if i can make it there, i can make it anywhere

I love cities. I grew up about 45 minutes away from Chicago, and even as a young girl, I adored going downtown. My favourite places that I have visited are all cities. I love the hustle and bustle, the abundance of things to do, the culture, the options, everything. So ever since I was young, I have wanted to visit New York. I finally went last month and had a wonderful time. From Philadelphia, I took a bus to New York, and met my mom in Times Square - she'd flown in from Chicago earlier. We walked to our hotel, I cleaned up and changed clothes, and we hit the town immediately for dinner at Patsy's (not that great...I guess Frank Sinatra wasn't a food critic) and then we walked around Midtown. Here are some of my best shots, taken with my Canon 50mm/1.8 lens.


I was excited to see Radio City Music Hall because it's a legendary place for music, and I happen to love music. I guess I was a little caught up in trying to get this shot, because I really didn't notice the barricades and people in formal gowns until we were trying to cross the street, but we were waved in another direction. Right. The Tony Awards. We weren't exactly dressed for those. So instead of fighting the crowds heading toward the front of the building, we went around and walked through Rockefeller Center. 1/30, f/5, ISO 100.


From Rockefeller Center, we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral. I wasn't expecting it to be so beautiful - it reminded me of many of the Gothic cathedrals I've seen in Europe. We didn't go in, since there was a Sunday evening service. 1/80, f/6.3, ISO 400.


St. Thomas Church, located at 5th and 53rd, was covered mostly by scaffolding, so we couldn't see much of the façade. I was able to snap this shot of the back of the church, though. 1/80, f/8, ISO 200.


My grandma used to say, "This _____ is just like Grand Central Station," to refer to something that was busy or crowded. She never visited New York, though, so my mom really wanted to go inside the building and see it. I like big train stations, so I enjoyed seeing it, too, although I think that Union Station in Chicago is prettier. Since it was a Sunday evening, it wasn't too busy, but the other times that we went through Grand Central on the subway, it was a madhouse. I was so glad to have my f/1.8 lens for this shot, although I still think I should have exposed it a bit more. 1/80, f/1.8, ISO 800.


I have to say that I really wasn't a fan of Times Square. We stayed there because of the central location and the proximity to subway lines, but I don't think I'd ever stay near it again. However, I do think that the Hershey's Store wins for the coolest obnoxious-lights-display. 1/60, f/7.1, ISO 400.

Next: day two of the trip - Statue of Liberty and more.

happily ever after

During the two years that I spent at the University of Miami, Jenny was my best friend. During our first year, she lived on the floor above mine, and we met at an InterVarsity ice cream social during one of the first couple of weeks of school. We each thought the other was a little crazy, so we bonded quickly. She was also a music student, and with her perfect pitch and incredible talent, she helped me get through three semesters of honors sight singing and ear training. I helped her stay sane. During our second year, she decided to stay in the same room with the same roommate, so I moved upstairs to her floor and roomed with one of her friends. It was a classic college dorm experience - everything I wanted my first year to be - there were a bunch of us who became close over the year, and we were always running back and forth between rooms. When I decided to transfer schools and return to Chicago, saying goodbye to Jenny was the hardest part of leaving Miami. And the following year, when my fiancé broke up with me just a few days before my spring break, when I was scheduled to return to Miami for a visit, it was Jenny who talked me through the tough times.

We haven't kept in touch that well. I'm pretty terrible at staying close to people after I move, actually, which is too bad, since I've moved so many times in the past 7 years. But Jenny had the wonderful idea to fall in love with a boy from Wisconsin who went to undergrad in Chicago, so I get to see them about once a year or so. Even though the cumulative time that I've spent with Sam is better counted in hours, not even in days or weeks, it's easy to see how perfect they are for each other. He's a musician, too, and their wedding day was a celebration set to a soundtrack of their own compositions. I'm so glad that I was able to make the trip to Philadelphia so that I could attend. I just wish that I'd received the lens that I ordered on time, so I could have used it at the wedding! Still, though, I did get some nice shots, once I did some cropping. These are my favourites - all taken on a Canon 20D with a Canon 50mm/1.8 lens.


