The 2017 Sandwich Fair

Hello again. It has been quite some time since I've posted and it's time that I get back to it. Every year after Labor Day the Sandwich Fair begins on Wednesday and lasts through Sunday. It's become a tradition for my family to visit every year. We have even created bingo cards for entertainment. I heard one elderly man say to another while sitting on the same bench seen in the image above a day earlier, "sit here for 10 minutes and you'll see everything."

Recent Work

Donkey Basketball

About 10 years ago while surfing the internets looking at winning photojournalism images I came across two weird subjects that I knew I had to photograph sometime in my life. One was amphicars and the other was donkey basketball. I shot the amphicars in 2006 and Wednesday night in Minooka I photographed a donkey basketball game. Neither of them lived up to the hype that I created in my head, but still it was one of the more interesting things I have covered.

Joliet

Joliet is new terrain for me and I need to adjust. I'm not accustomed to the traffic in the area, especially the amount of semitrailers. Catholicism is big tyme here. Those bridges over the Des Plaines River worry me. In Sycamore I had to pay for parking near the courthouse, but a quarter for 15 minutes in downtown Joliet is crazy to me. I mean, other than going to the courthouse, why do visitors go downtown? Also, why were the sidewalks not cleared of snow? I saw people walking down the middle of major roads during rush hour. Nuts. My last gripe is all I have for equipment is a wide-angle zoom lens. Other than that Joliet is great. I've been inundated with planning, scheduling, etc., but my hope is to get out more to meet new people and to experience this new terrain.

 

Leaving DeKalb

Beginning Monday I will be working in Joliet at The Herald-News and I'm excited. For nearly five years I've worked at the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb and it was time to move on. I'm looking forward to a larger and new area to explore.

Sarcophagus

Amenti Haunted House

On Friday I got out of covering football to photograph the haunted house at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb. My boss found a slideshow online of scared people at a haunted house and wanted us to do the same. Everything worked out, but I wish I had more time. At 7 p.m. when the house was scheduled to open the fire alarm went off, which delayed the opening for a half an hour. Also, since they only allow so many guests through the house at a time I only had the opportunity to photograph nine groups before I had to leave to make deadline.

Mantis

I saw this mantis at the office today. It moved to look at me as soon as it heard the shutter. I like bugs.

Gun.Smoke and Horses

 

There is a week or so long event in DeKalb called the Kishwaukee Fest. I don't completely understand it because there are some festivals in the area that have been taking place for years and now they are combined into this new fest. Saturday the Northern Illinois Outlaws rode horses and shot guns at balloon targets. Someone was explaining how the .45 Colts work and I just kept thinking about Red Dead Redemption and how Marston was done wrong. Apparently there is going to be a sequel or a prequel. Anyway these folks are serious and boy they like guns. Gun.Smoke on the NES was good too.

 

Turkey Vulture

Nearly ten years ago while traveling through Missouri on a road trip I saw a turkey vulture for the first time. Since then I see them everywhere in northern Illinois. I am fascinated by turkey vultures because they remind me of dinosaurs. I also like to pretend they are thunder birds flying way up high looking for children to carry away. Anyway, I called up a local animal rehabilitation center and the director there confirmed that yes indeed turkey vultures are fairly new to the area. I then stopped by the center to get some up-close images and I almost got more than I bargained for. At one point during my visit, Vinny, a 23-year-old turkey vulture, and I were left alone in his enclosure and he hopped down from his perch and started biting my shoes and pants. I thought "oh great, this damn bird is going to bite me with it's bacteria filled mouth and I'll have to go to the hospital and endure a series of painful injections." Well I climbed up to higher ground and just kept lifting my feet. When I was finally rescued I learned Vinny just wanted my shoe laces.

Red, White and Blue

Receded

I meant to post some photographs of the flooding in DeKalb County when it happened, but I didn't so here you go. The above is from today and the rest are from April 18.

Slacking

So I have been slacking uploading anything new. So here's two that I shot recently.

Pie

The Sycamore Pumpkin Festival pie eating contest occurred this past Saturday. I wasn't pleased with my images from the first two groups of children that participated, but then I saw this guy. I didn't bother looking for anything else and just focused on this bearded wonder. Our designer didn't run this image, but I can understand why they didn't. Oh yeah, he won.

Fake Field Goal

On Saturday the Northern Illinois football team hosted Central Michigan. In the fourth quarter as the Huskies appeared to settle for a field goal attempt the ball was instead tossed to the kicker, Mathew Sims, and he ran it in for a 14-yard touchdown run. Avery Cunningham of the Chippewas took exception to this and hit him in the end zone. Sims didn't see it coming and was rattled for a moment but remained in the game.

Stonehouse Park

I visited Stonehouse Park over the weekend. The 40-acre, Earlville-based "agritainment" venue has been caught in a whirlwind of problems in the past year, from neighbors' complaints about late-night parties and drug use to permit violations and now financial hardships. During my visit the owners were working on maintaining the property and I followed them for a bit and then I saw a group participating in live action role playing. The group had rented park for the weekend as many other different groups have done in the past. While LARPing is interesting, I definitely would love to have seen a music festival there.

Good boy, Walker.

Some time ago while surfing the internets I saw a stencil of a little girl with an All Terrain Armored Transport. I loved it so much that I had to make a photograph with the same elements, so I made this for fun.

Long Exposure

If you live in the Chicagoland area you are aware of the wild weather we had last night. On my drive home I decided to pull over to capture some lightning. Within 10 minutes two motorists stopped to ask if I needed any help, which was really surprising to me. Anyhow, I decided to press the shutter as one of the vehicles drove off after I assured them that I was fine and in those thirty seconds I got this image.

Dog in a Suit

While covering an assignment in 2007 at a PetSmart in Crystal Lake I saw this dog that reminded me of a Beagle on stilts. I learned that the dog was an American Foxhound. Nearly a year later I got one myself. He barks a lot, but that is what he was bred to do. My wife and I have always said that he'd look great in a suit, so I made this for her.

Kids

I was told once that I should photograph adults the way I photograph children. Apparently I spend more time and get closer to children rather than with adults. I didn't disagree and it's true, but kids are so much more interesting to me. They don't hold back and I think that's why I'm more interested in capturing their images.