Hawaiian shirt at the White Palace Grill, Roosevelt & Canal, Chicago, IL

R & I had an early morning breakfast at the venerated classic "White Palace Grill" at Canal and Roosevelt on the near south side of Chicago near the area where the Maxwell Street Market was forced to move when the U of IL bought up the vibrant nearby old Maxwell Street area at Halsted and Rosevelt Rd. I had scrambled eggs, 4 pancakes and two generous thick pieces of ham for $5.50. Coffee was an additional $1.00.

This fellow was sitting on this chrome stool when we sat down in the booth opposite. I grabbed a shot of him as soon as we settled in. In less than a minute he had finished his waffel delight, stood up and walked off.
Hawaiian shirt at the White Palace Grill, Roosevelt & Canal, Chicago, IL
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

500 blk of Oakdale Ave, Chicago

500 blk of Oakdale Ave, Chicago
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

We often walk along a street looking straight ahead, straight down at the sidewalk or right or left for traffic, but rarely up at the diverse architectural detailing and windows, much less the reflections in the windows. Here some of detailing is a simple arrangement of the laying of the brick to create a diamond design. Compare this brickwork to that in one of the photos posted on May 9, 2006. The locations are only two blocks from one another, but probably 70 years apart in construction dates.

500 blk of Oakdale Ave, Chicago

500 blk of Oakdale Ave, Chicago
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

Simple pressed tin detail that at one time was very popular because it was inexpensive compared to having a trained artisian carve it out of solid stone.

500 blk of Oakdale Ave.

500 blk of Oakdale Ave.
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

bleeding hearts 1 lo-res

bleeding hearts 1 lo-res
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

bleeding hearts 2

bleeding hearts 2 lo-res
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

Each spring brings the delicate pink sculptures known as "Bleeding Hearts." These are just east of our apartment on Oakdale in a fenced in garden on the parkway.

Benches in water tower pk Chicago lo-res

Benches in water tower pk Chicago lo-res
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

I happened to be walking through the delightful park surrounding the old water tower when noticed this interesting rhymatic pattern of the chairs.

This photo is also a homage to Henri Cartier-Bresson for his decisive moment seeing and patterns. See, compose, and wait -- click! Hard to do with a point a shoot that has a shutter lag.

Spring at 431 Oakdale

Spring at 431 Oakdale
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

Light! That's what its all about.

sun reflection on wall with walker

sun reflection on wall with walker
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

This is at Pinegrove at Oakdale in the Lakeview area of the northside of Chicago. The sun is reflected from a few window panes in the late afternoon. What a delight to discover! Particularly when most people are looking straight ahead or worst yet straight down at the concret in front of them. Of course, you can find some very nice abstract images on the sidewalk, even graffiti. Shortly after shooting this I met an economist visting Chicago as I crossed the street. We had a delightful half hour conversation. I showed him the image to demonstrate his question of what a good photo was. I compared this one to others of the same situation that did not work as well, or at all.

2900 N Broadway, Chicago graffiti

2900 N Broadway, Chicago graffiti
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

I decided to walk an alley for about four blocks instead of a street on my way to a doctor appointment. This led to discovering these two stencil graffiti images. Have no idea who did them or what they are about. They are around 2950 N. Broadway in the Lakeview area of Chicago.

alley diagonal bricks & person at sunset

alley diagonal bricks & person at sunset
Originally uploaded by finefoto.

Was I delighted to walk past this one day! I spent about 15 minutes grabbing shots of people as they used this short cut to Clark St from Broadway. The light is perfect to reveal the brick design. Compare this brickwork to that in a photo posted on May 15, 2006.