the 312 hole

A little over a year ago, I was out on the lakefront taking some photos. I remember it was a perfect fall day – nearly 60 degrees and sunny. Fast forward to this week, and I found myself in the same location, but with drastically different conditions. My thoughts instantly flashed back to that October day, and I snapped a photo – thinking how a comparison of the two shots would be pretty cool. I feel these two shots do a great job of showing the diversity of seasons we experience in Chicago – for better or for worse. Now if it were only spring…

It’s Thursday – a full day after the Blizzard of 2011. Things are basically back to normal around town, except for the piles of snow that show no sign of melting in the current single digit temperatures.

On Wednesday, shortly after the last snow fell, I ventured out to see what Lake Shore Drive looked like. It was unreal – snow drifts higher than buses and hundreds of abandoned cars on the northbound lane of Lake Shore. This storm ranks as Chicago’s third largest of all-time, and while it crippled the city for a day, I’d say the response and efforts to get things back to normal went surprisingly well. The people who abandoned their cars on Lake Shore probably have differing opinions, but my opinion is they should have left work earlier on Tuesday.

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A pretty impressive snow storm ripped through Chicago last night. It’s now just before noon on February 2nd, and the snow is still falling. When the whiteout conditions let up a little bit, I am going to explore the city some more. Earlier this morning, it was pretty surreal to walk on a closed, deserted Lake Shore Drive and stare out at Lake Michigan. The conditions are pretty bad, but if you’re inside and working from home, it could only be better if TBS had a Groundhog Day marathon.

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As the snow approaches Chicago, I figured I’d recap some of the photos from January – which could not be more different than a snow storm in Chicago. I spent about half the month traveling, and a good portion of that was spent in San Francisco – always great to be on the west coast in January. Other stops included Las Vegas (no pictures from this visit!), Atlanta and North Carolina. If it wasn’t for this latest snow storm, I would be kicking off February with a trip to Boston, but I have no doubt that February will have plenty of its own exciting travel. Here is a selection of January shots:

I tend to enjoy black and white photographs a lot more than the color versions – but there are times when the scene contains too many vivid colors and the shift to black and white completely wastes them. However, I feel like B&W images pop with contrast and gradients that don’t exist in the color versions. Images like the two below provide pros and cons to each side of the debate – and I’m torn between which one I like best.

To wrap up the year, I wanted to look through my photos and compile a few lists of the things I enjoy shooting. I will be posting the top 10 photos across 10 categories to close out 2010. These 10 categories will be: Books, Film, Portraits, Projects, Sports, Weddings, Cityscapes, Travel, Videos and Live Music. Last year, I made similar lists, and you can see my 9 in ’09 here.

I’m lucky enough to spend a majority of my time in two great cities: Chicago and San Francisco. I’m by no means a street photographer or city photographer, and I don’t typically even try. In fact, the photos below are just photos of some cityscapes, rather than meaningful street captures.

Living in Chicago allows me to photograph some wonderful architecture and visiting San Francisco provides one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world for photos. I’m extremely lucky, and I’m always packing my camera.

10. Gorgeous Weather

9. Tsukiji Market

8. Hancock Reflection

7. Golden Gate

6. Blue Angels

5. City Hall

4. The Arch

3. Fargo

2. Summer Lightning

1. Duke Chapel