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!

rinse and repeat

I'm getting so repetitive. I did Chicago pictures, and then Stars on Ice, and now I have more Chicago pictures, and next I'll have more Stars on Ice. I'm completely predictable, and I apologize. Someday, when I get caught up, I'll work on being more original.


In the plaza at old the First National Bank building, Marc Chagall installed a mural in 1974 called "The Four Seasons." It's meant to be a whimsical representation of Chicago at all times of the year. This is the side that faces Dearborn, I believe. 1/125, f/2.5, ISO 400.


Reverse side of the mural. 1/125, f/2.5, ISO 400.


In the suburb where my mom works, there are all of these stop signs with "additions" to them. My favourite one says "in the naaaaame of love," but when I went back with my camera to find it, I got a little lost in the neighbourhood near her office. So I just settled for this one. 1/3200, f/3.2, ISO 200.

Next: yep, more Stars on Ice.

that's chicago.

I'm so excited for my first hometown post on this blog! I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, but have been living in central Michigan for over 2 years now. I'm only a 3 and a half hour drive from my parents' house, so I go home every chance that I get - usually about once a month. This set of photos are from a day downtown with some friends while I played tour guide, one of my favourite pastimes.


The "Diamond Building," as it's commonly known, is actually the Smurfit-Stone Building, and the big metal blog is "The Bean," which is actually called "Cloud Gate." It was a new sculpture installed in Millenium Park, which opened in 2001, I believe. And no, I did not photoshop that beautiful blue sky. 1/2500, f/10, ISO 200.


This is Holy Name Cathedral, on North State Street. I think it's the "headquarters," for lack of the proper term, for the Chicago Archdiocese of the Catholic Church...but again, those might not be the right terms. At any rate, it is a beautiful building, tucked right into the city. 1/200, f/11, ISO 200.


Detail from the Chicago Tribune Building. I had a traumatic experience here in sixth grade, regarding the county spelling bee, almost qualifying for the state bee, and not having the right list of words that all the other kids have. You put the pieces together. It's still too painful for me to talk about. Pretty building, though. 1/320, f/5, ISO 400.


I admit, I almost deleted this photo in my camera when I was looking at my pictures from the day on the train out of the city. I forgot to reset my aperture after I went back into the sunlight, and this looked way too overexposed to be salvaged. I was upset, because the broken ice on the river was just gorgeous that day. I kept it, though, and I managed to tweak some settings on the image, and now look at it! Yay! 1/320, f/5, ISO 400.

Next up: same day in Chicago, but a different occasion - Stars on Ice!