Germany Trip

I have been doing some traveling lately for work.  In the past 5 weeks I've been to Boston, Toronto, New Jersey, and Germany.  I really enjoy traveling, and each place provided me with a good story or two.  But Germany was the most fun, and I thought I'd share some photos from that experience. 

 I was there with two other people; Tom- a photographer I work with, and Dan- a designer with an agency in Chicago.  We spent the first part of the trip in Schesslitz.  I'd never heard of the place, but with a name that sounds like a Milwaukee microbrew I knew it has to be the real deal.  And I was right.  It is a very tiny and picturesque Bavarian village that looks like things hadn't changed there in 40 years.    I felt like I'd walked on to a movie set.  We stayed in Hotel Schloss Burgellern, which is a beautiful old mansion with just the sort of five course dinner that you want after an 11 hour plane flight.

We were actually given rooms in a nearby building.  We were told that it was because the TVs in those rooms had a few channels in English.  I didn't really need to get caught up on any BBC comedies, but oh well.  The first image below is the yellow building we stayed in.  The second image shows you the main road in and out of the village.  And yes, is really that quaint and cosy.  If you ever really want to get away from it all, this is the place to do it.  There were many beautiful barns in the village.  Several of them were constructed with big, heavy beams.  And then in-between the beams were sticks that were covered up using a homemade mixture of mud and manure.  It sounds terrible, but looks wonderful :) 

The second half of the trip was in Nuremberg.  Our driver Bert drove us there while doing 180 k/hr on the Autobahn, and playing us his unique mix of music which ventured back and forth between the Ramones and German soccer team fight songs.

As you have probably noticed, the area had quite a snow storm just before we arrived.  It continued to flake off and on while we were there, occasionally giving me the impression that I was walking around in a souvenir snowglobe.  Nuremburg is great for getting around on foot, with it's expansive pedestrian shopping areas and grand cathedrals.  It also has something it's quite proud of- the Nuremberg bratwurt. 

Nuremberg brats are different that regular ones because they're smaller.  A little larger than a Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, they are sold by numerous street vendors, and are placed three at a time on a small bun of handmade bread.  Of course we had to give them a try.

After some shopping we stopped for dinner at Zum Gulden Stern, which turned out to be the oldest sausage restaurant in the world!  Yeah, I know!  You'd think that this is something I would have checked off my list long ago.  But after a sizable German beer and 8 (yes, 8!) more Nuremberg brats I think I had enough of the real Bavarian experience to last me a few years.  At least I finished it off with an apple strudel... you know, for the fruits and veggies. 

You can view many more photos from the trip here: http://jeffreyworks.zenfolio.com/p716243120

Universities

I heard from a number of people that enjoyed reading my last post about Father Michael and Benedictine University.  It is a bit strange sending one's thoughts out there into cyberspace, so I was glad to hear from people that had read it and were touched by Father Michael's story.  I even received messages from some people at Benedictine, which was a pleasant surprise.

I thought I'd follow up with a few photos from projects I've worked on over the years for other colleges, universities, and places of higher learning.  I enjoy these type of assignments.  Each university has it's own flavor, and it's fun trying to capture those images that show off the unique personality and character of the campus and student body.

I have worked on a few different projects for DePaul over the years.  This first image is law students going over some details before they present their final case to the instructor-

Of course it is simple to take great images of Notre Dame.  They make it easy with all the amazing architecture-

And I spent a couple of days at the University of Missouri taking photographs for a book they gave out to new students.  This is a scene in their on-campus hospital-

Looking Back

As we move into 2010, I thought I would take a moment to look back at my favorite photography experience from 2009.  Interestingly, it didn’t take place in the most exotic location, or produce my favorite image of the year.  But it was one of those moments that made me very glad that I am a photographer.

Benedictine University in Lisle, IL hired me to photograph Father Michael Komechak for use in a few promotional pieces.  He was the curator of Benedictine’s art collection, and it was mentioned that I might be capturing him in front of some of the artwork.  It was made pretty clear to me that Fr Michael had strong opinions about certain subjects, and he would have the final say as to exactly where and when this would all take place.  In my mind I started to add up all the possible problems that go along with having an unknown setting with a 77 year old ‘opinionated’ subject.

I did one day of scouting for potential locations, just so I had a few ideas in case I needed to steer him in a certain direction.  It was a cold winter day in early February when we finally met.   Father Michael seemed nice enough and was actually asking my opinion on where I thought we should take the photo.  I asked him where he spends most of his time, and what activities does he do on campus that would help tell the story.  He thought for a moment and then casually mentioned to me, “Well, why don’t you come to my office.”

