Miles

fixing up the Artisan Lap Steel

Gary and I worked on the lap steel today. replaced the nut, bridge and tailpiece and, of course, restrung it.

Will post pics soon.

fixing up the Artisan Lap Steel

Gary and I worked on the lap steel today. replaced the nut, bridge and tailpiece and, of course, restrung it.

Will post pics soon.

POTD: 09-12-2011

Here’s a pic from last year’s trip to Paris. Heather and I were walking about town, trying to find the Eiffel Tower when we emerged from a wooded area and it just appeared. Turned out kind of like a postcard, I suppose.

POTD: July 31st

This is a unique angle I grabbed of Felix getting ready for bed. It’s a middle of the night shot and the light from the lamp is combining with my flash for some weird color cast. Still, I like the ultra-wide angle composition, like he’s crawling right onto your face.

POTD: July 7

Wilco poster at Brisku's Bistro

This is the first thing you see when you exit the men’s bathroom at Brisku’s Bistro, a bar on Kedzie off of Irving Park Road in Chicago.

I’ve been seeing this poster at various stages of inebriation since 2005. That’s when we moved to the apartment on Troy and Sunnyside.

When we first moved there, I had never heard Wilco’s music or seen the film for which the poster was made. I was already a big fan of Uncle Tupelo (the preceding Jeff Tweedy project) but didn’t make the time to understand the music beyond the noise of records like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Since then, I have developed a sincere and deep appreciation for their music and this movie as well. I even read Greg Kot’s book about them.

Makes me see the poster outside the john in a whole different light.

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On a related note, I was and remain a big fan of Brisku’s for long friday night social occasions. Many a darts have been thrown and many a dime has been dropped in the jukebox by my friends and me.

POTD: June 28th

Father Cooper and Bride in Lake Geneva, WI

Today’s pic is from a happy wedding. Bridget Cooper married Ryan Schuering at the Abbey in Lake Geneva, WI. I take a lot of pictures at weddings, not necessarily to get the checklist pictures that every bride needs, but because it is a monumentally important day. I consider myself the bonus photographer, explicitly aiming to capture moments deemed too unimportant for the official photographer. Undoubtedly, there will be many such pictures from weddings in this very blog.

This picture, however, is not one of these unimportant moments. This is the crucial “father walking bride down the aisle” shot. It can be a tricky one to get when the couple moves quickly or other cameras are firing flashes in your way but this day was a breeze. The lighting outside was great, I got a nice seat on the inside end of the row and couple sauntered at a leisurely pace.

The shot was taken with the Sony a100 with the kit lens and available light.

POTD: June 27th

Felix and the Octagon

Today’s pic is one of recent vintage, as are both the subjects. The image is one of my boy Felix staring at the intimidating 8-sided softbox I set up for portraits.

This one was taken on May 23, 2011, which was two months after Felix was born. I used my Sony a700 with the Sigma 10-20mm lens pulled back to 10mm for the full room look. As you might have guessed, the octagon (made by JTL) was the only light source for the shot.

POTD: June 26th

Don @ O'Donnell's

The latest pic is just one of those moments I really enjoy capturing. My friend Don is hanging at the bar, in the middle of a late night yawn. It was taken at O’Donnell’s on Elston in Chicago. We went out the night before Mother’s Day (5/11/2008) with my sister Eve and Lindsey Hoffman. The night was a good and slightly wild one but this must have been towards the end. He looks a little lonely but I dig his thrift store pseudo-western shirt.

I took the shot with my Sony a100 and the kit lens with an external flash bounced on the ceiling.

POTD: June 25th

Dad and Paul, Christmas 2009

Well, 3 days in and I haven’t done any portraits. I do take a lot of portrait shots so I’ll start with this simple one. It’s from a Christmas party in 2009 for the Shea family. The left is my dad (Frank) and to the right is my brother Paul.

As can happen when lots of people are stalking a party with a camera, you need to compete for the attention of your subjects. I’m taking a picture while an aunt is waving off to my left and snapping a shot of her own. That’s why my pops is looking at me but Paul is looking off to the side. It’s kind of annoying to be honest, so I usually back off situations like that.

In this case though, I just wanted a quick one and was happy to settle for the split attentions. I think they look pretty happy and healthy. What more can one ask for around Christmas-time?

POTD: June 24th

Junk Truck, Albany Park

What a monstrosity. This photo was taken with my Sony a100 with the kit (18-70mm) lens along N Kedzie, just north of Montrose.

The subject is one of the hideously ugly and unfortunately common junk trucks that snoop the back alleys of Albany Park.

They scavenge for garbage made from metals that can be resold and made into something new.

POTD: June 23rd

Twin towers of an Albany Park Church

Ok, today’s pic is from a few years back. June 2nd, 2007 to be exact. It’s a view of the church on Sunnyside Avenue, just east of Kedzie St in Chicago. I don’t know the name of the church but our apartment on Troy St faced its parking lot.

I took this with my Sony A100 (which has since bitten the dust) and the kit lens.

If it’s not obvious, it was just as the sun was setting. I was taking a walk and thought I’d try to capture the sunset glow on the only structure higher than 3 stories in our then neighborhood of Albany Park.