Random Chi-Town

You know, I've gotten to take so many fun pictures this year that I actually had forgotten to edit and post these until the other night when Amy reminded me about them. We ran around having a totally boss (my new fave word) time in the city before doing Phil and Mary Ann's totally hot engagement shoot, and can I just say again that it's been sort of nice to have a lazy summer? I'm looking forward to my busy August coming up, but this has been really fun, just doing all kinds of fun stuff and taking pictures. I like it!

I rode the train into the city, which I still really love doing. I guess it's still novel, or maybe I just really like the train. I hate driving, and I like being able to do something else while I travel, like read or play with the internet on my phone (phoneternet, as me and Billy like to call it), or space out. Plus, the craziest crazies I've seen in this city ride the Metra, so that's always a good time. I won't say I never get annoyed (ask me about my annoying train stories sometime, I promise at least one that you'll love), but I even kind of like getting annoyed because it makes such a funny story later. Kind of the story of my life, actually. :)

It always kind of boggles my mind, getting off the train, how many people there are. There are people as far as you can see, which this picture doesn't really do justice, but I liked it anyway. I like the "The Future Is Here" sign, and the kids under it, and the Jonah Hill-lookin' dude, and just kind of the busy-ness of it all (as opposed to "the business", which is not the word I'm going for--creative spelling is my friend).

This was so interesting, and weird. It was hot as a mofo that day, and I feel like you can sometimes more easily identify the genuinely crazy homeless people by how bundled up they are in the summer. Anyway, I just took a quick picture of her and she didn't see me, and I didn't really see her face. But I was so fascinated by what a good painter she was. I just wonder what the story is here ... I have no idea but the possibilities are endless.

We made our way over to Navy Pier and part of the reason was because I wanted to take pictures of the rides. I liked this one. And I really want to go on these someday. And also at Holiday World, which I'm going to in a couple weeks. Yay! I love that place. Anyway, Navy Pier was awesome that day because everyone was down at the Taste of Chicago, so it was super uncrowded and pleasant. Also, I didn't take pictures at the time because I didn't know if I could (I now think you can), but there is also a really huge stained glass museum inside that is VERY cool. And free. I totally recommend it to anyone. It's got a great Tiffany collection and some windows taken from houses in the Chicago area. Super awesome, and props to Amy for introducing me to it.

I love birds. I don't really know why, I just think they're really pretty and at one point, Billy was pointing out how many t-shirts I had with birds on them. You know how t-shirts are, they come and go, so I don't know if I still have that many bird ones, but I'm always on the lookout because the bird shirts, they are awesome. But anyway, I loved this little bird and this little picture--I thought the colors were really pretty and I was down with the composition, and it made me happy. And that's the whole point of pictures!

Hahahaha! This totally cracks me up. This sea gull was ridiculous. It kept walking around squawking and it sounded like a baby crying, and of course it wasn't afraid of people, so it let me take like a zillion shots of it until I finally got one of it facing me with its mouth wide open. So now that I have it, I'm thinking about putting a caption on it (a la http://www.icanhascheezburger.com/ or http://www.failblog.org/, two of my favorite websites) and turning it into an internet meme. So far, my favorite idea is "O no you di'n't", but I am currently accepting other submissions. Ideas, anyone?

This was just a random shot from some bridge, but I liked it. I've got a secret craft project on the way involving my pictures (probably in the fall/winter when I'm more homebound and cabin-fevery), and I think this might lend itself to that. I guess you'll find out later, right?!?!

Now, I really love this picture and I love all the boats. Boats, trains, old cars ... maybe I'm just into transportation as a subject, but anyway, that is SO not the point I was setting out to make. I cleaned this picture all up so you can't see it, but this is the picture that made me realize that my sensor was FILTHY. It had dust and fuzzies and crap all over it. I mean, it's not a HUGE deal and you can still Photoshop it out (which I did, and on Phil and Mary Ann's pictures too), but it's just one more step and more time that you take doing something tedious instead of focusing on the actual photo. So the next weekend, I took it down to Indianapolis and had them clean it at Robert's. You guys, I cannot give this place enough love and I know there are occasionally newbies or hobbyists who read my blog, and so if you don't already know, I recommend them for everything. I've bought most of my equipment from them, gotten stuff cleaned there ($35, EASILY worth it), rented equipment, asked questions, taken a lighting class ... this place is BOMB. And if you're noticing little dots showing up on your pictures in the same place every time, regardless of which lens you're using, you could probably use a sensor cleaning too. It makes a huge difference.

Amy spotted this funny little tug boat called The Commissioner, which we thought was too cute for words. It got a call and left to go pick someone up while we were watching, so we got to watch it go, too. What do you call it when boats go? I always just call it sailing, but that probably only applies to sailboats ... right? You guys, I swear I'm not dumb, but I grew up in a landlocked state, okay? Give a girl a break.

LOCKERS! Can you believe it? I love lockers, and if I could have one right now I totally would. And then I'd shove a nerd into it! (Kidding--everyone knows nerds are my fave, AND that it takes one to know one.) But seriously, lockers remind me of high school, Saved by the Bell, and every awesome John Hughes movie ever made. In fact, given my love for numbers 2 and 3 on that list, it really is a wonder that I never slammed a locker door shut and ran away crying. How awesome would THAT have been?



Okay, up next, Billy's parents visited last weekend and we did some totally fun stuff, which I will keep you in suspense about for now, but I got a couple of really good pictures that I think you'll be excited with me about. People get ready (one love)! (Bob Marley shout out, what!)