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niche with statue
What happened is that I went to Sicily.
I was fortunate to get to travel with a small group of photographers on a tour organized by Don Toothaker at Hunt’s Photo Education in conjunction with an outstanding tour operator, Allison Scola, the founder of Experience Sicily.
So many things happened while I was gone that I haven’t even really processed them yet.
I made new friends, solidified previous friendships, saw a part of the world I’d never seen before, ate delicious food. And, of course, made thousands of photos. I greatly expanded my photographic skills. I had some deeply personal experiences and revelations.
I don’t have the slightest clue on how to start presenting my experiences. I am worried that I’ll bore my reader(s) with endless photos and/or with endless narratives. I am worried that nothing I can say will convey how much I loved everything about the trip. I am worried that it’s going to sound all breathless and vapid, when in fact it was the opposite of vapid.
So I guess the best thing is to just jump right in.
Here’s a scene we discovered in Palermo one afternoon – we walked down some (very) narrow streets, and into a courtyard, and that’s where I spotted this. I don’t know what the building was or anything about what I photographed. But, to me, this is what Palermo looked like: each street a treasure, every turn enchanting, each view a surprise.
Palermo, Sicily
photographed 8.29.2022
from a distance it looked fine: a metaphor
If you are driving through Carlinville, there’s a very good chance you’ll spot the 1860’s-era Macoupin County courthouse. It’s tall. It has a dome. It’s beautiful.
Or rather, it’s beautiful, as long as you don’t look at it closely. A close look reveals that things are worrisome over at the courthouse. The stone balusters are breaking apart, falling to pieces. There’s one place where the stairs have collapsed. Other places, pieces of the stone have just let go of the building. The longer you look, the more damage you see and the worse shape you understand the building is in.
It seemed like a metaphor for, well, a lot of things.
Carlinville, Illinois
photographed 7.2.2022
side door
The county courthouse in Carlinville stands tall and cuts an imposing silhouette against the backdrop of a small town. The building was constructed between 1867-1870 and has a lot of beautiful Beaux Arts details. But the thing that caught my attention was this humble side door.
Carlinville, Illinois
photographed 7.2.2022
beacon
That afternoon light did me a huge favor, spotlighting the bridge tower like that. And then a boat went by! It was practically an embarrassment of photographic riches, and that’s even without the iconic Chicago Tribune sign over there on the right side….
Chicago, Illinois
photographed 6.27.2022
just another cityscape
Many rectangles, lots of bounced light, and a camera: a recipe for a photograph.
Chicago, Illinois
photographed 6.27.2022
One Day | One Image 