fourpointedstar

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I haven’t made it to any car shows this summer – a reflection of both busyness and a moderate lack of interest. If you forced me to talk about car shows, I’d say that I’ve created the images that I’m proud of and have moved on. But as these images show, I have a few more creative sparks left. I need to let them show up though; that’s the hard part.

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Recently I was reading about the Romanov family in Russia; the absolute lack of compassion on the commoners compared with their murder. Both seem equally horrifying to my modern understanding: treating others as serfs or slaves and executing someone, especially children.

Sarah and I visited Boston; we wanted to get away from work (both job & home), and since it is an important anniversary for the United States, we chose a town that was instrumental in the Revolution.

I’ve struggled with being proud of the United States since well before 2016, but that was a year that horrified me – not due to a presidential candidate, but because of the public embrace of treating others as inferior and the justification of inflicting pain upon another person, especially children.

It is still impossible to justify owning slaves, it is still impossible to justify class, race, gender, or religious constraints; but visiting Boston helped me regain a little bit of my pride in the United States.

No one is perfect, in fact everyone is tragically flawed – our biases, willful ignorance, and stubbornness can be easily picked apart. But to see the beginnings of something that could lead to a nation that millions would flock to and hold up as “freedom” was a small breath of fresh air.

Twice recently, I talked with a friend who had given up hope, and I realized hope is what we have, what drives positive change, and what can lead to a better future. We’re surrounded by bad news – social, environmental, financial – but there are people who have hope that they can make an impact.

Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Hamilton – they were ALL flawed even for their time; the same way we are now. But their hope 250 years ago allows me to live in a country where we can have hope for change and impact.

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The entire neighborhood around Bunker Hill was decorated with bunting and other red, white, and blue decorations; and it made the walk up the hill from the USS Constitution to the Bunker Hill Memorial beautiful.

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This statue is outside of King’s Chapel – the “Memorial to Enslaved Persons” (notice the open cage and free birds) in recognition of all the slaves owned by members and ministers of the Kings Chapel congregation.

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There are certain architectural elements that lend themselves to odd, abstract photographs, but in some instances, you must create the abstract image. As I walked around ECC some images just made sense – the concrete ceiling under the elevated walkway and the outdoor metal staircase. But the staircase’s metal railing and marbled look, I knew there was a photo; but as long as it was right side up, it just looked like stairs…

One of my photographer friends has taken images that are similar to this concept; what happens if you photograph while the crossing guards close? But at the Metra crossing at National Street, you have additional options – what if you merge traffic, train, casino boat, and crossing guard?

I always want for my next photo to be better than the last image; a better composition or representation, or maybe a different, unique view. I’ve photographed fireworks many times, and I’ve seen some fantastic ideas using zoom and focus that I’d love to try…but what if I took my idea from Christmas lights – spinning the camera during the exposure – and tried it during a longer exposure of fireworks?

A few months back, a photography mentor challenged me to find the photos in everyday life. I tend to capture many beautiful images on photo walks, but them rarely take photos outside of those “events”, so I began photographing the normal scenes in normal life. While this was taken while I wandered around ECC looking for photos, I would’ve likely ignored it without the challenge of looking for normal scenes.

Once you start looking around ECC, you’ll find many beautiful scenes to photograph, and since the campus has been built over decades, there are many different architectural styles to take advantage of.

Taking photos of a fire is an incredibly flexible, you can take very quick photos, photos with movement, or anything in between.  But if you capture very quick photos, you just might see a dragon!

I took quite a few photos of this sunrise before the sun peeked above the clouds, and they’re great photos, but they simply don’t hold a candle to the all encompassing orange as the light crested the foggy horizon.  The scene was simply incredible.

I pass by quite a few nature preserves and parks on my normal commute to work – or I can, if I drive a bit off of the beaten path. Last year, I discovered that there is a month or more than the fog hangs thick in the autumn mornings. Stearns Road is a four lane highway, but as it passes between Highway 31 and 59, there are so many beautiful spots.

