shooting from the hip

overgrown

strazz — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:26:36 +0000

I was looking through some of my 2009 images from the Willow Walk subdivision and found a photo that jogged my memory about a picture from 2002 on the Cagwin farm.

I haven’t photographed the Grabenhofers since August, when the image on the right was made.

Time to visit, methinks.

the palms

strazz — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:47:03 +0000

I didn’t take many photos on the weekend trip to Florida but the ones I did make seemed to have a distinct theme.

I guess I don’t see many palm trees in Chicago.

the getaway

strazz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:45:57 +0000

Oh, yeah, a couple days at the beach with the Mrs..

foggy night

strazz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:59:51 +0000

As my daily work continues to be for stories that won’t be published for awhile, I will once again dip into the past.

Today’s oldie is from the Winter Olympics in Torino in February 2006.

My assignment in Italy was to stay in the mountains and work the alpine events. I shot numerous sports for the first time and despite the cold weather and difficult working conditions, I had a fabulous time.

Everyday at an Olympics is jam-packed with activity and one rarely has any off time. Late in the Games, while the women’s figure skating short program was going on down in the city, I was given the option of taking the night off or going out and shooting something that I wanted to photograph.

I chose to go to ski jumping and play.

It was a joy to not have deadline pressure and to not have to concentrate on the winners and losers.

I exhausted my entire bag of tricks that foggy night. I silhouetted, panned, zoomed shot super tight and incredibly loose and finally waded into the treees in waist deep snow to make this image.

I won’t be going to Vancouver in 2010 but I can’t wait to see the images that are created.

oh, beans

strazz — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:17:14 +0000

Another day in the way back machine.

Today’s oldie is from Miss National Sweetheart Pageant week in Hoopeston, Illinois in August 2003.

Earlier that year, I was sent to Hoopeston to photograph a corn farmer. As I chatted him up, he told me about his town. How Hoopeston used to be the Sweet Corn Capital of the World but now it was only known for the Sweetheart Pageant which was part of their Sweet Corn Festival.

He said that the pageant was for the first runners up from Miss America state competitions and that the ladies paid their own way to come to central Illinois to hone their pageant skills.

I was sold.

A month later, I joined the young women from as far away as Hawaii and spent the week with them as they visited nursing homes, attended BBQs and toured local businesses.

One of the businesses that they toured was the Hoopeston Canning Company. Due to secret canning technology, I wasn’t allowed to photograph the actual tour so I had to wait in the quality control room.

After 40 minutes, a little old lady arrived and started opening huge cans of the seven types of beans that they canned at the factory.

When the contestants returned, modeling the latest hair net and blue safety helmet fashions, they were proudly invited to sample the beans.

The prevailing sentiment was, “Ummm…you first.”

remembering Gregory

strazz — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:46:29 +0000

As I was searching through my archive looking for my 1999 photo of Brittney Payton, I started feeling nostalgic for some of my older images.

As the decade of the 2000s comes to a close, I have a feeling we are going to be inundated with lists of the greatest this and the greatest that of the past decade.

I have decided to reach back in time and pull back some of my older stuff to post on my blog.

Everything I show will be primarily from 1998 forward.

I have most of my favorite images from before then but they are all either color or black and white negatives. Maybe if I get really really nostalgic I will scan in some of those “gems” to show my formative years.

This image I am sharing today is from a story titled “A Life and Death Sentence” that was published in December 1998 in the Joliet Herald News.

The original idea of the story was to document the day to day goings-on in the inmate hospital at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois. (No, it isn’t in Joliet like everyone thinks.)

After being given a tour of the operation, I was introduced to a prisoner named Gregory Hill. Hill, was still in the first decade of a 50-year sentence for armed robbery. Years earlier, Hill found the Lord and was called to dedicate his days in confinement to helping the sick and dying in Stateville. He summed it up when he said, “God brought me from the pits of hell to help these guys.”

Hill was given a cell in the infirmary and became a de facto one man hospice unit.

When I met Hill, the story focus immediately changed from the hospital to Hill. All in all, I made 7 or 8 visits to Stateville and came to greatly admire Hill.

To this day he is still one of the most inspiring men that I have ever met.

Half way through my coverage, Hill’s story became even more profound when he revealed that he was HIV positive due to intravenous drug use.

One of the inmates that Hill comforted was David Brown, who was in his final days of full blown AIDS.

I found Hill and Brown’s relationship to be incredibly compelling. The image of Hill carrying Brown like someone one day might carry Hill was far and away the most powerful photo from the story.

After years of trading Christmas cards, I have lost touch with Gregory Hill and often wonder how he is doing.

If this blog entry somehow reaches someone who knows please get in touch with me.

Grrrrrrr

strazz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:24:45 +0000

The Bears unveiled a new inflatable tunnel yesterday.

I tried to photograph the team being introduced as they ran through the fog but my angle was blocked by other photogs and by the fog itself.

As it turned out, the new Bear made better photos while it was being deflated.

ten years between tears

strazz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:30:02 +0000

Tens years ago, Chicago Bears’ Hall of Famer Walter Payton died from bile duct cancer.

Less than a week after his death, I covered a memorial service for Payton at Soldier Field.

On that day, November 6, 1999, I made a photograph of Payton’s daughter Brittney as a lone tear hung on her cheek.

Fast forward to this afternoon, when the life and career of Walter Payton was celebrated at the same Soldier Field during half time of the Bears’ win over Cleveland.

And once again, an emotional Brittney Payton shed a tear for her famous father.

All the best to you Brittney and see you in 2019.

a game inside a frame

strazz — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:27:24 +0000

When I returned to the United Center court Thursday night after sending my images from the 1st half, all the baseline photo positions were being taken up by other photographers and the LuvaBulls cheerleaders.

I wanted to shoot on the Bulls’ defensive end so that I could get them celebrating towards me if they made a last second shot to win the game.

The entire sideline was empty so I sat down about 10 feet down from the baseline.

I quickly realized that the San Antonio Spurs offensive scheme placed a player directly in front of my position.

I have always liked shooting images that have a frame inside a frame so I placed my wide angle on the ground and shot through the legs of the Spurs’ player.

Here is one of several frames where everything came together fairly well.

pre-sugar buzz parade

strazz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:29:34 +0000

Anna and I helped out during our daughter Cleopatra, I mean, Caroline’s class Halloween party this afternoon.

It was pretty fun until the sugar kicked in.