I'm back!

It has been a crazy past few months. Between work and family I am still about three months behind in getting caught up with the images I have been making. I'll try to get on here more regularly.

Here is a photo I took at the Wine and Arts Festival last weekend in Palestine, Illinois. Palestine is an interesting little town. Despite what Kaskaskia claims, Palestine is the oldest settlement in Illinois. The Main Street is now home to several artists.

Three for Helio

I know... this is no prize-winning photo.

I shot this photo of Helio Castroneves from my seat during the closing laps of this year's Indianapolis 500. He is probably cruising along close to 220 mph. I was near the top of the South Vista and had a great view of the track including all of turns 1 and 2 and the short chute connecting them.

This was my 30th Indy 500. For 23 years I was "on the other side of the fence" as a photographer, usually shooting at the exit of turn 1 right next to the emergency vehicle entrance road. After being so close to the teams, drivers and cars for all those years it is rather difficult for me to sit in the stands but there is something about that place that keeps drawing me back. It is much more than very fast cars going in circles.

If you have never been to the race you probably can't understand that.

If you have been there, then you get it.

Grain Bins near Snyder

For some reason the textures, shapes and simplicity of color of these grain bins caught my eye. This is along Illinois Route 1 north of West Union near a little place known as Snyder.

After the Storm

A massive hail and wind storm hit the small town I live in shortly after 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2009. The ground was white with hail after the storm. The tops of several trees were snapped off and all trees were stripped of most of their leaves. About 40 minutes after the storm while I was taking pictures of damage I caught this image as the sun broke from behind the clouds and fog caused by the hail on the ground arose from the fields.

Chicago River #3

Finally, I am back to the blog. Life has been exceedingly busy the past few weeks and I simply have not had time to keep this current. I'll try to prevent that from happening in the future.

This is a photo of East Wacker Drive in Chicago taken from near the northwest corner of the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The building on the left, which looks like a short building with a taller and skinnier building behind it, is located at 35 East Wacker. It was originally known as the "Jeweler's Building." At 523 feet tall, it was the tallest building outside New York City when it was built in 1927. When it opened it housed parking garages on the second through 22nd floors and included a 22-story car lift that allowed delivery vehicles to ride up to the jewelery merchants to make secure transfers.

Next to it is the Unitrin Office Building. This 525-foot tall, 41-floor building was completed in 1962 for the United Insurance Company.

Source: Google Earth

Pem Hall

This is Pemberton Hall, a women's dorm on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. When completed in 1909 it became the first women's resident hall in the State of Illinois. This historic building is named in honor of State Senator Stanton C. Pemberton  who was influential in securing funding for construction of the building.

About 215 women, and one ghost named Mary, live in Pem. Mary is a friendly spirit who overlooks the safety of the hall's residents.

Sunset Number Nine. Number Nine. Number Nine.

One of my favorite things to do after a hectic day at work is to sit on the deck, read a good book and watch the sun  set. And due to the location of our home I have plenty of opportunities to do this. Step out of my back yard and you are in the neighbor's field. It was corn last year which means we have a built-in natural privacy fence every other year. This year it will be soybeans.