I took some photos during the ceremony, but I was several rows back, sitting behind tall people, and I only had a 50mm lens, so none of the ceremony photos were that wonderful. Unfortunately, I was a point-and-shooter for so long and so used to shooting long days of skating with constant light conditions that I often forget to change my settings when I change environments. Here, you can see what happens when you use settings appropriate for an indoor, naturally-lit church outside on a bright day. Oups. With Photoshop, I was able to tweak the colours a bit, adding some shadows and then removing the red that resulted in Sam's face. Much to my surprise, I like how it turned out. 1/80, f/2.5, ISO 400.


This "petal" of butter was at every place setting at the reception. I thought it was genius. 1/100, f/2.5, ISO 400.


Dancing to "Time Has Told Me" by Nick Drake, Jenny and Sam looked like they couldn't have been happier. This is my favourite shot from the entire wedding. I'd like to thank Jenny for seating me at a table next to the dance floor! 1/100, f/2.5, ISO 400.


I pulled this close-up from a full-length shot that had chairs in the way of their legs. I didn't want to detract from the expression on Jenny's face or the ring on her hand resting on his arm. 1/100, f/2.5, ISO 400.

I'd love to be a wedding photographer. I was so excited to get these photos edited and cropped and posted, even just on Facebook, so I could share them with Jenny & Sam and their friends. Jenny & Sam hired a fabulous photographer, and I can't wait to have some free time so I can look at his portfolio. Unfortunately, I don't have the scope of equipment needed to do what he does, but maybe I could scout around for some lower-budget weddings. ;-) Let me know if you know anyone who wants a good deal on a wedding or engagement photographer...especially if they're in the Chicago area!

Next: The wedding was my first stop on my trip East. The next few posts will feature my visit to New York City, and then I'll post some photos from the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials.

distillery

On my last trip to Toronto, which was about a month ago, I discovered that the sensor on my 20D was in desperate need of a cleaning. Well, I kind of knew this, but it was even worse than I remembered, so instead of using it to take photos, I used my old backup, which is a Kodak DX6490. Yeah...not exactly the quality that I'm used to! So these photos aren't my best, but I did manage to get some shots that I like while hanging out one Sunday afternoon in the Distillery District. If I have my facts correct, this an area in Toronto that used to be a working distillery, but they've since taken the beautiful red brick buildings and turned it into a fun area for shopping, dining, arts, and entertainment. Distillerydistrict.com proclaims it "Toronto's Hippest Address" and a lot of movies were filmed here during the 90s.


View of the main plaza in the Distillery. I don't know if this is an everyday thing, or just a weekend or Sunday thing, but there were tents set-up, art-show style throughout the plaza. Classy tents, though, with cool stuff and beautiful jewelry - most well out of my price range. I like the angle that the "Gooderham & Worts" sign cuts across the photo at, and I really like the reflection of the clock in the window. I took photos of the clock itself, but this is more interesting.


My favourite part of this photo is definitely the sky. I like that it appears to be in motion, the colour of it, and the wispiness of the clouds. I also like the lampposts on the right. Please ignore the man on the left in the daisy dukes. I wanted to crop him out, but using 4x6 proportions, I would have had to sacrifice too much sky, so there he stays. I suppose he adds character.


I don't have any great close-ups of the buildings, but this is the best of the ones that I have. The green Victorian ironwork against the red brick is just fantastic. The sign in the lower righthand corner indicates the building's number. Since there are not streets here, just pedestrian walkways, all of the buildings are numbered.

Next: I really will start to highlight last week's trip. I had just forgotten that I had a few decent Toronto photos to share.

tulip time

Every May, the town of Holland, Michigan has its Tulip Time Festival. There's a carnival, parades, traditional greasy-yet-delightful festival food, dancers, and all kinds of other things that I didn't get to see because I was only there for a couple of hours one afternoon. What I did see was the spectacular array of tulips that adorn the downtown area. Holland is home to Hope College (let's not go into how they were mean to me when I visited it during my junior of high school and ended up deciding not to apply), and it's a lovely college town, with several picturesque streets of interesting shops. I went with Jules, and we found a really cool fair trade import store, but we were both feeling a bit broke, so we just browsed.

