Sweet Home Chicago – Page 2 – Rebecca Floren Photography

Week 9

Warning: I’m quite hammered writing this post and my firm is to blame (in a good way). We had a Zoom cooking class taught by one of our Italian attorneys. I’ll tell you all about it next week (and share the recipes!), but lemme tell you – it was so fun!

Last week was week nine of the quarantine. Between work and the rainy weather, I didn’t get out much to take pictures. (The pics below were taken with my iPhone for documentary purposes.)

I’ve been ordering my groceries online and having them delivered so I really haven’t left my condo much in the last few weeks aside from my daily walks around the block. I did make a trek to Walgreen’s last weekend just to check out the current TP/disinfectant/hand soap situation. In some weird way it’s become my way of gauging how freaked out I should be and based on the shelves in my local Walgreen’s everyone in Chicago is gonna get Covid-19.

I can’t disinfect my home, but I can still unclog a drain!

Now there’s a running Swiffer products??

I’m back to using bar soap to wash my hands since the only hand soap left on the shelves is clearly the kind that nobody wants. It’s scented and irritates the skin. Also, please leave any good lotion recommendations in the comments, my hands are developing rashes from the constant hand washing.

How are the shelves looking in your areas? Do you have toilet paper, cleaning supplies and hand soap?

Cheers,
Bec

Week 8

Last week was week 8 of working from home/quarantine. As the quarantine drags on and the weather in Chicago gets marginally better, it’s getting harder to social distance from people. More and more people are out and about. The sidewalks, while not exactly crowded, are definitely busier and there are more cars on the roads. I’m still walking in the alleys and trying to get my daily walks in in the early mornings and late evenings.

On the weekends, when I have the time to venture a little further from home, I’ve started exploring the cemeteries. It’s a lot easier to social distance there than on the city streets.

On Saturday I packed up my camera, a water bottle and some snacks and walked the 2 miles to Graceland Cemetery. The walk was much quicker than I expected and the cemetery was a lot smaller than I imagined. As it turns out, and unsurprisingly, I wasn’t where I thought I was. I had ended up at St. Bonfice Catholic Cemetery. Chicago has A LOT of cemeteries smack dab in the middle of the city!

Still, it was peaceful and I could walk around without my face mask on. I was really drawn to the trees in the cemetery. The tree in the photograph below is perfectly shaped – almost as if it had been created by painter.

I liked the shape of the tree below as well, with it’s gnarly and twisted branches.

I was disappointed to find that I over exposed both images when I downloaded them. I shoot in manual mode and it was a very bright day so I’m guessing I either couldn’t see the light meter or I misread it when I took these pictures. Either way, I clearly wasn’t abiding by the sunny 16 rule.

Anyone else find some interesting places to explore?

Cheers,
Bec

Week 6

Week 6 was a vast improvement over weeks 4 and 5 despite learning that our shelter-in-place order is being extended to May 30.

I had high hopes that I’d be sharing photos from my friend’s 40th birthday (virtual) celebration this week, but I didn’t format my SD card properly so I was only able to take a few pictures. Instead, I’ll share some pictures I took on my walks around the neighborhood this week.

There’s a house a few blocks from me that has a front yard full of junk. A few of the statues stood out to me as I peeked through the fence.

Cheers,
Bec

Alleys

You can see this water tower just about anywhere you go in Andersonville.

In a city of nearly 3 million people its difficult to get out for walks and not encounter another person. Last week I left for my morning walk at 6:30 am and I saw four people on the street the second I stepped foot out my door. Unwilling to give up my morning walks, I started walking in the alleys. Granted, it’s not nearly as nice walking amongst the trash bins and dumpsters as it is along the tree-lined streets but I have the alleys to myself.

The alleys are interesting – its almost as if there’s a whole other city that never gets seen. I see the remnants of what people have been doing since being quarantined at home. Spoiler alert – its a lot of drinking and cleaning.

These bags were filled mostly with Bud Light cans and some takeout.

The sign reads “Thanks streets & san for picking up our trash during this difficult time.” I thought that was a nice gesture for probably one of the most thankless jobs there is.

There are some pictures that I really wish I would have taken but didn’t because I’m a coward. I tend to shy away from taking photos if another person is around, particularly if I’m photographing their trash. Anyway, one woman had laid out several pairs of beautiful evening shoes next to the trash bins. She had clearly cleaned out her closet and was hoping that someone would take them. Salvation Army is closed and who knows when they’ll start taking donations again. I’m sure there was some guilt about throwing them away.

Another person had just put out their Christmas tree. In March!

How are you getting your exercise in? Walking outside? Exercising at home?

Cheers,
Your friendly trash photographer

Grounded

Foster Beach. FYI – this was taken several weeks ago before all this coronavirus chaos hit.

The weather in Chicago has been exceedingly dreary. Chilly, rainy, sometimes snowy, and cloudy. So when we had a beautiful, sunny, warm day on Wednesday everyone went out. During a quarantine. Where did they go, you ask? The lakefront. (For the record, I did not go outside. I have been stuck for 12 hours a day in front of my computer working).

Mama Lightfoot was not having it. She shut down the lakefront and the parks the day after since we can’t be trusted to practice social distancing on our own. She grounded us.

For those of us in Chicago, we’re finishing our second week of quarantine though the statewide shelter-in-place order didn’t go into effect until last week. Nerves are starting fray. Yesterday one the kids below me was having a meltdown and I could hear his dad yelling and cursing at him.

