Mile 8- Chicago Marathon

Mile 8- Chicago Marathon
Originally uploaded by -shawn-

This weekend was the 33rd running of the Chicago Marathon. Personally, I am not a runner, but as of this year, there are many people I know who are. Both those I work with and Maribel and her family.

Although I have not subscribed to this, yet, I have to say, the excitement surrounding the event is amazing. For all the years I lived in Boston, I trekked down to Copley Square but a handful of times to take in the final moments of that great cities race. But the reality is, I didn't know a single person who ran it. Thus, there really wasn't all that much excitment for me beyond that fact of that which came from the free packs of gum or new sport drinks that where being handed out as samples.

This year I attended the 33rd Annual Chicago Marathon. This Marathon is VERY different from that of Boston. First, of all, it's smaller, though not by much. Second, the race itself is confined to a very small area. There's no running 26.2 miles in almost a perfectly straight line. What that translates too is a city filled with excited spectators all during the race. Heck, you can go to Mile 8, see your favorite runner, then jump on the L and head over to mile 16 and see them again.

How cool is that?

Besides all the excitement from the race, for a photographer who likes to shoot people, its like porn. There are people EVERYWHERE doing everything.

Surprisingly, even to myself, I didn't take all that many pictures this weekend. Perhaps it's because I dabbled with video abit using Maribel's little HD Flip... Guess I better go check that out now and see what I got!

Blogpress

I wouldn't exactly call myself a hardcore blogger, but every once in a while I do like to post about photography related subjects. Even better than sitting down in front of a computer at home when I could be doing something relaxing, like say, mowing the lawn,  is the ability to be able to write and post remotely with my brand new shiny iPad.

Now i'll be the first to admit, typing with a on-screen keyboard, no matter the size, is not not normal. After all, how long would you tap your fingers on glass while focusing on a spec of dust? Because that's what it's like. Your staring, near cross-eyed, trying not to miss typing whole word (forget about typo's) while glaring at little black spec of letters. But hey, the fact that you CAN do it is worth something, right?

Oh, and what does this shot have to do with this post? Absolutely nothing! Why? Because I can!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:,Aurora,United States

Walking the Beat

Corner View
Originally uploaded by -shawn-
Maribel and I were talking the other day and she made a comment about how we don't go out and about with our camera's as much as we used too. Even though I do find myself routinely taking pictures, Maribel had a point.

On the particular weekend that this shot was taken though, we did put aside a couple of hours to enjoy the sites in downtown Naperville. Although this downtown lacks the head-turning sight of downtown Chicago, there surely is still enough to take in.

For instance, this shot here. Not only did I get a shot I really liked, but I also met the owner, who I friended on FaceBook and tagged in the picture. Not to mention, the owner happened to be a manager of Jersy Mikes, a Subways like sandwich shop. He provided me with a couple of discount coupons on my next visit.

Well that really made my day!