other neighbors barbecuing and having a good time, and all and all, it was a good time had by all. Apparently we missed Bill Murray jumping out of an airplane with the Golden Knights, and I had already packed my camera up when the Blue Angels finally flew over head to close the show, but I was able to snap a few pics of the planes. Two planes w
ere just amazing to watch: First the B2. You had to really pay attention to the sky to even know this one was flying because not only is this thing invisible to radar, but if radar had ears, it wouldn't be able to hear it either. I'm not kidding, I thought the plane was floating over head like a hot air balloon. I think it uses that silent propulsion drive from The Hunt for Red October. It's Area 51 technology for sure. Crazy. By contrast, however, the F-22 Raptor, another stealth plane, must be overcompensating for something, because that had to be the loudest plane ever made. If you've never seen one of these planes fly...oh my god. It can do anything. I'm pretty sure it even hovered at one point. Then, right before stalling or something, it shot straight up into the air and climbed about 4000 ft in about 2.5 secs. I think the pilot must have passed out from the G's because it hovered again, vertically. Just sort of sat there in the air. If I had seen one of these in person as a kid, I'm pretty sure 
I would've wanted to be a fighter pilot when I grew up. It's that kinda cool.
Anyway, show was fun, definately a different experience than the redneck fest these things usually are out west.
I really can't get enough of this cool building I live in. And since these days I'm usually hanging around the house sending out resumes and following up job emails with more pleads to hire me (damn this recession), I try to find ways to keep myself entertained on a $0/day budget. So I take photos. Rained a bit earlier today, so there were some cool clouds lingering around tonight.
How bout them hardwood floors? So nice.
Well what was I expecting? I mean, luckily they're not everywhere, but one's enough. I'm told by our handy man Alex that someone comes and sprays the building every month, but come on! The sucker was huge and it was scurrying right across the middle of the living room! With the lights on! Bold. I think I found a baby too. Not ok. But, you know, it's the friggin' midwest, I guess these things tend to happen.
I've landed! Well, more like I've pulled in. Driving from Idaho felt sooo long. People say Nebraska is flat and full of corn. They weren't kidding around. I hope to never have to make that drive ever again (knock on wood). In all honesty, however, the first full day of driving through Wyoming was actually quite enjoyable. Day two however...
Chicago is a massive, bustling, diverse, endlessly foreign city to me that is just so amazingly cool. This Idaho boy is in for some surprises I'm sure.
Chicago! Isn't that skyline just so intense? (Sadly, this is the best photo I've taken of Chicago so far, but I had to have some photo to post right? Better photo coming.) I live in Summerdale, (well, I think it's technically between Summerdale and Andersonville and Ravenswood) in this perfect yellow brick building in a two bedroom apt. Hardwood floors, tall ceilings, huge windows - the works. You have any idea how hard it is to find an apt that doesn't have 5'x5' closetless "bedrooms" in Chicago for under $1000/mo? Well, apparently, if you like sleeping horizontally, and not either livi
ng off foodstamps or among roaches in those sweet "garden" apts, you'll end up living way up here in Summerdale. Really, its not that far from downtown in Idaho terms, only about 8 miles north, but in Chicago, that means anywhere from 30-40mins via CTA or a really nice long bike ride against some of the craziest traffic I've ever seen. Gives SLC drivers a run for their money. So, I live kind of far away. Whatever. This is the city of neighborhoods, and Andersonville is pretty hip and all that, so I've got pretty much all I need in a 4 block radius. But I'm sure I'll be heading into town whenever possible.
My hope with this blog is to hold myself accountable during my time here in Chi-Town. I'll be posting new work weekly, if not on a more frequent basis, along with older work. Mostly, It's so mom can see that her little boy is making it in the big, bad city. I have no dreams of this blog becoming a sensation, but if anyone does happen to see anything they like, I'd love to hear from you.
Time to put on some Sufjan and grab a beer.