Oh my, and to look inside that mountain outcrop?  What a wonderful spectacle of lines, shadows, and shapes!  This is definitely some kind of 3D TicTacToe game that I’m not aware of!

I’ve always loved these kinds of architectural elements; the abstract corners jutting out from a building. ECC seems to have a few of these; staircases that are not in the core of the building, but on the outside hanging onto the building, and in this case the blue pillar makes this element even more impactful.

Searching for abstract architecture photos is a little more conducive to conversation than many other types of walk-about photography.  As we walked along, my daughter and I talked about talents, skills, careers, colleges, and life in general.  Being a parent can be stressful and contentious, but a walk through a scenic area with someone who also appreciates the beauty of the man-made world around us can bring it all back into focus.

These were the stairs that first drew me in at ECC; they’re on the outside of Building J and perched precariously on the side of the brickwork.  The angles, the straights, the bricks, the shadows all combined to create great imagery.

I’ve lived 2 miles away from Elgin Community College for ten years now, but I’d only visited when I was teaching my daughters to drive. As I walked into Building H for my daughter’s first class, I was struck by how many photo opportunities exist in the architecture. So, the next week when I dropped her off, I chose to walk around and capture a few of those images.

Recently I saw a photo of a fork.  
The fork was alone on a white backdrop, illuminated by a single point of light casting a very distinct shadow.
The image stuck with me, itching my creative neurons.  Then this past week, Sarah was at a conference, and I was home alone, so I grabbed random a few kitchen items, a white backdrop, and a flashlight…

This grasshopper was so tiny that it was almost transparent, but it stood still for its portrait and even twitched its antenna when requested.  Maybe the freckles are from the sunny days before, and it didn’t tan, just got spots instead.

This insect would be terrifying if it were larger.  The ambush bugs can attack and eat insects that are up to 10x their weight, and those forearms are meant for holding onto the prey.  Every once in a great while, I’ll spot one of these monsters who has ventured out of their hiding spot, and their angular body makes for a fantastic photograph.

What a perfect metaphor for a Monday!  A traffic jam of aphids sucking the life out of this plant!
I am fascinated by aphids visually; they definitely follow a “pack” mentality, and hilariously are often only hanging on by their front feet and jaws. And their bodies are so simple or small that they just glow in the sunlight.

I don’t think anything better exemplifies “if you build it, they will come” than nature.  When we purchased our home, the previous owner had already planted an extensive garden, but the previous tenant had not kept up with it.  Over the almost 10 years, we have gradually expanded the garden and focussed on planting native plants; and this means that we see all sorts of pollinators as well as other creepy crawlies that are a bit higher up the food chain.  Perhaps “if you plant it, they will come” is our interpretation.

When I first saw this hood ornament, I immediately was taken with how fragile and sharp the front piece was. I was then taken with the luster of the copper color of the animal (perhaps a pegasus?). The copper color and the animal’s shape reminded me of the decorations on the Ishtar Gate, and placing that hood ornament with the rich blue backdrop really completed the enchantment.

As I walked north through the Concours, I passed by the painter; so I made a point to stop by and say hi on the way back south. John Paul is from California and was just in Illinois for an art collaboration, and chose to come to the Concours to paint a car or two. Also, the blue Cadillac in the painting was detailed by a friend’s dad’s friend; life really is only 6 degrees of separation from painter to the artist who created the subject of the painting.

If you take a beginners’ photography class, your instructor is likely to bring up leading lines, rule of thirds, and removing items that aren’t needed as some of the keys to a great photo. I’d like to think that those are the reasons that I love this photo, but it’s probably only because I love the color red combined with the yellow hints in the center-line trim work.

I have mentioned more than a few times that the Geneva Concours can be crowded and those crowds limit the photos that you can capture. In addition to the crowds though is the venue; the somewhat narrow street and shops and businesses also often provide a very cluttered backdrop for photos and the Concours. Which is why I’m thrilled with the simple nature of this photos; the red really brings out the shine of the chrome.