Christmas in the Square

Header Challenge: Christmas in the Square

December 12, 2012

Lew provided this week's theme for the Headbangers.  This was tricky for me, and I'm eager to see how my pals did.  Generally speaking, I like the idea of a town square, but don't have a real-life reference that matches what I have imagined from stories I've read. Please see the posts submitted by my friends Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac, Sandy and Lew.

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Last year, two friends took my wife and me downtown to see a play and check out the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza, which is the closest Chicago has to a proper town square.  From the back seat of their minivan, I set the camera on my lap and snapped up this silhouette "street photographer style" as we drove through the decorated streets.

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Clockwise from the upper left: Puppet theater on a bicycle (which I found to be strange and annoying), the famous Picasso sculpture, a clock at Macy's (it used to be Marshall Field's), and the Eternal Flame war memorial flanked by pigeon sentries.

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The plaza at the Daley center was jam packed with masses of visitors and densely constructed shops selling food and knick-knacks German artisans.  But somehow, they made room for a large, life-size manger scene.  Why is there a Cuitlaxochitl in front of the lambs?  Don't eat that.

This header was carefully selected, not for any artistic merit per se, but because of the trolley's seductive blank side panel, which I shamelessly exploited for flagrant self promotion.

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The shops on Main Street in Galena had live Christmas displays in their windows.  I like the idea, especially if their people have fun with it.

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eerie and empty

No cars, busses, taxis, and no pedestrians. Here is a sight you don't see every day! A city as busy as Chicago seldom has a view like this at 5PM.

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For a moment, this was our view on a Sunday. As my friend drove us around, I had already been looking for pictures of the Willis Tower (a.k.a. Sears Tower) from the back seat. So, when I saw this unexpectedly vacant scene, I panned and snapped the picture. It would have been preferable to take the shot with a tripod and bracketed settings, but the other three passengers would not be as eager to stop driving, and take the time to indulge me every time I got snap-happy with the camera. (sigh) Nevertheless, I'm satisfied with the image, especially considering that I took the shot from a moving vehicle.

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It would have been more dramatic if the streets were wet, but then I might have droplets on the minivan's window. (Just thinking out loud here.)

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Anyhoo, if you go downtown, that's when you want to go... when there isn't a lot of traffic. Mmm... 2AM is good. The rest of the time, the cars are usually packed like sardines, and hardly moving.

a Sunday afternoon stroll

Mrs. Craver and I double-dated last Sunday. This was all a gift from the other couple. After church, we dined at the Olive Garden in Bolingbrook. I ordered the Venetian Apricot Chicken. That tasted so amazing, it should be on your bucket list!

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Then we drove into downtown Chicago to see The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey at the Provision Theater. It was a feel-good event, for sure!

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Finally, we parked close to Daley Plaza and walked through the crowded, chilly streets for an outdoor display called Christkindlmarket. That's when I took out the camera and "went to town." (Yes, that pun was totally intended.)

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What's in this collage? Clockwise from top left:

1. the Picasso at Daley Plaza
2. the Channel 2 (CBS) newsroom
3. pigeons huddling around the Eternal Flame memorial
4. the wonderful Mrs. Craver next to the happiest man in the world
5. a peek at the Sears (Willis) Tower from the inside of the minivan
6. one of my favorite landmarks--the clock at Marshal Fields (Macy's)
7. an amusing, blue, light sculpture, and
8. some of the German crafts from Christkindl Market

peace like a river

Last week's photo seminar was located at the University of Chicago, and the building sat right alongside the Chicago River. There were lots of tourists down below and nonstop boat tours.

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I have always loved Chicago, but I am not too keen on heavy congestion, and traffic jams, which is why I like this view. We have skyscrapers, but we have an element of elbow room as well. We are not bumper to bumper on the river, and the tall buildings graciously yield a compromise with the horizon down below. The blues and greens have an earthy serenity that offers a mental sanctuary from the busy rush and stressful deadlines.

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I quickly snapped this photo during a brief "bio break" and hurried back to my seat, where I had to crawl over knees, camera bags and sponsor literature. (laughing) Oh well... at least I have the picture, right?

concrete and steel

The photography seminar was jam packed with information. First we took a look at our photographic roots, from the camera obscura to the Daguerreotype, and even into speculation of what the future holds.

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There was a portion covering equipment, and a large chunk of time was given to post production, but it was all using an expensive editing program that I do not have, and do not intend to purchase any time soon. It was informative, nonetheless.

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I came away from the seminar seeing that I was already using some of the techniques for better photography, but wishing that I had a fast (f 2.8) telephoto with built-in image stabilization. That fancy editing software and some of the latest hardware wouldn't hurt, too. For now, I plan to use my tripod and flash more, and look around at garage sales to see if I can buy $200,000,000 worth of Ansel Adams glass plates for $45.

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The seminar's location was downtown, on the campus of the University of Chicago. Between sessions, I hurriedly took a snapshot of this rock pigeon. I like it, because concrete and steel and pigeons are good representations of the big city... and so is hurrying. Here is one thing that I did not expect: Attendees were informed that we needed to bring our camera, then surprisingly, we did not do any hands-on camera work for the seminar. Gotta go now... lots of work to catch up on.

wade in the water

[SOOC (no post editing). click to enlarge]

My wife and I were both born and raised in Chicago. Not Chicagoland, or the major metropolitan Chicago area, but Chicago proper. We were from inside the city, and not just near it. I thought I would never live anywhere else, and I never wanted to.

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Then a window of opportunity opened up for us to purchase a house. I already told you how much I loved Chicago. My wife, on the other hand, wished for a lot more space, far from the hustle and bustle of the city. The house we found in Bolingbrook seems to be a fair compromise. It is approximately 35 miles West by Southwest from Downtown, and if you go another 35 miles, you'll drop off the edge of the earth.

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The move meant that I would have to commute until I could find something closer. Thirty-five miles from Downtown Chicago usually meant that the Friday night commute was TWO HOURS!! But it was a whole different place when I got near Bolingbrook. I have only recently started taking pictures of birds, but I remember the first time I saw the Great Blue Heron hovering over the expressway near our new home. I had never seen one of these in the city, and it meant for me that we moved some place special.

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This bird gets spooked if you so much as cross your eyes, so I had a difficult time getting close enough to take its picture. On Saturday, I saw it in a pond, so I parked nearby, and trekked through tall grasses and prickly weeds to close the gap. It is amazing how loud and crunchy the ground was. I walked slowly, then proceeded in a crouched position, then crawled on all fours, then did a snake crawl, and finally slowly rolled down a slope to get in position.

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This great bird was hidden behind some reeds, but providentially was curious enough to move into a position where I could snap a few pics. I couldn't believe what was happening! Then I went to change lenses and it flew off. I wish I was quicker, so that I could get it in flight, but you will have to settle for this one for now, wading, but wary.

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Leeloo has some nice pics of the Great Blue Heron on her blog as well. Go check it out.