the 312 hole

As the festival season dies down in Chicago, it is a reminder that I was unable to get a photo pass to either Pitchfork or Lollapalooza. In all honesty, I didn’t try hard enough. The daily hustle and bustle got in the way of my efforts. And more importantly, no one asked me to take photos at these festivals. Sad.

I took some anyway… just not of the bands. Sad.

Click here to see more photos.

A couple friends wanted me to let me take some photos before their upcoming wedding. I’ve never tried to actually take pictures of people in various posed, instructed settings – normally I like to take candid photos of friends around town or at events. This was a fun time though. We had great weather and even though Jon had a boot / cast on his foot, we managed to make stops at the Garfield Park Conservatory Gardens, Kinzie Street Bridge, Lake Street Bridge, Lasalle Street and the Adler Planetarium. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon. More photos are over in the Flickr set and below. Enjoy guys.

Click to see more photos.

See more portraits from Durham.

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 9 photos across 9 categories to close out 2009. These 9 categories will be: Film, Sports, Travel, Music @ Pitchfork, Portraits, Cityscapes, Fans @ Pitchfork, Life and Live Music.

I’ve never done a “photo shoot”. I prefer to catch people as they are going about their day – some turn out like staged portraits, some appear more candid, but I think both result in unique pictures of my friends and family. Since I just posted this one of Grandpa, I decided to included others from the year – even though that shot of Grandpa is probably my favorite picture of the year.

In no particular order, here are my top 9 Portraits of 2009:

9. Somebody loves weddings.

8. Ray-Ban man makes his first appearance on the top 9 list.

7. A low light portrait from a street festival – difficult lighting, but a solid result.

6. It’s hard not to be happy after a Cubs game at Wrigley… especially when they win.

5. It appears this may have been one of those trick cigars… the kind that blow up in your mouth.

4. Portraits can be of dogs, too.

3. Portraits can be of cats, too.

2. The return of Ray-Ban man.

1. Another picture of Grandpa – smoking a cigar on an August afternoon.