The weather was gorgeous in Chicago this weekend- 60s in February?? And while this abnormally warm weather has me worrying about climate change, I'll guiltily admit that I'm a Midwesterner who has never been a fan of winter. If I choose to live in the present, ignoring a warmer and wetter future, this weather more characteristic of late spring has got me smiling.
I've always thought summer is one of the best times in Chicago because after a brutal winter, we greet warm days and sunny skies with so much more appreciation. This goes for those rare warm days before spring has officially sprung- when temperatures rise above freezing and people decide it might just be warm enough for shorts. People head outside in droves, eager to enjoy a bit of sunshine and weather that doesn't require a parka.
I went downtown and wandered from the river walk to the skyscrapers of the Loop. It was mid afternoon and the sun peeked around the buildings, whose towering stone and glass frames left geometric cutouts for the light to pass through. Beams of setting sun passed between the buildings, illuminating sections of busy parks and sidewalks, creating an almost surreal picture where some people were in shadow and others were silhouetted by the golden edge of the sun. It's beautiful how the light wraps around the buildings, finding the crevices to pass through, and reflects off the glass of skyscraper windows, bouncing onto neighboring buildings. In the city, a little bit of light goes a long way...
I'll apologize as usual for the quality of the images attached to this post, however, I challenged myself by taking only my 35mm camera with me on the walk downtown. I had a partially shot roll loaded in the camera and decided that any photos I took would be shot on film (and the occasional phone snap). It's a practice I need to try more often. I love shooting film, but too often I am beguiled by the instantaneous nature of digital photography. I can shoot a million pictures, upload them to my computer, and post them immediately. I've been attempting to get in the habit of taking more photographs (hence the- somewhat- more frequent posts on this blog and on instagram), but it could be a nice addition to force myself every once in a while to commit to only shooting film. I'm always pleasantly surprised after I develop a roll from months earlier, so why not do it more often? Now I just have to find a place to get good scans... So for now, a few shots from my phone and maybe in a few weeks I'll have some 35mm shots to share!
We stopped by a small park north of Millennium Park and as we were leaving to go back into the heart of downtown, we had to climb up this staircase to get up top. This picture doesn't do the shape of the structure justice, since the stairwell was a huge concrete circle (more of a rounded polygon??). I loved the pairing of the straight lines running vertically with the curved blob that circles the top of the structure. The total concrete look reminded me of something out of a sci-fi movie and I loved how the red jacket popped amongst the grey of the concrete. It'd be cool to shoot a short scene in this location...