20 Feb devoting time to document chicago’s architecture has proved challenging in 2018

spending countless hours over the past several months digitizing and disseminating  john vinci and tim samuelson’s historically important chicago architectural objects and ephemera, along with restructuring my architectural fragment museum in preparation for moving it to a storefront accessible to the public, has been immensely gratifying, but has left little time for me to reconnect with the long and circuitous routes i routinely took around the city, documenting both commercial and residential architectural ornament adorning 19th and early 20th century buildings.

that all changed yesterday afternoon, despite being short-lived, when i spent hours driving around photographing ornament on buildings (many i’ve visited before) while wrestling with the sunlight as it was busy casting shadows, shifting in temperature and, creating moods that can be a creative asset or an unwanted conflict to the mind’s eye.

neglecting this welcomed routine for such a long period time made me feel insecure, rusty and clumsy in both execution and delivery of the final product. despite this, it felt great to effortlessly let go and get lost in the past. camera or no camera, it reminded me how incredibly therapeutic this is. i hope yesterday afternoon offers the momentum i need to start shooting on a regular basis again, especially after adding a new ultra zoom lens to my toolbox.