Here are some of my favourite shots from our visit. These were all taken with my Canon 50mm/1.8 lens, which is my lens that I use for everyday things. I wish I had the 1.4, but the 1.8 is such a bargain!


8th Street downtown - one of the main streets for shopping and dining. Our visit to Holland was just before a storm blew in, so I really like how the sky is starting to take on a deeper blue colour. 1/1250, f/4, ISO 100.


I don't often see tulips in this maroon colour. I played around with a few different shots of these, but I ended up liking this one best. I used a small aperture so I could focus on the blooms and let the stems and leaves fade into the background. 1/100, f/4, ISO 100.


These were my favourite tulips! We found them at the intersection of 8th and one of the major streets. I love the happy pink colour, and I took quite a few shots of these. This was toward the end of our visit, and you can see that the wind is starting to pick up. 1/50, f/16, ISO 100.


Same plot of tulips, but from more of an aerial angle. I wish I could have these outside my house. Maybe it would motivate me to go outside once in a while! Not long after this, we started getting rained on, so that's it for Tulip Time. 1/50, f/20, ISO 100.

Up next: I'll start chronicling last week's trip to Philadelphia and New York. I did have internet while I was there, but by the time we got back to the hotel in the evenings, I was usually so tired that I just couldn't make myself edit photos and blog.

hometown pride

I haven't posted recently because I've been dealing with a dirty sensor on my camera. When I say "dealing," I really mean "ignoring." I finally learned how to clean it and did that last night, so I'm all set for my trip to Philadelphia and New York tomorrow. Adorama kindly forgot to ship the lens I ordered last week, so it's supposed to show up tomorrow at my friend's house in Philly. Let's hope so - I'm anxious to try it out on my trip!

I'll have a lot of trip goodies when I get back, but for now, here are a few more Chicago shots from one of my trips home in May. Dirty sensor and all. I apologize. And this is just a quick post, since I have to leave my house in less than an hour to catch the bus to the airport.


Detail of a staircase banister in the Chicago Cultural Center on Michigan & Washington. When I was in high school, I was a member of a youth orchestra that had concerts in the beautiful ballroom on the third floor in this building.


Priztker Shell in Millenium Park on Michigan Avenue with tulips in the foreground. Please ignore the dust on my sensor. I hate to post it, but I also want to because this is supposed to be a learning, experience, right? And aside from the dust, I like the shot. No photoshopping whatsoever (besides cropping).


Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate" in Millenium Park. It's "The Bean." Kind of a boring shot, but if you look closely, there's a row of pigeons sitting on top. And I really do love "The Bean."

Next time: I have some photos from the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, MI, and then I'll start posting trip things. Unfortunately, I don't expect to have much internet access during my trip next week, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to check in while I'm away. Maybe, though!

Close-up with the Stars

Last Stars on Ice post, I promise. At least, the last one until next year, if there is one. I guess there's going to be. They're selling pre-sale tickets, but there are ugly rumours that it's merging with Champions on Ice and it's going to be more like COI. COI has more skaters, but each person only skates once and there aren't awesome group numbers like SOI. SOI is the real deal, in my opinion. So I guess we'll see what happens. Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon officially announced their retirement from competitive skating, so I hope this means they'll be back. If they're back, I will go to multiple shows again.

But anyway, this is about this year's show. These photos are from the stop in Hamilton, ON at the end of April. Jules and I scored some sweet tickets right before the show at the box office - something like fourth row, on the opposite end from where the skaters enter. Fabulous seats, great photo ops, and although the people next to us were a little too enthusiastic, at least they didn't tell us to shut up, right?

Since I've done so many SOI posts, I'm making this one a theme-post. These are all close-ups that I took of the skaters. I had some great opportunities to play with some close shots, because of our seats, and these are some of the winners. All shots taken on 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.


It's hilarious to watch old tapes of Joannie Rochette after watching her now. She's become such a pleasing skater to watch, she's a great entertainer, and she skates with so much emotion now, too. This is from her number in the first half to Fergie's "Finally."


