too many things to write about in this post to give it just one subject title

sorry i've been so absent in blog land! i was gone for a day and then spent a lot of today getting photos uploaded/processed. so where do i begin? let's see...

okay, since the chicago blackhawks are playing to win the championship {as i type }, i thought it would be appropriate to post about my day in chicago yesterday. actually, whether or not they were playing, i'd still post about it. i have a feeling that this post will take so long to prepare, the game will be over by the time i'm done... lot's of pictures!

well, i guess i could start with this picture, which was one of my favorites of the day...

...and the main reason i went to the city yesterday. this is the sign on the door of the coffee shop where i spent a better part of the day. a constantly rainy day, but a very nice day none the less.

once, early on in my friendship with my best friend, she told me that she sees me as what is known as a "connector"... a term she found in a book that she read. i'm not sure of the exact definition, but it is something to effect of someone who connects other people to each other in unique and specific ways.

yesterday, i did just that. well, actually it started a bit before that. remember when i mentioned a friend in my recent post who rode by on her bicycle? well, she has a daughter in college {who i also call friend } who is taking a month-long summer course with eight other students, a week of which will be spent in chicago researching and interviewing to prepare for some feature writing about the city. she has to write a blog in conjunction with her travels/adventures.

her mom asked me to go look at the blog, and i was happy to. when i started reading there, i discovered from one of her posts that she really wanted to do a feature piece on the neighborhood of bucktown/wicker park. this is where my brother lives and thrives... an arts-saturated, trendy and very interesting place, to say the least. you'll find so much diversity there... in the people, restaurants, shops, housing. so i wrote to her and offered to hook them up for an interview. she was hoping to get some good info for her piece, and she invited me along to walk around and take pictures with her if it worked out. hahaha... she did not have to twist my arm on that one!

my brother has a lot of connections, views and perspectives on that neighborhood, so she was super excited at the prospect, and i was so happy to help! so i connected them! i set up an interview at the place of my brother's choosing and at a time they were both able to make it. and i went along for the ride! i was soooo happy to get out of the house and get my mind off of finding a job for a bit.

okay... i'm already getting too wordy! i'll just let the pics speak for themselves {with some captions }. and maybe a few more words at the end.

the coffee shop.
some views of this artsy, bohemian cafe...

love love love those windows as art on the wall!

if you go there without a laptop, you almost don't fit in.
i think my friend and i were the only two without them.


the coffee.

i kid you not... this was some of the best coffee i ever had!
ipsento is the name of the coffee shop where we met.
they are quickly becoming very known for their incredible coffee!
it's just a tiny little place, but what they lack in size,
they more than make up for in flavor!
i forgot the name of this one,
but it had coconut milk and cayenne pepper,
and it was AMAZING!
absolutely delicious!

they also have delicious scones
and wonderful fresh, healthy food, too!
my brother bought me a hummus
and veggie naan {pita-like } wrap.
thanks, nate!
{kind of neat side note... all the sandwiches are named
after famous writers... dickinson, c.s. lewis, keillor, austen }


the brother.
he's my eldest sibling and a coffee connoisseur of sorts.

he, too, has a blog.


the interview.

this was another one of my fave shots of the day.
i went outside and took her picture through the window.
i love how you can see the street in the reflection!




isn't she darling?
she looks like a pro!





the photo walk.

when they were done with the interview, she and i walked around
the neighborhood to get some pictures of typical
bucktown/wicker park streets.
this is what we found...

the very famous margie's candies and ice cream shop
on the corner of armitage and western... the beatles were here.

the blue line tracks
{part of the "L" train transportation system }

i know it's blurry, but i like it that way!


some store fronts... i dig the old buildings!

a shelter built by a homeless person{s }

a little sidewalk art... told you i'd look for orange!

and some green to complement!
{"meet me at the corner of giggle and snort!"
...in case you couldn't read it.}

and last, but not least, of the street shots,
my absolute favorite photo of the day!!

i'm making this one into a postcard!
it's as if someone set this up with props to look so good.
but it's not set up.
it was just there.
and it begged to be photographed!
so i did.


and finally... the journalist.

in margie's candy shop above
and braving the rain below.



again, isn't she too cute?
i wanted her to be my next lookers and leapers subject,
so i asked her to jump.

and it wasn't quite high enough, so i had her jump again!
{her looker and leaper shots here.
you've got to see those eyes!}

i can't even say how much fun i had this day! she and her mom thanked me for helping her out, but it was they who helped me! oh, how it made me miss being young! i felt like i was in college again, hanging out with such a youngin', but this is one mature and very nice young lady, so it was like hanging out with someone my age, too! we really had fun, and i was so delighted to be a part of it!

you can also read about the day from her perspective. she has a funny little story about the way they met {before i was in the picture, since i got to the coffee shop later than they did }.

i hope you enjoyed this little trip around bucktown/wicker park in chicago!

p.s.
the blackhawks won!!!
WHOOT, chicago!

because picking just one is just way too difficult, so i posted them all

now, for a little "holly-go-lightly meets mary poppins"...

