Author: John Morrison

Categories
General Photography

Diving In…

Three years ago I moved to Chicago in what seemed to many like a random decision. I had gone through a rough patch in NY where I realized I had been doing the same things in the same places with the same people night in and night out since 7th grade. The weird part though is I had a job I loved working for Apple, but I could not get past the fact that I was working in the mall that I had been going to every day for as long as I could remember living in suburbia. I needed to change something and Chicago offered the perfect opportunity to make a clean break.

I was able to move out here and not only keep my job with Apple but get promoted as well. In the last three years I’ve grown immensely, made amazing friends, traveled extensively, started taking improv classes, started working with Long Pork and really started to build my photo career with the launch of my ChicagoNow blog and a few new clients.

The only down side? It worked too well.

Moving out here has been liberating beyond my expectations, but I find myself so busy pursuing my passions that sleep and friendships suffer due to it. I also find myself turning down photo and design work I’d like to be doing due to conflicts with my full time hours. Three years into living here I once again have found myself in need of a change.

Effective next week I’ve decided to step down from my full time role and leadership responsibilities at Apple and into a more limited part time hours.

This will allow me to pursue my passions even further, recover a semblance of a social life and maybe, just maybe start sleeping again. There is a lot of traveling planned, for starters Long Pork and I are driving to NY next week for Sketchfest NYC at the UCB Theater. I am also going to finally get certified to skydive this year.

Last week on Friday Sydney Owen and I head out to the Chicagoland Skydiving Center to go for a tandem jump and enroll ourselves in the certification program. It’s going to be an interesting summer.

While I’ll admit I am nervous about what I’m leaving behind I am really excited about the road ahead. More to come soon.

Categories
Focal points Photography

Over the River…

When I first moved to Chicago one of the things that struck me was the lack of a natural land barrier stifling the city’s growth. Sure there is the lake, and yes it very much impedes Chicago’s ability to have an East side, but that is only part of what I mean.

Manhattan Island is divided on all sides from the mainland in some way and this acts as a natural boundary for New York city and it’s development. The skyscrapers sorta go up to the water and then end there suddenly. As soon as you cross over into Brooklyn, Queens, New Jersey or the Bronx and the cityscape changes dramatically. Chicago isn’t like this. Downtown is full of high rise buildings and skyscrapers but it lasts for a relatively smaller portion before it tapers off. And that’s just it, it tapers off without a natural boundary to do so. It seems once you get above Chicago Avenue all the buildings gradually get shorter. When friends of mine come to visit from NY they are often taken aback by areas like Lakeview and Logan Square. They ask if I live in “Chicago proper” or “the boroughs” because to them neighborhoods like that are very distinctly divided from the rest of the city by the East river. It’s silly and obvious but most people don’t think about it.

What gets me as well is that Chicago does have things that could act as natural divisions but don’t. Chicago, unlike New York, has major waterways stretching through it.What fascinates me most with this is the Chicago River which splits downtown and Michigan Avenue right in the middle yet does not seem to impede growth on either side. Still the river has a calming effect and the small amount of land around it can be a nice place to relax.

Here are a few shots I took back in March of the river and the immediate area around it.

Categories
Focal points Photography

Loyola University Parking (and campus)

A few weeks back I popped up to Loyola to visit a friend for lunch. I’ve always been a big fan of college campus’s especially the architecture. When I used to live in New York I would often find myself sitting in the middle of the Columbia University campus just taking in the surroundings and people watching, even though I wasn’t a student there.

Being the kind of person that I am Loyola’s campus was really interesting to me, but of course what fascinated me most on that particular day was not the sprawling lawns, beautiful brick work or striking arches, but the parking garage and it’s immediate surroundings.

One of the things I enjoyed most was it’s proximity to the CTA train line and the unique perspective it offered of the tracks themselves. Expect to see a lot more shots in the future focusing on the CTA.

I did of course also take a few pictures of the other the other things as well, not just the parking garage. Enjoy.

Categories
Focal points Technology

A New Toy and an Evening Walk

Last Tuesday a coworker and I grabbed dinner after work at “Goddess and Grocer” downtown. It was a nice night out so after eating our meal outdoors she suggested that we walk back to her place in Lincoln Park where she would then drive me back to my apartment in Wrigleyville.

My legs were still mighty sore from ‘Journey to the End of the Night‘ a few days earlier but I figured the exercise would do me well and give me a good chance to shoot some photos.

In preparation for ‘Journey’ I purchased a new camera: the Panasonic Lumix GF1. I am normally a devout Canon shooter but when James started talking about the GF1 and ultimately let me try his; I was swayed.

My normal body is a Canon 5D Mk II and it is hands down my favorite camera I’ve ever owned, however it’s a bit bulky and expensive to be carrying around day to day. What caught my eye about the Lumix was it’s small size, excellent low light performance and it’s compatibility with a variety of micro 4/3 lenses. It’s the perfect camera to throw in my bag and have on me at all times which made it the perfect camera for ‘Journey.’

The opportunity to go for a walk on this particular night was an opportunity to further test out my new toy. What follows are the shots from that night.

Categories
Focal points Photography

Wrigleyville: The Training Wheels of Chicago

So, if you caught me on ChicagoNow Radio on Saturday you may have heard me mention I live in Wrigleyville. You may have even heard me refer to it as “the training wheels of Chicago.”

As much as I love to trash on my Lakeview-community-by-the-field I have to confess: I do love it here.

I moved to Chicago in May of 2007 after an epic hunt for apartments that had me flying out from New York three out of four weekends in March. When I finally settled down in a place, I had found one I loved.

The truth of the matter is the neighborhood isn’t that bad. The truth is I am a baseball fan so there is a certain magic and energy to me in living so close to the field, but at the same time I’m just far enough away that I don’t have to put up with the majority of the craziness.

If you can get past the craziness on Clark Street, Wrigleyville has a lot of hidden charm and I plan to showcase more of this as time goes on. What follows are some of my favorite shots I’ve taken of Wrigleyville, most of them have never been published before.