World Champion Jeff Buttle got a hero's reception at this show before his second number, when Kurt Browning welcomed him into the "world champion club." It's not often that a skater gets a standing ovation before skating, but that's what the Hamilton crowd did for Jeff. Hamilton is the best skating crowd in the world. End of story. Anyway, this is actually from his first number, to "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. Sweet shot from a sweet program.


I strugged with the crop on this one, but I finally decided that although the crop is awkward, I had to have both of her hands in the shot. In the closer to act one, "Hard Steele is Back," Jennifer Robinson plays a reporter and here, she's attempting to keep the "fangirls" from storming the "stage." She is not successful. Sorry if I ruined it for you. It's a great number, though. Watch it on youtube from the Japanese tour.


I've been trying not to post two shots of the same skater, but I had to make an exception so I could include both of these shots of Jeff Buttle. Besides, he's in disguise here as a member of "Hard Steele." During the number, he came over and led the crowd right in front of where I was sitting, and he was just so into the part. Awesome.


Kurt Browning counts the number of show warm-ups he's done over the years, as part of the opener to the second act, which is a peek into SOI's warm-up.


Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon send the warm-up into chaos when they appear, doing a rhumba (for people more accustomed to ballroom: the rhumba is a quick dance in ice dance, for whatever reason). It's cheesy, but Dubreuil & Lauzon have the best rhumba in the world, in my opinion, so I love it.


Okay, this isn't a close-up, no, but this shot of Jamie Salé & David Pelletier's "Lovestoned" program is one of my favourites from the tour. I hate that I have to wait for the broadcast until I see this program again - I love it!

Up next: Not! Skating! I really don't know what's next. I might have to dig through my archives for something, or go out and actually take some interesting photos this weekend.

stars on ice, again, eh?

I thought that this year's Stars on Ice tour was so incredible that I just had to see it multiple times, and in multiple countries. That, plus the Canadian tour features some different skaters, plus I love the reunion that tends to happen among my friends when Stars on Ice goes to southern Ontario.

These are from the Toronto stop of the tour, just a few weeks ago. I'd also like to proudly say that I managed to get the white balance, exposure, and everything right at the actual show - these photos have only had minor adjustments done after cropping for sharpness. Woot!


Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir were asked to join the tour for a few of the stops as guest stars after they won a silver medal at the World Championships. It was only their second trip to Worlds. Yep, they really are that good. It was awesome to see them in southern Ontario, since they're both from the London area. For their show program, they did this ballet thing (they always do a ballet thing, it seems), and I was able to get this shot because Jules and I had terrible seats in a very awkward corner. Don't worry, though. We snagged some better ones for the second half. 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 800.


Michelle, editor extraordinaire, thinks this photo is pretty hot. I guess I didn't realize it until she called it to my attention, but it is pretty sweet. It's verrry sharp, even in its original size, and there's a ton of obvious motion in it. Underneath the hair-band costumes are Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon, and this was snapped at the end of the group number that is a hilarious tribute to 70s and 80s hair-band rock. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.


Here are M-F & Patch in more natural costuming, skating to "She's Always a Woman." Because I am such an ooshy-gooshy romantic type, and because they are always flaunting their seemingly perfect relationship around, I think this is one of my favourite photos that I have ever taken of them. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.


Keeping with the "favourite" theme, this is one of my favourite pictures that I've taken of Kurt Browning, from his program to "Papa was a Rolling Stone." It's a little soft in places, but I love his line, even with the big coat and being mid-leap. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.


I do wish Sasha Cohen's arms were a bit more relaxed here, but besides that, I love this shot of her. She was sporting a new haircut that looked adorable at the reception later that night, but I think I like her look better on the ice with a bun. Just my two cents, though. You can barely see her hair here, though, so I guess it doesn't matter much! 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.


Jeff Buttle, fresh from becoming the WORLD CHAMPION, joined the Canadian tour, and with it, brought this incredible new program to "Ribbon in the Sky." It suits him perfectly, and I love it when guys rock Ina Bauers like this. Mad props, Jeff. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next: one more Canadian Stars on Ice. Last one, I promise.