Each year I look back on my photos and try to pick my favorites from the year. It always amazes me that I can remember where I was and what I was feeling as I took the photo. Here are my choices for 2013:
13. We’re lucky to have a venue for track cycling so close to us. Although watching the racing is fun, I’m enamored with the bikes and bike components. There is some serious eye candy out there every week. I love the way the track looks like it’s glowing.
12. I glanced to my left while sitting at a red light on Diversey Avenue, and watched a guy walking across the courtyard separating the two buildings. I thought he would walk around the steam, but instead he walked right through it. I couldn’t grab my phone fast enough! The resulting image is haunting, made more so by the fact that it’s a bit blurred from my hurried state.
11. Finding random type and signage excites me more than it should! I was actually turning around to shoot something else I had seen and spotted this. Taking new roads and being adventurous certainly pays off for a type geek like me. These are Chicago’s hidden treasures.
10. Riding really early on Sunday morning is one of my favorite things to do. The city is quiet, there’s no traffic, and I can head into downtown Chicago without the usual weekday obstacles. I stopped on LaSalle Street, put my bike down, and took a photo of the Board of Trade building — an iconic image of the city.
9. I was riding down Clark Street and spotted this new art. I pulled over, leaned my bike, and was about to take this shot when I was approached by a guy — who I found out was the artist. We spoke for a while about street art and what it means to Chicago. While I love color and scale of this image, the opportunity to speak to the artist was a huge bonus for me.
8. Even in black and white, you can feel the warmth of the setting sun in this photo. The glow on the cabin and the contemplative look on his face is a moment in time that would be hard to duplicate.
7. This Peugeot has been a labor of love. Finding parts was a two year project: a few unusual dimensions on the vintage frame meant hunting bike shops and the internet for parts. Finally, I had everything I needed to finish it, including a very cool drilled chainring and guard by @baughblabs, and just had to photograph it in this form. I love this.
6. Photographing my friend John riding the trails that snake behind his cabin was a highlight of my year. Capturing the real feel of a body in motion is not an easy thing to do. I shot hundreds of photos over this weekend, and was quite happy with the results.
5. I would ride past this construction site on Clark Street and each time, a little more of this amazing ghost sign was uncovered. Finally, the entire sign was visible. Having been protected from the elements by the building next to it, the amount of detail that was left was extraordinary. Based on the 5 cent price, this is probably from the early 50s. I’m so happy I stopped this day to shoot it; it didn’t take long for it to be covered up by the new construction in that spot. I wonder when (or if) it will be visible again. Buried city treasures.
4. The only way to get me out of the house on Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — is to ride my bike. I took the shot against the black background early in my ride along Damen Avenue. I liked the horizontal pattern of the door. Much later in the ride, I took the white background photo. When I looked at my images from the day on my computer, the two visually morphed into a single image. Serendipity!
3. It was very cold on the first day of 2013, and we went walking along the lakefront taking pictures. I watched as this elderly woman made her way down to nearer the water, opened her bag and proceeded to have a sip of wine and some food. I couldn’t help but think she was honoring some long-held tradition and it made me both happy and sad at the same time. I was fascinated by her and would have enjoyed speaking to her, but didn’t want to intrude.
2. The skies opened up and there was a downpour. I drove under this viaduct on Catalpa and saw this girl on her bike, dressed like a cross between a can-can dancer and 1980s Madonna, waiting out the rain. I absolutely had to stop. I started to take her pic, caught her attention, and she struck this pose. I got one shot, but that’s all I needed. I think she’s the epitome of fabulous.
1. Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, my dog makes the top photo. I lost Fred on December 12, less than a year after losing Lucy. My home is still now, and I miss this funny little guy terribly.
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Happy New Year, everyone. I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings.