Photographer Eric Dirksen
It has been quite an enlightening month of photography. With January almost a wrap, my mind works endlessly to fathom what the next eleven months bring. Creativity is somewhat maddening at times but also immensely gratifying.
Eric Dirksen, a friend and long time colleague, joins me in A Year in Photographs as my first Guest Photographer. An exciting part of this creative journey is seeing where it will take me. And while I have known and respected Eric's photography, we have never gone out shooting.
On the Edge...
Grabbing our Nikons, we climbed to a rarely seen view in Chicago; probably one of the best views of the bridges of the Chicago River. The sun setting, the warm (but still cold) day for January numbing our ears and hands, we captured some beautiful shots.
January's theme: Black and White; and today we join forces. Chicago is a marvel of cityscapes and architecture — city feels like it was designed for photographers. Searching for January 26th's photo, Eric met the challenge with his skills in photography and first guest photo of the year.
Eric Dirksen's Photo of the Day
©2017 Eric Dirksen
From one iconic building an iconic view of the Chicago's famous river and bridges.
“For me photography is such an incredible outlet - to be able to capture a nano second in time and have it convey a message or a story is not only inspiring but very powerful to me. The challenge to be able to portray so much with a still frame in time is an almost therapeutic process because it allows for me to get out of my normal head space and away from the things at hand in life or going on around me in the world. It is from there that I’m allowed to focus on the beauty that lies before me. ”
I think Eric's incite into his love for photography is something many of us can relate. I've often said spending time photographing is a zen, meditative experience. I don't look at the time, I often pay little attention to meal times, and feel a deep sense of calm. Even when shooting in a noisy location, there is a certain silence.
“My favorite subjects always tend to be of the scape variety - whether it be cityscapes or landscapes. It’s hard not to love a cityscape growing up around, and now having been living in, the third largest city in the States. There’s something about the collection of architecture stacked up against one another that just truly makes me appreciate the individual design and mapping that goes into the planning of a city as well as the individual high-rises themselves. Similar take on landscapes - theres just more of a challenge to emulate through a 2D image the incredible nature that is formed in various parts of our globe, but that challenge is not only what makes the moment more enjoyable, but the story you’ll be unfolding with that one snippet of time that’s been captured as well, which is my end goal for my photographs.”
Our excursion at a dusky sort of time gave great drama to the city. Chicago has been unusually gloomy these past few weeks; thirties and forties are nice and warm(ish) for this time of year but we are use to much more sun. It was dark but added a certain cinematic mood.
“Light is everything. Light is everything good, yet it is also everything bad. Too little or too much, and the scene just isn’t as great or good at all. Light is also something of creativity, and we see it all the time through long exposures. So, I would encourage to play around with light and find what balances you can create to take an image from good to great.”
My journey is just beginning and thank you, Eric, for sharing this great location for a magnificent view and adventure in Chicago adding your touch to A Year in Photographs.
Come out and join me, join us, on this photographic adventure! Please contact me and let's capture some amazing shots.
I'd love for you to follow and check out more of Eric's incredible work. You can find him on Instagram and 500px.com. Check him out!