Blog Archives
Irv’s grand gesture
This guy? It’s legendary Chicago gossip-columnist Irv Kupcinet, gesturing across the river to the former location of the Chicago Sun-Times, where he worked for more than 50 years. The statute (Preston Jackson was the scupltor) was installed in 2006, on what would have been Irv’s 94th birthday.
Chicago, Illinois
photographed 6.27.2022
the importance of hydration
If you were here yesterday, you saw my great confession about how I’ve totally pissed away a lot of photography years by refusing to photograph people.
And I am still sticking with that assessment.
Chicago, Illinois
photographed 6.30.2022
the photographers
This is the story of one thing I got right and another thing that I got wrong.
Almost from the beginning of thinking of myself as a photographer, I was steadfast in my refusal to photograph people. I just…didn’t. What I pretended was an Important Artist Decision™ was mostly just me being an idiot, being too afraid to try, being afraid someone might notice me or challenge me or yell at me or whatever. That’s the part I got very, very wrong.
The part I got right was that I needed to be in places that were more populated, where there were lots of people out on the streets doing their things. Lubbock is not exactly a pedestrian-friendly place, so on top of not being a huge city, no one is really outside and it’s hard to find subjects and harder to blend in, to be patient about waiting for something photo-worthy to happen.
So, earlier in the summer when I was in Chicago, I went for a photo walk with a street photographer that I’d met on Instagram, and he was kind enough to share his favorite locations with me. And then, later in the week, I ventured out on my own and discovered that street photography is, in fact, something that I can do.
Now I am trying not to think about how many good photos I’ve missed over the years because I was too afraid to push myself.
Chicago, Illinois
photographed 6.30.2022
all the saints are here
As I mentioned yesterday, I found the statue store right there on the main street of Benld, Illinois. Even though I have all the religious statues that I need*, I wish the place had been open: I would have liked to see this array of saints up close.
Benld, Illinois
photographed 7.3.2022
*Zero. I have zero religious statues. And that’s exactly how many I need.
camel
I didn’t know what I’d see that Sunday morning on the main street of Benld. Maybe a bank. Or a liquor store. Or two or three dollar stores. I surely did not anticipate a store full of weathered religious statuary.
But that is indeed what was there, one door down from Stan’s Barber Shop and across the street from the Hebenstreit Apartments.
You just never know…
Benld, Illinois
photographed 7.3.2022
One Day | One Image 