Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above

Some time back, there was another Weekly Photo Challenge entitled Big, and for that challenge I posted a picture of the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois.  If you look very closely at that photo, at the very top of the building you can spot two small glass boxes that extend out from the building.  These boxes provide a view of the world unlike any you can see by just looking out some window.  So for this weeks challenge, I have stepped into the Way Back Machine and present a view from a small glass box.

The boxes are located on the 103rd floor as part of the Skydeck, and visitors can literally step out and hang above the city.

The pretty pink toes belong to my wife, Maureen.  As you can see, the glass boxes provide a unique view straight down to the streets 103 floors below.

The little glass boxes give a view from above Chicago.

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For more picture From Above, please visit:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/weekly-photo-challenge-from-above/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Up

First the rain came down.  Then the water came…….

Up.

And Up.

And UP!

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To see more pictures depicting Up, please go to:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/weekly-photo-challenge-up-2/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

I have been playing around recently with the whole idea of Black and White versus Color when taking picture.  So as I see an interesting subject, I will take two photos, one of each.  The process has taught me a lot about when color really helps to tell a story.

Recently, I took a walk around Downtown Chicago, and I found myself wandering the path that follows the Chicago River.  While on that walk, I took the following picture, looking back at the Wrigley Building and the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

I was very pleased with the photo.  I thought the framing was good, and I felt it really captured the personality of the city.  Then as an afterthought, a switched over to color, and took the picture again.

When I looked at the second shot, I could not believe the difference.  The color brought the city to life.  The blue sky from the setting sun, the yellow reflections in the water, and the contrast from the red light at the top of the building create a more complete story.  Even the more defined grey of the building, and the variation in color of all the different light sources, added a level to the photo that the Black and White was missing.

This was definitely a time when color won the battle.

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For more visions of Color, please visit:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/weekly-photo-challenge-color/

Phoneography Challenge: My Neighborhood

My neighborhood is boring.  Well, maybe not, but for the purpose of this challenge it is. So I have instead chosen to use my adoptive neighborhood.  The south side of Chicago, or more specifically, Beverly.  Because today was Parade Day.

The South Side Irish Parade.

The parade runs south down Western Avenue, and even on an overcast day like today, it draws a good crowd.

But the best part of the crowd are the families. The people of the neighborhood.

And the kids.

The kids in the parade.

And the kids watching.

A true neighborhood parade.

Celebrating the south side Irish heritage.

Welcome to our neighborhood.

And to our parade.

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All photos were taken with my hTC phone.

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For more cell phone photos of neighborhoods, please visit:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/my-neighborhood/

 

Goober

I wanted to test the phone app, and see how easy it is to post a picture from my phone. I tried posting something from Ireland with a Samsung Galaxy, but I didn’t have much success. So here is a test from my phone.

Yep, that’s Goober. For people who just can’t be bothered to take the time to spread both the peanut butter and the jelly. It is on sale at our local Food 4 Less. Two jars for $5.00. Ok, the test is officially over.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details

Yesterday I took a walk around downtown Chicago, and without even looking at what the weekly challenge was, I surprisingly took some photos that perfectly fit this weeks theme.

One of the most photographed spots in the city is the giant reflective sculpture located in Millenium Park.  The official name of this enormous, oddly shaped mirror is Cloud Gate, but the press and the local citizens have dubbed it, The Bean.

But the “details” of The Bean have nothing to do with the sculpture at all.  The details are in the city that surrounds it.

The details are Chicago.

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Looking for more Details?  Please visit:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/weekly-photo-challenge-lost-in-the-details/

The Proud Papa

There are moments in every parents life, that we are so proud of our kids that we almost burst.  I had one of those moments last night.

Molly will be taking a trip this Spring to Washington DC.  As part of this trip, they will be stopping at Arlington National Cemetery, where her school will take part in a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns.  To select the actual participants in the ceremony, the school held an essay contest.  The rules were very simple.  They had to write a one page essay on someone who was buried at the cemetery.

Well, Molly won.  She will be one of three kids that partake in the laying of the wreath.  I could not be more proud of her.  I was a little sad that a scheduling conflict prevented Molly from being there to hear her name being called, but a quick text message relayed the news.  It is a great honor, and she is thrilled to be given this opportunity. 

Her essay was about the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger, and I have included it below.

 Good job little girl.  Maureen and I love you a bunch.

The Challenger

January 28, 1986

By: Mollie E.

            Imagine, there you are, on a cold January afternoon, staring up at an enormous space shuttle. You hear the countdown. 3… 2… 1… BLASTOFF!!! It seems as if the whole world is moving in slow motion. But then, something goes wrong. That once beautiful space shuttle is now coming down in pieces all around you.