I’ve photographed in enough college offices to know that they are almost never interesting.  They are full of stacks of papers, books, old computers, and random corkboards covered in colorful notes of paper.  But Father Michael led me to a corner door which contained an office unlike any other.  I expected to at least see a desk, and initially I couldn’t tell if there was one in there.  Instead what I found were piles of paintings, sculpture, pottery, beadwork, African masks, and countless other things all haphazardly arranged in a way that made it look as though a tornado had just thundered through an art museum.  There was hardly room to walk, and my one and only comment upon entering this place was “Oh, wow!”

It was at that very moment that I knew Father Michael and I were going to have a great time together.  We spent the next 2 hours talking about photography and art as he showed me through the collection.  He knew every piece, who donated it, and where he thought it should be shown around campus.  I learned that there were two additional rooms attached to the first one, also stuffed to the gills with artwork.  The second room had hundreds and hundreds of paintings, all stacked up and leaning against each other.  Well, I knew that this is where the story was.  This is Father Michael’s passion.  This is where the photos needed to be.

He agreed wholeheartedly, and we spent about 20 minutes in the first room moving things around just so there would be enough space to take a photo!  Also, I wanted it to remain ‘overwhelming’ without looking messy.  At one point he was down on all fours crawling under tables, moving boxes around.  He loved this place and these things in it.  After moving, stacking, and rearranging, we finally we got to a point where things were looking right.

In my mind the photos are almost incidental to the great conversation we had.  At 77 he still had so much passion about art and life.  He was thrilled to talk about each and every piece that we stumbled upon.  He was a photographer as well, and I was delighted when he ran across some of the images he’d taken back in the 60s.

Very soon after our photo session Father Michael was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and he passed away on August 30th.   Luckily he was around to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination in May.

One of the reasons that I love being a photographer is that I get to meet people like Father Michael, and they let me into their world for a moment or two.  I feel that these are rare events that not everyone gets to enjoy, and I’m a better person because of such encounters.  I just hope that 2010 holds more opportunities like this one.

Jump

I finally had time for a fun photoshoot recently.  This is my friend Kelly, who is luckily athletic enough to be able to jump 25+ times so I could get just the right shot.  The session took place at the Cultural Center, and I want to thank my friend Michelle for the use of the room.  I've been looking at it for years, knowing that it would be perfect for photos of some sort :)

Tower up!

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and SkyRise Chicago 2009.  When RIC contacted me to photograph the annual run up the Willis Tower I instantly knew that I could check off one more thing on my list of 'interesting Chicago experiences'.  Although it did take me a moment or two when I thought, "Willis Tower?  Where the heck is that?" before I remembered that the Sears Tower changed it's name.

This really was quite a spectacle of physical endurance.  About 1000 people run all the way up the 103 floors of the tower.  Well, to be honest, many of them walked.  But that's still a whole lot of climbing.  One of the most challenging things for me was the location.  I mean, stairwells aren't pretty, spacious, or interesting.  How was I going to creatively capture the runners in such a cramped space?  I stuck with a wide angle lens for most of it, and allowed some blur to convey motion.

There were some pretty inspiring stories throughout the day.  Seven firefighters walked all the way up wearing their uniforms to honor the firefighters that did the say thing in the towers during 9/11.   Those helmets alone way 5 1/2 pounds.  Imagine that for a minute.  I did a bunch of running up and down in small sections carrying my camera gear and I was hurting.  But I couldn't complain after watching those guys.

At the top some of the patients of RIC were there to hand out the medals.

Once the hoopla started to subside I couldn't resist taking one shot of myself standing in the new plexiglass ledge that they built off the edge of the observation deck.  That's 103 stories- straight down :) 

A fellow photographer and friend, Joanne, helped me cover this event.  While I was shooting things up top, she was at the bottom.  RIC has created a page with many other photos that we took this day.  You can see them here:
RIC SkyRise images

Lellbach Builders

Congratulations to Doug & Debra Lellbach at Lellbach Builders.  I've known them for years, but this is the first time we've worked together on a project.  I took some architectural photographs for them of one of their remodeling projects.  They needed the photos to enter in the 2009 Qualified Remodeler Master Design Awards contest.  I'm happy to say that they received 2 Master Design awards- the Gold Award and the Best Of Show for projects under $250,000!

Since I'm sure some of you didn't renew your subscription to Qualified Remodeler Magazine you might have missed the spread on them in the October issue.  But I'll provide the link to an online version here:
Remodeler Magazine

Plus you can see a few different variations of these images in the 'Architectural' section on my website.

