last post of 2009
I didn't post as often as I had wanted to in 2009. I always felt like there was more on my mind than I could properly express. 2010 is going to be a significant year...a year of change and, I hope, a year of things getting better.
Happy New Year.
Chicago Photography Project – 4 years
Well, I'm nearly two months late in celebrating this, but at least I'm recognizing it in 2009!
October 26th was the 4th anniversary of my lunch hour photography/exercise project. Not much has changed since last year. The map has grown only slightly, as I increasingly have to rely on either the El or the bus system to get me to unexplored locations.
I continue to submit photos to Chicago Public Radio and to Gapers Block for inclusion on their respective websites. Some I've been very happy with have made it, which is encouraging.
As with previous updates, no photobook is yet forthcoming. I find it increasingly difficult to come to any sort of definitive "theme" that would work well in a book. My latest thought was perhaps I simply select photos based on cardinal directions. There are just so many photos to go through...so many that I think are great but probably, as they say, won't play in Peoria. So, I continue to mull...
With respect to the walks, I'm certainly still getting in quite a few every week. I have been able to clock in some rather long treks (anything over 3 miles is pretty good in my book) in an hour to slightly-more-than-an-hour time period. Good stuff. My plan to do a half-day trip with swanksalot to visit Hot Doug's was thwarted by both weather and schedules. But mark my word, it will happen in 2010! 
a reminder of why I don’t treat myself very often
With this being the last day of work for me for the year and with the snow falling so beautifully in the city, I thought I would treat myself to a mocha from Caribou Coffee. This would mean taking a longer route to work from my train and I could enjoy the combination of a hot chocolaty beverage, the crisp air, falling snow, and the slushy sidewalks. I like that sorta thing...it charges the batteries. Next time, though, I'm going to just settle for a longer walk and warm myself with thoughts of the free coffee at work. Why?
$4.
$4, after tax, for a small mocha (and that chocolate-covered coffee bean they give you).
Now, mind you, it's probably been 9 months (or more) since I've set foot in any coffee chain store. And certainly their mocha's are tasty (better than Starbucks IMHO) and certainly the staff is friendly and fast and certainly they're in a good location (right in my station in Chicago). But seriously. $4.
Shame on me for not looking at the price board before ordering.
not where but when
I'm coming off a run of late work nights that started back at Thanksgiving and have not been getting home until 8pm. Being gone from home for thirteen and a half hours a day has certainly been trying. I realize that this is not a lot compared to some people, but for me, it's been a significant change in my relationship with work and home.
I finished up the project this past week and was able to take my "normal" train home. Except, I sorta missed the last of the light in the evening sky during my long days. So, when I stepped off the train on Wednesday, I was really rather confused, not about where I was but /when/ I was. It felt so much like a late night that, for part of my walk to my car, I actually thought it was.
Thankfully I was able to take yesterday off. Also I am only working two days next week and then not again until Jan 4th. I'm really looking forward to being home for this long. I really need to be away from work for a while. Also, Monday is the Solstice and soon enough I'll be seeing those trace bits of sunset in the western sky as I step off the train.
Edit:
As an aside, why can't we get some of that east coast snow?! The 2" or so we got today was rather disappointing. Though, it did help cover the harder frozen stuff that's been sitting around. Nate and I enjoyed almost two hours of outdoor play this morning.
Into The Night
Check out this great time-lapsed video of Chicago along Lake Shore Drive.
Into the Night from kris.wm on Vimeo.
Another hit to (our) film photography
Whenever I shot film (which was quite a bit this summer, at least a dozen rolls) I would use our local Target store for developing. Their next-day service: develop the film and scan the negatives to CD all for about $3.70 including tax. This was great and let me populate my photoblog with some nice photos.
Recently I've given Nate one of my film cameras, an Olympic Stylus Epic, and set him up with a couple of rolls of black and white film. He's prefectly happy to just press and press and press the shutter button photographing nothing or photographing us. He was having a ton of fun and I was planning on freeing up some space in my film/beer storage fridge.
This weekend 
helloheather went to Target to shop and to drop off his first roll of Ilford XP2 only to discover that our Target store is no longer developing film. Now they only have a send out service and it takes 7-10 days. My experience with send-out services has been...less than pleasant. I'm expecting the scans to be pretty bad. I'm expecting the negatives to look like they've been walked over by a dozen people.
For better or worse, the world of film is certainly not doing well... I enjoyed using it this summer as it, once again, forced me to slow down a bit and consider the shot. It helped too that I was limiting myself to a single focal length (50mm). I enjoyed the color palette I was getting from (expired) Kodak UC 400. And yeah, I cleared out a little more space in that fridge. But I especially enjoyed the 1-day turn-around CD's for so little money at a location that was right on my route home from the train.
I guess if we want to shoot any more film we're going to have to go just a little bit further and pay a little bit more.