Contemplation

Looking up at the John Hancock Center, Chicago, IL

This is the view of the John Hancock Center that I enjoy when leaving Water Tower Plaza to head to the shopping mall, Water Tower Place, part of which is the grayish white building at the bottom. As I have mentioned before, when going downtown, after walking about for a while, I like to get a cup of mint tea or ginger peach iced tea from Argo Tea, and head to the Water Tower Plaza to sit and watch the world go by. Groups of people walk by with each green traffic light giving them a pass, some carrying shopping bags and some, like me on this day, having cameras to take photographs. Taking a seat at Water Tower Plaza is a great way to see Chicago in action and to enjoy the dappled light that streams through the park trees' green leaves.

I have been enjoying the opportunity to take these photos of my hometown. It's more than just a way of saying goodbye, it's a way of honoring Chicago, of paying it my respect. Walking down the city streets, I encounter so many memories. I have had friends ask me if I am sure that I want to move back out West, especially now that taking all of these photographs is highlighting my appreciation for my hometown. I say, "yes," readily. It's not because I don't love my hometown that I am leaving it. I am leaving because I want to encounter something new, something with a more open range of sky, a city that integrates the organicism of nature more deeply into its cityscape.

I miss desert and mountains, and there is so much of the American West that I have yet to see: Yosemite; Joshua Tree National Park; Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; Arches National Park; getting back to the Grand Canyon. And I want to take photographs of all these places when I visit them. Which brings me to one of my great desires: I want to find new subject matter for my photography. I will start that mission in miniature now. I have taken so many photos of famous Chicago landmarks; now I am going to turn some of my attention to capturing life in some of my favorite Chicago neighborhoods, just to paint a fuller portrait of everyday life in this city.

Check it out: Argo Tea