Tag: chicagonow

Categories
General Photography Travels

Photo on the Radio

This morning at 10:30 AM I did my first ever live media appearance for WGN 720 AM on ChicagoNow Radio. It was a real pleasure and I was way more comfortable than I expected I would be. I think there are probably two clear reasons for this:

One of the hosts was a friend of mine: Amy Guth. Amy is stellar and that made it a lot easier than talking to a complete stranger.

The classes I’ve been taking at IO have really done the trick! It’s already made me more comfortable in a performance atmosphere. Specifically helping me maintain my composure and gaining an ability to think on my feet.

We talked about my new blog on ChicagoNow: Focal Points. As well as my experiences in Berlin, and last weekend’s Journey to the End of the Night event. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Listen here!

Categories
Photography Travels

First Batch of Thailand Photos!

A statue of Ronald McDonald holding his hands in prayer.
A statue outside a Bangkok McDonald's restaurant.

Alright, so it’s finally happening, this is quite the week!

In addition to launching my new ChicagoNow blog: Focal Points. I’ve started sifting through my Thailand photos! I was able to get through 26 photos from my first day in Bangkok.

I intend to post more each day until I’ve gone through them all. Thailand and my Tokyo blog entry are my top priorities for this blog in the next few weeks. I’m planning on going back and retroactively adding photos to the existing entries, like so. After that, I’ve got a host of other things I cannot wait to share.

Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy them.

Bangkok Part 1 on Flickr

Categories
General Photography

ChicagoFinally!

Journey To The End of The Night

Friend’s it feels like forever since I first started talking about it but my new blog on ChicagoNow has finally arrived! (Don’t worry I’m going to keep posting on Subism as well.) There were a number of reasons why it’s taken this long but the fact of the matter is it’s good to go at long last.

The focus and name has changed slightly, originally the name was going to be “Beyond The Loupe” a horrifically bad pun on Chicago’s Loop area downtown and an old school photographer’s Loupe for viewing negatives and slides in detail.

There were a couple of problems with this name:

  1. Too many people don’t know what a loupe is
  2. The pun was a bit cheesy even by ChicagoNow standards
  3. It sounded too much like “Beyond The Pedway” Tim Jahn’s awesome podcast about Chicago startups.

So I settled on Focal Points as it still manages to be a photography pun but does a much better job at conveying the idea of my work taking Chicago’s iconic landmarks and showing them in a new perspective which is something I am passionate about, sometime that I feel Subism is all about. You’ll hear more on this later as the site matures.

For my first two entries I’ve decided to focus on my experience over the weekend participating in Journey To The End of the Night which took place over the weekend. The first 18 photos from the set are now online with my account of the adventure and the remaining 18 to be posted on Friday.

My goal is to get into a M-W-F posting schedule over there, so there will be much more to talk about in the coming weeks and months. For now please check out the site and my first blog entry:

Journey To The End of the Night 2010 – Part 1 – Focal Points

Categories
General Photography Theatre Travels

Leveling Up and Leveling Out

Nintendo Cartridges.

2009 has been a heck of a year. While it’s really been a year of serious ups and downs for me, it’s also been a year of growth and learning. I’ve made some mistakes, but I’ve also made some awesome friends and I’ve grown as a person in ways I never would have imagined. This year I took some life changing trips to Berlin, Paris and St. Louis that taught me how to explore and be more independent. When I moved to Chicago three years ago it was precisely for this reason. I wanted to force myself to break out of my shell and stand completely on my own. It took me almost three years but I think I finally really accomplished that goal.

Last weekend I finished my Level 1 improv class at iO Chicago (formerly Improv Olympic) and I have to say it was one of the most liberating feelings I’ve experienced in a while. In the short amount of time it took to take the class I discovered sides of myself that I had never even imagined. Improv has forced me to change the way I think and has become something I look forward to every week. On top of that, I met some great people in class I’m happy to call friends. It’s no surprise that I’ve signed up for level 2 and I’m excited already. Improv has been an outlet for me during the most stressful time of year.

Now a few random notes:

My blog with ChicagoNow has been pushed back to Q1 of 2010. More info as I get it.

Long Pork has received it’s dates and times for San Francisco Sketchfest with two shows!

The first: January 29, 8pm at the Eureaka Theater and we’ll be opening for Theme Park Improv featuring Rachel Dratch, Edie McClurg, Danny Pudi, Jessica Makinson, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton.

Second: Jan 30th, 10:30pm at The Dark Room Theater with Marvin Berry and We Are Nudes.

Needless to say, we’re pretty excited.

That’s really all for now, but things are looking good. 2010 has a lot of good things coming, more traveling, SXSWi again and the restarting of TheChicagoGuys.com and more. The future may be unwritten, but the rough draft sounds pretty good.

Categories
General Photography Theatre

Thankful

Friends laughing.

Today is the American holiday of Thanksgiving and rather than be a cynic I’m going to appreciate it this year. I have a lot to be thankful for right now.

I recently had a major job opportunity with an advertising agency come my way that would have brought with it a complete change of my lifestyle.

It was a very eye opening experience that made me assess the things in my life and what was important to me. Ultimately I turned the offer down, and while it was a really hard decision I don’t regret it at all. I would have had to give up a lot of things I do outside of my job with Apple that are my true passions, things I one day hope to be able to sustain myself alone on.

I am now in my third year of living in Chicago and I’m fortunate to have a really great group of friends a really great job and a ton of opportunities.

Long Pork is doing really well, we recently got accepted to Chicago Sketchfest and San Francisco Sketchfest and we are ramping up for a run of our new show in the very near future.

I recently signed a contract with Tribune to run the first photo blog on ChicagoNow.com an opportunity that I am very flattered and excited by. More on this soon…

I’m planning to start teaching photography classes at Pumping Station One likely in January.

There is also the little things: I’m taking improv classes at iO Chicago and am loving every second and it’s really causing a shift in my thinking. Just this week I (re)launched MailServerSettings.com a very simple, small website that IT professionals and Mac Geniuses have told me they love. Not much to it but it’s a handy little tool. Lastly, I’ll be celebrating five years with Apple officially in January a milestone I’m really proud of.

More than anything I’m thankful for the amazing people I’ve met here in Chicago and continue to meet. I often say that the most important thing to me is my friends and I mean that. I’m very fortunate to be blessed by a lot of amazing people in my life. People who believe in me, people who challenge me, people who remind me to be my best, and people who I can just have a good time with. That is really what I’m thankful for more than anything.