Chicago Street Photography

I recently completed my second business related trip to Chicago in as many months. I was fortunate enough to have a few hours here and there that were not entirely scheduled. The weather was gorgeous for several days. Even a walk out to breakfast is a pleasure when it is sunny and 60+ degrees!

I have to admit cheating on the Typosphere. I've come to enjoy Google+ communities as a means to share my photography. We are also at the end of a school year with a seventh grader and a Freshman. Almost every evening is scheduled. Anyway, here are a few photos until my next installment on our scheduled trip to Duke University this weekend.

The World on Time

Yeah, I love fast and politically incorrect cars. This almost makes up for my daily 70 miles in a Prius. Being a large metropolitan area, it is not surprising that the preferred color for transit is basic black (enhanced with Picasa 3).

And kids will always be kids...

Jump!

This is one of those joyous moments in street photography. In this case, I wasn't in good light and the camera was turned off. I saw the kid on the wall and two friends goading him on. I turned on the Sony NEX-6 and swung it up just in time to get this shot. Sure, a half second later would have been more dramatic, but I would have been more likely to miss the shot altogether.

Just five minutes later, the teen boys had moved on and the same spot was occupied by a couple in love.

Love and Flowers

I opted for a simple and compact setup for this trip. All of these images were shot with a Sony NEX-6 equipped with a Sigma 30mm f2.8 lens. I love the color and contrast from this lens and sticking to a prime helps me see compositions as I walk around.

I've mentioned before how much I enjoy watching people take photos of people. Tourists and their cameras are ubiquitous on the Magnificent Mile. I am also guilty as charged!

Just Another Flat Stanley

A tripod means you are serious!

Spring Tourists and Tulips

Tablet, Tulips and Towers

A Photographer on the Clock

One reason I enjoy pivoting LCD screens.

And moving on, here is a little bit of street life I enjoyed. I wasn't out at prime Busker hours, but I did get a couple of shots I like. Always tip the Buskers if you enjoy their work (or take a photo).

A Little Early

Making Music

And now for something completely different...

Um, don't ask me about this one. She had a tripod, that's about all I can confirm.

And more street life...

There were at least three officers every block, but only one team on horseback.

Birthday Fixings

I try to avoid taking photos of the homeless street people. That is a general principle in one of my favorite Google+ street photography forums. Still, the visible homeless population has mushroomed along the Magnificent Mile. When wandering with a camera, sometimes compositions appear.

Different Speeds

Different Worlds: Cropped and modified in Picasa 3

Lastly, I will depart from street images to something from the Chicago and Picasso exhibit at the Art Institute. It is an amazing exhibit and I recommend it highly along with the Othello, Remixed show playing through mid-June.

As always, thanks for looking and reading!

Copyright Notice: All images and words on this blog are copyright DwayneF of Vintagetechobsessions. While copyright is a concept viewed by some as antiquated, I am also well aged. You can always buy your own camera and visit Chicago and see what you can see. I highly recommend it.

Washington, D.C.: A Tourist Taking Photos of Tourists Being Tourists

At the end of February, I made a two-plus day trip out and back to Washington, D.C. for meetings. I had a few hours scattered here and there that weren't totally programmed, so I took walks with my Panasonic LX-7. Over the years, I've spent quite a bit of time there with bigger and better cameras in tow. This time, I kept it simple and decided to focus on the tourists being tourists.

That would make me a tourist photographing tourists being tourists. It's like a hall of mirrors that never quite ends. If someone looks at this post, they will have added a layer of voyeurism that stops several steps short of actually taking a photo.

I've spent enough time in D.C. that I can navigate the streets on foot and the subway system without getting lost. I stand to the right and pass on the left. I have a favorite Asian restaurant (Rice), a favorite Vegetarian restaurant (Science Club), favorite walking routes and people watching zones and a favorite bookstore. I talk to people in D.C. daily and have dark suits that blend in. I don't really think of myself as being a tourist when I am there.

That is an illusion. My rambling is just another kind of tourism.

The people above might as well be me: lone street photographers out looking for something interesting to shoot. Were they in D.C. for work? Did they travel for pleasure and let the rest of the family hang out someplace warm? I personally hate being trapped in a hotel room and I am not a coffee house or sports bar kind of guy.


The truth is that I like wandering alone with my camera. I enter a flow state in which many hours pass until I notice that I am tired, thirsty and hungry. I love my family, but we get along better when they don't have me setting the pace with my meandering.

I'm aware of the paradox that I enjoy watching people interact at monuments more than I enjoy being with people interacting at monuments. This is a side effect of having spent hundreds of hours wandering and watching. It is nearly impossible for me to not frame images even when don't have a camera in hand. And so I watch and enjoy.

And sometimes I actually get around to reviewing my images and post them for the world to see. Ultimately, I've decided that other people seeing my photos really doesn't matter that much. I could try and compete with the flood of amazing and sometimes enhanced photographs floating around Flickr, Google+ Communities, DPReview, Instagram, etcetera; but ultimately I would judge my images as coming up short.

No matter. I experienced taking the photos and remember what it felt like (cold and windy with no warmth from the February sun) and a few souls have come along for the ride. If you have read this far, thanks for being one of them.

Thrills and Spills at Dead Girl Roller Derby

In this episode, the Nerd clan spent a great evening watching the Dead Girl Derby "Love Hurts" competition at Hale Arena in Kansas City. Now in its fourth season, this is the second league for Kansas City. The Roller Warriors moved from the concrete of Hale Arena to a wood floor at Municipal Auditorium. We like the speed and chaos of concrete and being able to sit within a few feet of the ring. Besides, Hannah's best friend has a step-mom skating under the moniker "Venus Envy" for the Deadly Sirens.

