September — A Year in Photographs — Light and Shadow

Riverwalk — Day 259

Long shadows, dark, moody mornings, and black and white photography are staples in my work. While #AYearinPhotographs focuses on challenges and stepping out of one’s comfort zone, I occasionally revisit my favorite subjects. Despite not being able to claim that I haven’t enjoyed every month of this year-long project, I must admit that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

Light and Shadow I will do each #AYearinPhotographs and it brings into one’s mind things we see every day but perhaps miss the dramatic distortion of human form, architectural subtleties, and fine details that light at such an angle accentuates.

My favorite of this month is Riverwalk — Day 259. While strolling the Chicago River Walk, the light from the morning sun, always incredible in September and October in Chicago, flowed down the natural waterway and human-made riverwalk. A security guard sauntered, a few fallen leaves blew about, and a the long shadow of the guard sliced through the frame. It was a moment I knew capturing this photograph, it would be the image for the day.

August — A Year in Photographs — Beautiful Garbage

A question philosophers and scientists have asked since the concepts existed, “what is consciousness?” For some, it is emergent like patterns in the sand on a beach or spiral of a snail shell. But some suggest that consciousness is fundamental like gravity or thermodynamics.

Pansychism is that scientific and philosophical marriage that everything in the universe has some sense of consciousness—from atom to human. While I’ll not write a dissertation here on the subject, it catches my curiosity and resonates with my view of the universe yet has a powerful consequential question: if everything is conscious in even the most simple form, how does that change our relationship when we see everything as somehow kindred and not foreign?

Not to suggest Chicago is full of trash and garbage, we are in fact a very clean and beautiful city, but there are those of us locals and visitors who leave much behind. While Beautiful Garbage was originally, years ago, a simple outset to find beauty in otherwise ugliness, #AYearinPhotographs set out to honor that which was left behind and ask for your imagination to come along with me:

What if everything we left behind remembers us?

July — A Year in Photographs — Double Exposure

It’s a Game — Day 182

Through the Looking glass inspired a month of double exposures. This #AYearinPhotographs I found myself wanted to experiment more—not just finding themes but finding that which I had little experience.

Digital photography has almost every advantage over film while double exposure requires one to be a bit more magical and put extra effort in. These were all made in Pixelmator Pro using a screen blend mode. While I dislike discussing the technical nature of photography when the photograph itself is what matters most, many asked, “how did you do it?”

To best simulate the film double exposure experience best, the photos were shot in sequence and minimal editing in post.

But let us not revel in technical jardon. Enjoy July’s theme of Double Exposure.