Photokenesis

Police Towing

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00 -0500

I love numbers and odd collections of things together and this window had it all. Where else but Chicago can you buy a used Police Towing sign and a giant orange toothbrush head? It is reminding us of proper personal hygiene...to brush and floss, but not too hard or else you will cut yourself in half. This image also brings in play one of my reoccurring themes in photos: dichotomy. In this case, the division of the two opposing parts is the words: Clean (toothbrush, sanitation)/Dirty (condition of mannequin and showing of private parts for some folks).

DePaul Eyes

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00 -0500

Overlooking Wish Field, at DePaul University in Chicago, is this corner mural of the patron, St. Vincent DePaul. Executed in 2001, by Mark Elder, it is comprised of miniature faces of members of the DePaul University community. The faces of sixteen individuals make up the repeating pattern that becomes the portrait of St. Vincent. These individuals represent students, faculty and staff, and include a custodian, a former dean and a Vincentian priest. The mural is the largest likeness of St. Vincent in the world, and celebrates the great diversity of the DePaul community.

Old World Schlitz

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00 -0500

Brewery-tied houses facades, most commonly located at prominent and highly-visible corners of at least one, if not two, neighborhood commercial streets, are often branded with the trademark or insignia of the brewing company rendered in carved stone, terra cotta or pressed metal. Perhaps the most recognizable is the Schlitz’s “belted globe.” The design is based on sculptor Richard Bock’s design for Schlitz’s exhibit at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

Snow Tops

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00 -0500

The leading lines of the frosted wooden floor boards and hanging lanterns draw our eyes inward to the pulled tarp of a nearby building, It gives the impression of a staged play ready to perform. The winter encrusted table tops from an outdoor restaurant patio makes me think that even non-living metal objects need to be awakened for the coming season. The dotted snow seals the picture in a flat snow globe of visual wonder.

Mobile Phone

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00 -0500

Taken from the elevated Redline train stop in Uptown, I liked the busy complex city wires that filled the frame and then the comical chatty graffiti on a popping yellow canvas. Before the train arrived, the truck had left and took with it an image that will never be created again in quite the same way.

The White Square

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00 -0500

After yesterday's hot and humid Spring hail storm, I thought it was time to share a few more snow images from our very mild Chicago Winter. The snow never seemed to stick for more than a day, but I was able to capture the lightly falling snow with a brick wall theme this week. All the geometric shapes attracted me to this image. Once I got the composition lined up right, it worked.

Dusk, Southern Style

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00 -0500

Dusk is the beginning of darkness in the evening, and occurs after twilight. I was standing in the middle of the neighborhood, looking towards the business end of the lane. And like a photographer has to do sometimes, I waited. I wanted to catch the blinking red lights in their awake position in order to convey a sense of urgency and perhaps anticipation of things to come. For now, the sky is battling with the street lights for Power, but in an hour or a few minutes, there will be one champion and it will control, not only the passing cars, but the Night, as well.

The Sun Goes Down

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00 -0500

In this Sun image, the subject matter is again off-stage and almost below the horizon in back of me. I took this image from my back porch in Chicago and I loved the way the late afternoon clouds, tired from hanging in the sky all day, decided to rest on the hammock lines of the telephone poles. Usually, you see a train snaking through this scenery (and I looked closely to make sure it wasn't hiding), but today it was in between stations and snapshot clicks.

Good Morning, Sun

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00 -0500

I had a friend visit my city last week and she is a Harry Potter fan, which made me think of the Twilight series, which made me think of the cycle the sun takes across the sky based on Stephanie Meyer's book titles,, which is the inspiration behind this week's trio of photos. First up. Sunrise as it spills across the urban skyline. It is interesting that the main subject is off-stage, but its illumination is front and center. My favorite part is the subliminal "E" in one of the images sweet spots, that to me represents the subject matter's lifetime: Eternal. Also, a vampire's lifetime.

Urban Lincoln Tunnel

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00 -0500

This one deserves a little explanation. When I saw these bits of broken Chicago city elements I thought of a modern gritty mixed media presentation of New York's Lincoln Tunnel that connects NJ with Manhattan via the Hudson River. And each colorful square a person's story. Chicago is about 700 miles away from New York but I grew up in New York and that was my state of mind at the time.