{i tried playing around with the processing
on all of the above images...
although i was not quite sure what i was doing.
i was just winging it, really.}

{i LOVE the form of her jump in the shot below.
i just wish the lighting had been better.}

{i think the shot below was my favorite jump shot of the day,
partly because there was a break in the clouds... blue sky!}

wowee!!!
i got such a great response
and such wonderful feedback on my red umbrella photo
{the one in my last post },
both here on this blog,
and in flickr-land!


i was so pleased with how
this just-for-fun photo shoot turned out...
especially since i had the biggest blast taking the photos.
but i did not imagine i would get such nice
hoots and hollers from you all.
and i am so appreciative of every word!
thank you!


okay... i won't keep you in suspense any longer
the beauty you see in these umbrella shots
is my best friend.
as i mentioned in my last post,
i am designing her wedding invitations,
and we took these photos
the day she came over to finalize the invitation design.
we got all of our work done,
and rewarded ourselves with a trip
to the gorgeous historic woodstock square
{in the town where i grew up }.
it was overcast,
but still a perfect day for photos.


when i saw the ensemble my friend had shown up in
{very french 1960s-esque },
i knew right away that i wanted to take her picture.


i said, "all we need is a cute umbrella."
then she said, "oh, i have a red one in my car."
seriously?
that is what i call serendipity!
we could not have planned this if we tried!
so off we went.


i'm so glad she did not break her ankle in the process...
i mean, her wedding is in july!


i still have many more photos of her to share.
but i thought i would get in all my jumping shots in this post.
{next time, i'll share a little more about this sweet girl.}


some of you may remember my little side project,
lookers and leapers.
all these shots were taken mainly with that in mind,
and thus, was born my third installment for that project.

well, i am currently sitting around
{in the sweltering heat }
waiting very anxiously to hear back from three printers
that i asked for printing quotes from.
the one that gives me the best deal
is the one i will use to print the invitations.
i'm growing very frustrated... almost angry,
because they all seem to be taking
their sweet old time getting back to me.


so i thought i would use the time
to post the leaping photos.
i hope you enjoyed!

{p.s. i was hoping to visit some blogs, but have not had any time the past few days... blame it on the girl with the red umbrella. *wink* but i hope to stop by very soon.}

florida 9: people 1... {and your tips and tricks, please}

{this is my husband's brother and sister-in-law. i think this is one of my favorite people pics that i've ever taken. of course, i got lucky. i had beautiful subjects to work with, a beautiful setting to work in, and the lighting was perfect right at that moment. we were all just in the right place at the right time.}

hello...

lot's of things today.

first, thank you to all who left me with your thoughts about my story in my last post. hearing from you was so appreciated... especially on something like that. it's just nice to know that others would take that as a sign the way we did. it helps us know it's not so far-fetched to think that way.

second, i had said {even before the whole florida box in the road thing happened } that i would try to post some long forgotten florida pictures from last april. i thought this week would be a good time for that while i was away guest blogging for seven days with kim and p.g. i thought i could just write over there and do pictures only over here. but who am i kidding? i'm way too gabby for that!

well, here it is thursday, and i have not posted one florida pic {until now }. but after my last post, i thought it would only be fitting. so here are some of my people pictures from that trip. these were taken on the beach at sunset one evening. we tried to go watch the sun go down over the gulf every night. i have to say, those were probably my favorite moments of the whole trip. it was always so peaceful and uplifting.

one of those evenings, i decided to have my husband and his brother and wife play in the sand for me. not making castles or burying each other so just heads and feet stuck out kind of playing. this kind of playing... i asked them to JUMP for the camera. we had a blast!

this was one of my fave shots, and i decided i could use it for lookers and leapers, even though at the time that i took it, i did not yet have this project in mind. but this shot works for it. i had taken some face shots that day, too. so i zoomed and cropped in on their eyes to go with the leap pic. i just posted it last night... my second installment. so glad to have this, too, because i was growing antsy to get out and find another subject for lookers and leapers, but have not found the opportunity since my first subject.

okay, all you professional or semi- professional picture takers out there! {or even the amateurs... if you've got some words of wisdom.} i have heard that late afternoon/early evening is a good time to get outdoor photos of people. and i feel that is the main reason some of these photos turned out so warm and nice. but what other tips do you have for me? if i pursue this people photography thing, i want to learn all i can.

tips? ideas? keep in mind, i have very limited equipment and a somewhat simple camera that does not have a lot of "bells and whistles". but i know a lot of the same principles apply no matter what type of camera you have. so let's hear it! what are your secrets to taking good people pics?

{one more thing. i generally don't put photos on this blog unless i took them. i have other blogs for other people's photos. but i had to post this one after writing what i did in my last post. while going through this group of florida pics, i found one of b. and me taken that same evening in the same place as the above photos. i saw it and felt comforted by it. i loved the way we were both looking in the same direction... it almost felt like looking forward. and it was taken in florida! after my last post, i had to add it! i just had to!}

{thanks to my sis-in-law for taking it.}