Naperville Gift Cards

Downtown Naperville has a very popular gift certificate program in place.  And the certificates are good in almost all the stores and restaurants in the downtown area.  I know I've used them before for people when I didn't know what else to get.  Well now they're moving away from the old system, and instead they'll be using a new gift card which will be similar to the common credit card systems you see in many stores.

I took the photos that they'll be using to promote the new program.  You should be seeing the images soon in newspapers, local magazines, and on the big placard near the front of Hugos Frog Bar.  I don't often get a chance to do much macro work.  But it's something that I enjoy, and I had a good time with these.

John & Marty

I had the great opportunity to take the engagement photos for my good friends John and Marty.  Luckily it happened on one of the few nice days we had in recent months.  They are a wonderful couple, and I want to wish them all the best.

Pack The Place Pink

Susan G Komen for the Cure event.  This was a breast cancer fundraiser called "Pack The Place Pink".  It took place during a volleyball game between Naperville Central High School and Wheaton Warrenville South.  Money was raised through donations, silent auctions, t-shirt sales, and a raffle.  It was great seeing all the hard work that the girls put into it, and also what they got out of it. 

Instead of their usual uniforms, the teams all wore special shirts with the name of a family member or friend that had or has cancer.  It was a great event, and I have to say that I ate about 10 cupcakes from the bake sale.  You know, I was just trying to do my part. 

Morton Arboertum

The Morton Arboretum hired me last weekend to document some of their classes and programs.  They needed images that they could use in upcoming catalogs, brochures, and the web to promote the next series of classes.  The Arboretum, for those of you that don't know, is a wonderful place to roam around.  It has always been a great spot for a picnic, with it's miles of scenic locations and hiking paths.  But I like how they have reinvented themselves over the past decade with the Children's Garden, summer concerts, and fantastic educational programs. 

Saturday started out very gloomy- dark, cool, and threatening to rain.  But fortunately the clouds helped me by diffusing the light.  Otherwise I would have been fighting the shadows as I photographed people moving under the trees.  The first thing I documented was an adult class on tree identification.

Next was a class called "Amazing Web Designers", a creative name for a kid's class about spiders.  I followed them as they roamed through the prairie looking for webs and creepy, crawly things.

 

On Sunday they wanted me to shoot a child's birthday party in the Childrens Garden.  The daughter of one of the employee's was turning two, and she had agreed to let it be photographed.  Around mid-day on Saturday, a buddy of mine sent me an email that read, "Jeffrey, I hear you're photographing my daughter's birthday tomorrow!"

Small world!  Sure enough, his wife works at the Arboretum and it was his daughter with the birthday.  What an amazing coincidence, but I'm so glad it happened.  It took off a layer of awkwardness from trying to walk right in and photograph a party filled with people that had no idea who I was.  Instead it was easier for me to jump in there and get some great images

 

 

And yes, I do know that it's wonderful that my job let's me outside all weekend, taking pictures and meeting new people.  I don't take it for granted, and it really is quite awesome.

Day Three- Music by Train... we can see the light at the end of the tunnel

Sunday Night- Train. This is the night we've all been looking forward to. It was a sold out show. I'm not sure about the actual number, because every time I spoke with someone else the number kept going up. I first heard 6500 people, then 8,000, then 10,000! So I'm not sure what to believe. All I know is that it was quite a crowd, and it looked amazing from the stage

The band was pretty good, and they get extra points in my book because they actually let us shoot for three (yes, 3!) whole songs. There were twice as many photographers trying to get into the pit area. I do have some admiration for the high school kids who manage to talk their way in by claiming that they're shooting for their school paper. But I tell each of them to please stay out of my way or I will run them the hell over. And bless them, they do.


It's a good thing they stayed out of my way. The lead singer was one of the more active front men I've photographed. He ran back and forth on that stage like his pants were on fire. It was difficult to find that perfect position because he didn't stay in one place for more than a second or two. Luckily I had three whole songs to figure it out.


The sponsor tent was so crowded that I decided to roam around the festival and see what else was going on. I was hanging out with some friends at the other Entertainment stage when I got a phone call. Apparently the Jaycees were going to get some photos with Train right after the show, and the show was about to end. So I hightailed it through the park to the backstage area again- the whole time thinking how glad I was that I brought my flash. I had been cursing the extra weight, but now it was worth the trouble.

The guys in the band were actually pretty decent and friendly. I think we stressed out their manager a bit... but managers are easy to stress out.


But enough about that! Because, the last big night concert was finally over and it was time to kick back and have some fun. My friend Stacy celebrated by demonstrating the techniques that she hopes will win an award at next year's Strongman competition.
And then we blew off some steam like only the Jaycees can do. I'm not sure what that kid's doing there... pretend that he's writing a report, or doing research for some homework assignment.