Full photoset is available at my WEBSITE.

The 2012 Winter Block party at the Metro was amazing! My wife and I went to catch a Howard Zinn nairrated documentary based on “A People History of the United States”. It was a pretty well done documentary, but I was more interested in the events after the movie.

Downstairs on the main stage was the city wide 3 on 3 Brake Dancing competition. It started out with a group just warming up on the floor while the DJs blasted some great old school hiphop. I nabbed a spot on the balcony above where the best view was, and just started filling up memory cards. 

Pretty soon they got the main event started and called up the first teams of 3 for an all out battle on stage. It was good right out of the gate with some fast moves from the first couple of teams, but the crews up at the end were the crowd pleasers. Enjoy the pictures and don’t forget to check out the website for some more crazy moves.

It was a truly remarkable Veteran’s Day this year. The date was 11-11-11 and it was sunny and beautiful. A slight chill in the morning, but the sun came out and really made the rest of the day pleasant.

I was hired to photograph the Morning Colors ceremony at the Art Institute of Chicago by the Pritzker Military Library. It was a great assignment to photograph because of the strong and intense emotion. During the flag raising, I was surrounded by active military and military veterans from all branches and walks of life. There is such a steely sense of pride in the pictures that I really found inspiring. As a photographer, I’m always trying to get past the fronts and fake grins, and get to the true personality and emotions in every picture. This group had a great sense purpose to honor their fallen friends, you can’t fake that.

My favorite part of the ceremony occurred after a young navy man played taps while the assembled crowd gave a rigid salute. Afterwards he turned on his heels and walked back to his place in line with 4 star general Raymond Johns, Dan Rutherford the Treasurer of the state of Illinois, and Jesse White the Illinois secretary of state. Treasurer Rutherford gave the horn player an “atta boy” to which the navy man visibly relaxed. He was so nervous that he had forgotten to breathe.

After the ceremony, I was invited back to the Pritzker Military Library at 104 S Michigan, right across from the Art Institute. Treasurer Rutherford held a press conference that I was able to sit in on. Several TV crews had shown up, but I muscled my way to a decent spot.

The library is a beautiful space that not very many people really know about. There are some priceless items in their collection that everyone should see at some point, from WWII through modern times. They had a photography exhibit on display for Veteran’s Day this year as well. It was a nice treat.

If you get a chance, go see the Pritzker Military Library!

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of work for school websites which is a throw back to my job in Florida with a school portrait studio. I show up for 2 hours and just keep clicking the shutter button. I work all over the city from Rogers Park to Stoney Island, visiting schools and trying to avoid parking tickets.

I really enjoy the architectural aspect of the job. For each assignment I get, it’s a surprise what kind of building it will be. Some schools have been new construction with modern facilities, and fresh coats of paint. Other schools have been small charter elementary schools which make up for their older facility by having beautiful murals and a stronger sense of community in the halls.

It’s nice to be able to take pictures in the schools again. I’m a bit of a big kid myself, and with my history in school photography, it’s a very comfortable fit to work with the school system.

Here’s a few highlights of the amazing buildings from the last several months. I even scored a little time on the roof for a few shots.

More headshots!

I enjoy nothing more than a fast portrait session. Setup and shoot in under 5 minutes? I got this.

This dapper gentleman was all dressed up in a Days Inn, with some place to go. Since we all had plans, I wanted to make this setup speedy and effective. 2 lights, at 1 and 10, with almost no diffusion. Not exactly the ideal setup for a portrait, but we made it work.

The headboard for the bed served as a backdrop. It was a wooden installation on the wall. Nothing spectacular, but at least it wasn’t a taupe wasteland.

After a little light tinkering and some laughs, we’ve got some professional looking headshots.

November 4th was a great night for kids in Chicago. I was invited to photograph the Chicago Commons “Pour Your Heart Out” event, a fundraiser for youth programs in the City of Chicago.

The event has been going on for a few years, and they move venues each time. This year the wine tasting took place at the Mercedes dealership on North Ave. just off of 90/94. The dealership allowed the use of it’s 3rd floor and beautiful balcony with a panorama view of the skyline. I even had a fantastic assistant for the evening who took 2nd camera duties away from me for a while, and faithfully scribed names for each posed shot. It was great fun, and all for a very worthwhile cause.

If you haven’t heard of Chicago Commons, you should really check them out HERE. They offer a number of services to the communities of Chicago, from youth programs to senior care. They have been serving Chicago for over 100 years, and have a great track record.

As the pictures can prove, you can raise money and have a lot of fun in the process. I know I enjoyed learning about the organization and photographing the great people that attended and donated.