Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Love Potion #9
I've been mixing chemicals again. Sunday will be one of those very enjoyable days spent locked within the confines of my apartment developing multiple rolls of film.
It's among my favorite things in the world to do...Sunday is going to be a good day.
In the meantime, while I'm preparing, I thought I'd post a quote that I cannot confirm is accurate but I enjoy nonetheless.
"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godad said: "it's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to." - Jim Jarmusch
Until next time...
[untitled]
There is nothing I love more than being home on a cold winter day.
In other news: don't hold me to this because it's not entirely dependent on me, but I believe that my blog will be beginning its transition next week... (so stay tuned!)
Luca Brasi Sleeps With the Fishes
I apologize for falling off the face of the planet for a few weeks. The holidays + mass reorganization + a few projects I've got in the works were enough to push me into seclusion but then on top of all that, I became extremely ill the weekend of New Year's Eve. Unable to move-sleep for forty-eight hours straight-head pounding kind of ill. What a way to bring in the new year.
Because it is now mid-January (yikes!), I've decided to scrap the twelve photos series that I began in December. I hate to leave something unfinished, but not as much as I hate to be a blogger still posting about last year well into this one. My compromise--in the next day or two, I'll put together a little photographic summary of the last year and we'll call it a day.
In other news....
My first published photograph appears in this month's VegNews! It's just a small photo on the table of contents page but it's still kind of exciting to see a photo credit with my name, especially in a magazine that I pick up fairly regularly.
Short post, I know, but I've got somethings planned in the next week to make it up.
two/twelve
If you've looked at half the photos from this year, you already know that these guys have played a rather large part in it.
I met The Giving Tree Band almost exactly a year ago, with the idea that I'd probably shoot one performance and that would be the extent of my involvement with them. Seems the universe had a different plan. During our first interaction, I immediately got along with all of them so well that they invited me out to shoot photographs of them in the recording studio the following month.
Then, just like that, I was spending most weekends at their home and studio; shooting practices, recording sessions, and the intimate, often comical (occasionally tense) moments between housemates. When touring season began, I accompanied them as well, covering shows and life on the road all across the country. What started as a brief photo session has turned into my pet project--a year spent documenting the life of a band; of seven men, who lead an unconventional life in so many ways, working relentlessly, and never compromising their vision.
It's crazy how life can throw something at you faster than the blink of an eye that changes everything. I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with these boys, not only for a year's worth of inspiration but for the change they have cultivated within me. Being a witness to the work ethic behind the band has changed the way that I work; my entire creative process and thinking as an artist has been influenced by the creative activity I've been surrounded with. And that's all on a professional level. Personally, I am so grateful to have these wonderful new friends that never cease in their encouragement and kindness, it's a rare thing to have friends like that.
Anyway, that is why I chose this shot as the second on my twelve most significant for 2011. It's an interesting shot for me because it was taken the first time I was out at Crooked Creek, in January of this year; you can see in the photographs from that night how shy and timid I was feeling at the time. In this photograph in particular, I'm truly just an outsider peeking over shoulders into something amazing. It didn't take long for me to warm up to these guys though: tight quarters promote quick bonding.
[The entire Giving Tree Band project will be debuting on my website soon!]
Neat-o
Good morning! Or afternoon, depending on where you are. I'm spending the holiday in California with family so it's still morning here. There won't be any new shots today to gander but come back in a few days and I'll have posted new images from my trip out west. In the meantime, I wanted to share these lovely blogs that have featured work by me.
Creative Artists Blog has featured this shot, which is one of my all time favorites:
Creative Artists Blog has featured this shot, which is one of my all time favorites:
Crusin'
Last weekend, one of my closest and oldest friends, Brittaney, and I had a good ol' fashioned touristy afternoon. Several months ago, we bought Groupons for the Architecture Tour that is so often recommended by fellow Chicagoans and tourists alike and in lieu of their approaching expiration date, we decided to head downtown and board the boat.
It was a great little afternoon. We picked up lunch at Fox & Obel (is it possible to be in love with...er... I mean, how have I never been here before?) and afterward, heading toward the departing location of our boat.
Sure, it was freezing and I was, as usual, dressed inappropriately for the weather but our tour guide was a funny fellow and the cruise was quite nice. I'll be honest in saying that I didn't learn a great deal of new information about the city (due to the abnormal amount of time I spent learning Chicago's history prior to moving to the city three years ago), but did get a good amount of architecture terms thrown at me that I'll never be able to use in properly to describe anything ever again.
"Oh, that building? Looks like perhaps it's a member of the neoclassical revival in the Chicago school."
I have no idea if that's something.
After the cruise, we did a bit of Michigan Avenue Christmas shopping and thrifting up in Boystown. If that was not enough, we hit up the North Halsted Whole Foods for a salad bar dinner and were entertained by a symphony playing Lady Gaga in the adjacent Center on Halsted.
If your afternoon includes the Navy Pier, the Chicago River, and Michigan Avenue, well, then I'd call you a tourist. I might have to go watch a Bears game in a dive bar and eat a Chicago dog to make it up to the city.
Finally, I leave you with an image that's quickly becoming the cliche Chicago shot of the year:
But I don't care cause I like it anyway.
She Speaks!
For a long time, Cats Like Scotch has been a visual journal of sorts, documenting the occasionally ordinary and sometimes strange adventures I have been blessed to experience. To me, the images I share are so deeply personal that I have never felt the need to offer a description longer than a title. It was only within the last few months that I even began to tag my posts. However, I have recently realized that without letting you in on my experiences, perhaps the photographs are not conveying the message I would like them to and may even leave you feeling ostracized.
In an attempt to make my blog a more friendly place to visit and to share a larger glimpse into my life, as uninteresting as it might be, the Cats Like Scotch blog is making a change in a more vocal direction. I may not always be able to offer a story with my photographs, but if there is something worth telling you, I am going to let you in from now on. And for those of you that prefer my silence, the Cats Like Scotch website is also in the process of a makeover that will result in a more cohesive collection of projects to peruse, without artist commentary.
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