I suspect I’m faring better than most because (a) I live alone so there’s no getting on my nerves and (b) I’m keeping myself entertained. Here’s a brief list of what I’ve been watching for the past couple of weeks.

Schitts Creek on Netflix. It’s hilarious and I love all of the characters. (But, if I HAD to pick a favorite, it would be David.)
Eugene and Berenice – Pioneers of Urban Photography. A documentary about Eugene Atget and Berenice Abbott. I will have probably seen all of the photography documentaries by the end of this.
The video of the guy who had his own cocktail party in the bathroom. It’s cute and clever and I can’t stop watching it.

Chin chin!

This hilarious video that my friend Anthony sends me every couple of days. Because you never want to forget this….

Let’s goooooooo!

You’re welcome.

What are you doing to stay sane through all of this?

Cheers,
Bec

Quieter

Things seemed a bit quieter yesterday. I popped out in the afternoon to pick up some skin care supplies and checkout the grocery store situation.

Thankfully not a lot of people were out so it seems that they are taking the shelter-in-place order seriously. The grocery store was eerily quiet for a Sunday. The shelves were still pretty bare, but a few staples had been “stocked”. And by stocked, I mean there were two or three of certain items on the shelf. I was able to pick up a carton of eggs, 2% milk (there was no skim or 1%), off brand mac & cheese, crackers, pasta sauce and a frozen pizza. It took me 4 days to get the basics. Patience is the name of the game these days!

I did notice an increased police presence while I was out. That’s unusual for this neighborhood. There were squad cars parked a few blocks a part and one in the grocery store parking lot.

Cheers,
Bec

Shelter-in-Place

Gov. Pritzker issued a shelter in place order that went into effect Saturday at 5:00 pm and goes through April 7th. This means that all non-essential business must shut down and residents should stay home. It sounds a lot scarier than it is. The list of businesses that can still operate is broad and people are allowed to leave their homes to get supplies, take care of family, friends or pets, engage in outdoor activities like walking, running, hiking, etc. (no playgrounds though!), and going to the doctor.

Bike shops are considered essential businesses.

Front doors to the Neo-Futurist Theatre.

I hope you’re staying safe and healthy and 6 feet away from people. This won’t last forever.

Cheers,
Bec

A-Side/B-Side

A few weeks ago, on bitterly cold Sunday, Randy and I met for brunch and then ventured downtown to view the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. I have a teeny tiny confession to make. I’m not a fan of Andy Warhol. I agreed to go because there was a Dorothea Lange exhibit that I wanted to see.

After several hours roaming the museum and one alarm later (we’re not sure which one of us set it off – I say it was him, he says it was me), we were winding our way through the maze of exhibit halls looking for the exit when I happened to look out a window and see some train tracks. It was arresting to be walking through halls filled with beautiful art and then looking out to see an ugly, dirty snarl of train tracks and cables. I took a picture.

After roaming the museum for several hours, we decided to meet a friend for pizza and beer before heading home for the day. Since the pizza place was a short distance away, we decided to brave the frigid weather and walk. As we turned left out of the museum and walked across the bridge, I again saw the train tracks I had taken a picture of earlier from the museum. They looked even more unsightly from this side. I took another picture.

A few days later I was sitting in my office watching a one of my online photography classes during my lunch break. The lesson covered color photography vs. black and white photography. I immediately thought of these photos. Curious and eager to put my lesson into action, I made these photos in black and white.

I don’t like, what I’ve dubbed the A-Side photo (above) in black and white as much as I do in color. I really like the color quality in the original photo. It feels retro to me, as if it were taken in the 70’s or 80’s. The blue of the sky against the white buildings highlights their shapes. Without that color, the photo feels flat and boring.

In contrast, I think the B-Side photo (below) is more striking in black and white. The geometric shapes of the tracks and buildings standout more in black and white.

What do you think? Do you prefer color or black and white?

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

I think this Mother Goose nursery rhyme was about Mother Nature for she has been quite contrary this summer. I spent all winter and spring dreaming of lazy weekend mornings on my deck drinking my coffee and reading. So far this summer I’ve been able to do so only twice thanks to Mary and her never ending rainy weekends.

Not only has the rainy weather kept me from my lazy weekend mornings on my deck, but it’s also kept me from going to the lake for a sunrise. On a clear day, I don’t think there is anything more beautiful or peaceful than seeing the sunrise over Lake Michigan.

For the past few weekends I’ve been trying to make it to the lake for the sunrise only to be thwarted by cloudy, drizzly weather. Last weekend I decided that if I couldn’t see the sunrise, I could at least get out during the Golden Hour and maybe get a nice photo or two. After walking around for a couple of hours and not seeing anything that spoke to me, I headed home dejected and uninspired. And then, just as I was standing on a street corner about a block from my home I looked up and saw the sky painted in such beautiful colors that it almost didn’t seem real.

I chased the sunset for a couple more blocks hoping to get a few more photos, but by the time I reached the second block the light was gone. In the span of 5 or 6 minutes, the sunset had faded to dusk and I thought about how much change happens in mere minutes.

One Sunny Day

I took these photos on the first really nice day we had this spring. It’s been gloomy and rainy all week so it’s been a pleasure to see some sun even if its only in old photographs.