Semi-controlled chaos. The girl with the star on her helmet is a Jammer. The striped helmet indicates the Pivot. The rest of the players are blockers. The goal is for a designated Jammer to get up front and start scoring some points.

Lead Jammer Heaven. This Jammer is pacing ahead of the pack. When she catches up later, the chaos begins again as lapping leads to more points.

This is a flat concrete track with plenty of speed and potential for gravitational harm. We love the seats right by the track!  You might notice from the angle I shot from that we were within ten feet of the outside line. It also happens to be the spot where someone taking a bad line or getting pushed out will coming skidding or flying. Claire and I were hit by and out-of-control skater within five minutes and had a few near misses through the evening. This is so unlike the last time I went to a Nascar race and watched cars from a quarter mile away. They just go around, and around and around... meh.

Being able to feel the breeze and get little shots of adrenaline makes for great entertainment!

Blocking in action. Some players take up a lot of space.

Yep, that's a legal block. Dead Girl Derby isn't for sissies! That's Dir-T-Diana in the red helmet.

Lots going on in this image. You can see the Shotgun Sheilas in black forming a defensive wall while the Jammer gets a push towards an open hole on the inside.

Getting a little tight out there!

This happens a lot.

Coming around the outside...it's an unusual player that can take up that much space at speed.

The action is fast with at least four refs watching. The Lead Jammer is indicated by pointing with the other arm up.

Breaking out at the start of a jam.

Unfortunately, accidents happen. Spills are common, but teams focus on bringing up players and teaching them to fall on the pads. It appears this girl blew out her knee. Like in soccer and skiing, ACL injuries can and do happen.

While the Dead Girl Derby is arranged in teams, the players all practice together and participate in "Zombie" or "Throwback" bouts where they are assigned to random sides. While playing teams, they fight to win, but it is one big family. The sportsmanship is one of the main reasons we enjoy derby so much.

Another spill.

Someone is about to get a little taste of the defense.

The Jammer on the inside is in kind of a tight spot.

Number 19 in this shot is the Lead Jammer. She just used a sign to declare the Jam complete. Everything then resets at the start line.

Victory!

Again, one happy (and bruised) family!

For the curious, I shot the evening with a Sony NEX-6 and 55-210mm lens on manual mode at 125th second and F6.3. This is a slow lens, but decent performance at ISO 3600 makes a big difference. I turned off face recognition as it was over-riding manual settings and adjusting the exposure, badly. Sony's optical stabilization works very well.

With a deep depth-of-field, it is hard to isolate individuals. Just for fun, I shot in the "Toy Camera" mode and like the results.

P.S. I've hit a record for the number of hits on a single post on the same day. Thanks for visiting! Dead Girl Derby is new to us so I did a quick search and tagged on some links for your viewing pleasure:

The Kansas City derby scene is thriving as seen at http://kcderbydigest.com/ 

Google images turned up an injury recuperation post. Derby is a sport and these are tough athletes:
http://www.cookingonskates.com/2011/12/healing-journey.html

Copyright Notice: These image and words are my intellectual property and are not to used, distributed or repurposed without my express permission. Yeah, such a drag. I shoot for fun, but my stories are mine. Feel free to link here or share on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or the social mixer of your choosing and share the love.

We're Still Here! Mayan Apocalypse, Denied!

The robot army is victorious and the Mayan Destructors have been purged!  The victors shall have their spoils!

This little guy worked hard.  He deserves a Thin Mint!

They perhaps don't look quite as menacing in color.  Just saying.

The end of hostilities was recognized with the issuance of a presidential peace medallion patterned after one of the originals found at the Arch museum in St. Louis.  The Mayans have declared a truce until the next time their calendar runs out.  The have a few pyramids to rebuild in the interim.

The fact that the House Full of Nerds visited the Arch on the 21st after seeing Wicked the night before is purely coincidental.  Come to think of it, many of the stories I cobble together come from incidental items combined in interesting ways.  At least I hope it is interesting!

Behind the Scenes of Mayan Apocalypse Week

The elaborate set and the form of the Destructors are revealed!  Only one commenter picked up on this being an Oliver 9 playing the face of evil incarnate.

Mekanda Robo chipped in to help Godzilla get his fireball and atomic ball of doom.  This is the ugliest Christmas decoration, ever.  It needed to be put down and was purchased as a clearance item last year solely for the purpose of harvesting parts.

Gotta love the Jumbo Machinders.  Two of them are tricked out with accessory arms.  I thought about just putting two of them together in the buddy movie fashion, but that's not how the Shogun Warriors roll.

Thanks everyone for taking part in the madness that was my Mayan Apocalypse week!  It was a fun project and a nice way to break a blogging dry spell.  As is the norm, this did not start with a script or storyboard.  My 12-year-old did the original drawing of the Mayan Destructor at my request.  Simply put, I can't draw.  The rest of the story meandered from there.  I put together three entries; including this one, before we left the Kansas City area for St. Louis.  I love the scheduling feature on the Blogger platform.

You might have noticed a cameo appearance by the Christmas Squirrel.  Without his adept leadership, all would have been lost!  Late last year, the origins of the Christmas Squirrel were detailed in loving care here.

Copyright: Yes, all of the photos and words are mine.  Reposting or pinning photos requires placing a direct back to this website and a citation for Dwayne F. of Vintage Technology Obsessions.  Commercial use is not allowed.