The Midway Plaisance is a mile-long green belt bisecting the University of Chicago campus. This area was adjacent to the World’s Colombian Exposition of 1893–if you read “Devil in the White City” you know all about this area. The original Ferris Wheel might have been located exactly where this photo was taken. Today, this is the world’s best place for people watching of Nobel Prize winners. Hyde Park is the part of Chicago where I live as well as my friend Barack Obama.
Crown Fountain is a fun place to hang out. Where else can you be drenched by a powerful stream of water bursting from a giant pair of video lips while admiring the stunning architecture along south Michigan Avenue? These teens weren’t admiring the historic architecture, they were just chillin (literally) on a hot summer day. Now we know where all the students were during the recent public school strike.
Henry Paulson was chosen by George Bush to be US Secretary of the Treasury in 2006 and he played a large, and controversial role in the government’s attempt to prevent a total economic collapse. Our economy is still ticking, so he wasn’t a total failure, but Monday-morning quarterbacks continue to snipe about his actions. All this aside, I had the opportunity to photograph him at Chicago Booth (University of Chicago Graduate Business School) when he spoke to a large class of students in mid-January. Paulson was humble and accepted some blame for faulty decisions that were made, and he welcomed sharp questions from the audience. As a token of his goodwill and sincere feelings of remorse, Paulson handed out $100,000 gift cards to all the students in the room. To insure my journalistic integrity, I declined the obvious attempt to sway my opinion.
Recently had a two-day shoot for the American Dietetic Association (now called Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) to illustrate various aspects of food safety. Models, make-up, food stylist, nice locations–it all added up to a fun and stress-free photo shoot. I also learned some important lessons about proper food preparation and storage: don’t store eggs in the egg compartment in the fridge; don‘t turn fried chicken with your fingers; and don’t eat pork sushi.
As a photographer, the variety of my work is usually dependent on the needs and whims of my clients. This past month is a prime example of the wide range of assignments I get on a regular basis. I recently had the privilege of photographing the following celebrities: “Jersey Shore” superstar Snooki; Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia; and MacGoogle and MacDuff, my two famous Airedale terriers. I don’t know what the next month will bring, but I will keep you posted.
Just two hours–and 200 years–from Chicago in NE Indiana is Amish Country. Anchored by the towns of Shipshewana, Goshen and Nappanee, this area is home to a religious sect that disavows modern conveniences and other trappings of life in the 21st century. Lines of buggies dot the country roads, women in long dresses and colorful bonnets shop at local markets, and men sporting beards and black coats are commonplace. Last month I was sent to this region to document some of the culinary traditions of the Amish for ADA Times, the publication of the American Dietetic Association. Traveling to farmers markets, retail stores, farm stands, and small farms down isolated back roads, I discovered a vast assortment of tasty baked goods, succulent fruits and vegetables, cheese factories, and jars of homemade pickles, apple butter and cherry salsa. The Amish may not have their MTV, but they are prepared when the munchies come-a-calling.
Some of the most famous and creative people in the world pass through or reside in Chicago. Here are just a handful: fine artist, ceramist, classical pianist, duck decoy carver, potter, art restorer, fashion designer, stained glass artist, blues musician, and jewelry maker.
While Chicago will never be described as the “Venice of the Midwest,” the river that bisects the downtown area has been transformed into a major tourist attraction. Offering architectural boat tours, a mile-long Riverwalk, numerous waterside cafes, museums, and an assortment of water sports including kayaking, jet skiing, and canoeing, the Chicago River is the city’s newest playground. This once polluted waterway is now a vibrant artery that sparkles day and night at the foot of the city’s numerous architectural gems dating back to the late 19th century. Now that the Riverwalk is completed, it snakes uninterrupted from beyond the Merchandise Mart all the way to Lake Michigan, passing under the numerous historic bridges. Soon it will rival Navy Pier and Millennium Park as the top tourist destination in Chicago.
