So much gelato, so little time. I recently ventured out to Franklin Park, home of Alamode Foods and their creamy, delicious award-winning Vero gelato. In just three short hours I was tasked with photographing a few dozen of their enticing gelato flavors, some unique combinations I had never before imagined existed. As is often the case with photographing food, one gets totally wrapped up in the technical complexities, the composition, the props, and the lighting, that tasting the product becomes an afterthought. And, lo, it was on this day as well. Nary one morsel of those sumptuous frozen delicacies passed my lips that morning, but I have so many photographs to remind me of the many temptations I resisted.

A few years back I had a wonderful job where I spent a couple days at a lovely country club just outside of Milwaukee for the purpose of shooting photographs to be made into large display prints. The clubhouse was very traditional, I had access to a golf cart, and the weather cooperated; all in all, a tremendous experience. Here is a selection of some of my favorite photos.

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Earlier in the week I had a photo shoot for Alamode Foods, the maker of Massa Frozen Pizza. I’m am admitted pizza snob, and it’s been decades since I actually bought a frozen pizza, but when you have a job shooting frozen pizzas, inevitably you are going to taste a few. The Massa line of frozen pizzas are made with top-quality ingredients and are actually handmade in their facility outside of Chicago–I give them “5 Pepperonis” on my tasting scale. And please don’t ask me how I was able to photograph that gooey melted “cheese pull”; it’s a secret of the photographer’s guild.

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With winter settling in, there is no cozier place to hang out than the very warm patio at the Broken Barrel Bar in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. It almost feels surreal to be sitting outside with the wind howling and the snow blowing, while you are warm and toasty munching on chicken wings, tacos, mac & cheese, cheeseburgers, BBQ, and of course imbibing your favorite liquid refreshment.

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I’ve been living in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago for over 20 years, and for those not familiar with this quaint corner of the big city, it’s known for the University of Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, and the home of Michelle and Barack Obama. This neighborhood is scenic and photogenic every month of the year, but in the autumn, the fall foliage and low angle of the sun reveal everything in its best light. Enjoy the colors and compositions of Hyde Park.

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Through management, development, and acquisition, The Habitat Company has made a profound impact on the lives of thousands of Chicago and suburban residents over the past fifty years. The architectural photos displayed here were made into large prints for a birthday present for the company’s founder.

Over the course of a year, I traveled to South Bend, IN to the Notre Dame campus to document the installation of two enormous steel tanks which would be the centerpiece of a massive geothermal project supplying heating and cooling for the sprawling campus. Because of their size, the tanks needed to be installed via crains and dropped through the roof of the new facility. Once in place, I needed to wait a year to document the final installation of the tanks in the new geothermal station and the elaborate piping and other equipment.

Last summer I felt like a hobo riding the rails for three days. I wasn’t actually pretending to be a modern-day Woody Guthrie hopping freight trains in a deserted rail yard, rather I was documenting 30 CTA stations for a corporate client that needed large prints for conference rooms. I bought a 3-day pass and spent long hours riding every train line in Chicago, and was amazed at the diversity of the stations, the art work, the history, and the range of neighborhoods I passed through. Here is a small sample of the work I created.