            The Challenger was launched on January 28, 1986. It exploded seconds after take-off, instantly killing all 7 crew members. This included Captain Michael Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judy Resnick, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, and Ellison Onizuka. It took over 2 months to recover all the remains from the ocean floor. They were located about 18 miles off shore of Cape Canaveral.

            Captain Michael Smith was buried in Section 7A, Grave 208 on May 3, 1986. Francis “Dick” Scobee was buried in Section 46, Grave 1129 on May 19, 1986. All unidentified remains of the crew were buried next to Scobee’s grave on May 20, 1986.

            These 7 astronauts died with their pride, and they died heroes. When a loose O ring caused a mix in engine fuels, the pressure and force from the altitude and the rocket itself caused the explosion, shooting the unused booster rockets flying outward. They may not have ever left the Earth’s atmosphere, but they gave their lives trying.

Read the Whole Story

The basic design of a newspaper is really quite simple, and it has not changed much over the years.  The headline is there to grab your attention, and most of the important information is contained right up front in the first paragraph.  Pictures are there to bring life to the cold print.  Like many readers, I glance through the paper quickly at first, and then go back a second time to read more about the stories that I found interesting.  But there are times when this habit may make me miss a little gem.  That almost happened this morning.

Here is a story from this mornings edition of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Please take my advise and read the whole story.  In this case, the most important information is not in the first paragraph.

Man hides in trunk of ex-girlfriend’s car, threatens to kill her

By Erin Guerra For Sun-Times Media February 4, 2013 2:47PM

Ryan Burns | Provided photo~Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 5, 2013 2:12AM

A man crawled from the trunk and through the backseat, then held a knife to the throat of his ex-girlfriend as she was driving to meet a friend Friday evening.

The woman, 28, later told Valparaiso police that she had been talking on her phone to a friend about a man she had just met shortly before the attack.

Ryan Burns, 25, climbed into the passenger seat next to her and started quizzing her about the “new guy,” punching her in the face when she said she liked him, according to the police report.

Burns allegedly ordered her to drive where he directed, threatening to kill her and himself if she didn’t. The woman instead pulled into the parking lot of Broadway Cafe on U.S. 30.

As they fought over the steering wheel, she grabbed his genitals and squeezed as hard as she could, she told police. His reaction gave her time to throw the car keys out the window and scream for help. Burns ran off on foot.

The couple’s 3½-year relationship ended in February 2012, the woman told police. They had been living together and he had been helping her raise her twins, whom she had with Burns’ father, so the children are also his siblings.

Police learned the woman has a restraining order against Burns, and she had filed a police report earlier in the day when he allegedly made contact with her at a gas station in Valparaiso. Asked how Burns could have gotten into her car, she showed officers how one of the rear windows can easily be pushed down from outside the vehicle.

The woman said Burns lives with various friends, so police worked with Burns’ cellphone provider to locate him at a home in South Haven. Porter County Sheriff’s Police made the arrest around 1:05 a.m. Saturday.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/18010118-418/man-hides-in-trunk-of-ex-girlfriends-car-threatens-to-kill-her.html

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Sometimes it is just good to read about people who’s lives are way more messed up then your own.

My day doesn’t look so bad now.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unique

I have not done a whole lot of traveling in my lifetime, although I look forward to doing much more in the future, but in my limited travels, I have had the opportunity to visit one of the most unusual and unique natural wonders in the world, The Giant’s Causeway.

Located on the upper coast of Northern Ireland, just a few miles outside Bushmills in County Antrim, these basalt columns stretch out into the sea, re-emerging on the other side in Scotland.  Although it is known that the columns are volcanic in nature, there is really no explanation for why they formed their unique hexagonal shape.

This was our second trip to The Giant’s Causeway, and although it was overcast and drizzling, it was still an inspiring visit.  Both Maureen and I took a number of pictures while there, that is until our camera batteries died.  With the grey skies and strong waves that day, I thought the black and white photos really captured the mood of that trip.

The Giant’s Causeway is indeed a Unique place to visit, and I promise to post more of the photos at another time.

To read more about the causeway, my account of our original trip is located here.

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For more Unique Photos, please visit:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/photo-challenge-unique/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination (part 2)

Sticking with the Illumination theme, here a second picture from our trip to Ireland.  Still from Dublin, this is the Half Penny Bridge, or as the locals call it, Ha’Penny Bridge.

The Half Penny Bridge is a foot bridge that spans the Liffey, connecting Northern Dublin with the South at Ormond Quay and Wellington Quay.  It gets its name from the toll that used to be charged to make the cross from one side of the river to the other.

The bridge itself is very simplistic in both style and function, and at least at the time I used it was not nearly as congested as the crossing down the way at O’Connell Street.  Although I would imagine it is much more crowded later on, when the Temple Bar area starts to empty out.