Remember Remember Chicago in November

Earlier this month, I began a small project of documenting autumn around the city, in particular from various viewpoints and locations.  At least I attempted to, anyways, as I eventually got caught up with other projects and non-photographic works that preempted my plans of traveling further away from the Loop to areas such as Lincoln Park and Montrose Point.  I ended up only shooting around downtown by Grant and Millennium Park and my residential area of Hyde Park, of which I did not even get the chance to photograph the foliage around the Univeristy of Chicago campus.

All was not lost, however.  I consider myself particularly fortunate if after a shoot I get ONE good photograph.  “Good,” of course, is subjective and depends on the eyes of the viewer.  A “good” photograph under my standards is one that I feel proud enough to show to another, one that is not just some ordinary moment fixed on a medium, but rather an expression that conveys some story or message, composed and created with some thought and technique that supersedes the ordinary.  Despite only shooting at a few locations for this album, I think I was able to make a few “good” frames for this album.

During some downtime today, I went out for a walk with a camera to relax for a bit by the lake at Promontory Point, one of my favorite spots in Hyde Park.  I was not really expecting to shoot anything particularly exciting or “good,” so it was a pleasant surprise when I stumbled upon some “decisive moments” that were begging to be captured, from fallen leaves blowing across my path to being surrounded by a massive flock of gulls landing around me to an eerie scene of black birds occupying bare trees around a desolate playground.  With November ending in a few days, it seemed a fitting capstone to this album.

 

All images © K. Dao Photography 2013, all rights reserved.