a glimpse into the arcane mind

On this day last year... 5/19/09

2010-06-18T14:41:00.000-05:00

So, I'm playing a little bit of catch-up here because of life's little uncertainties. I think though that I can finally get back into the blogging game.
These pics are from a week long electrical estimating class that I spent at Hamburger University in Oak Brook, IL. This is the campus and headquarters of the conglomeration known to us as McDonalds. It is a pretty surreal place. I kept tasting the water because someone told me that it was actually a river of ketchup... not true. I also kept looking for secret rooms with oompa-loompas and hamburglars, but to no avail.
Good times.

dont forget to check out: eleven9studio.com or tomgfoto.net

On this day last year... 5/13/09

2010-06-18T13:52:00.000-05:00

dont forget to check out: eleven9studio.com or tomgfoto.net

Jerome Holloway @ Double Door 5/7/2010

2010-05-20T16:15:00.001-05:00

Some pics of Jerome and his band performing at the Double Door on Friday May, 7 2010.

Website:: http://www.jeromeholloway.com http://www.myspace.com/jeromeholloway http://www.twitter.com/jeromeholloway

dont forget to check out: eleven9studio.com or tomgfoto.net

On this day last year... 5/07/09

2010-05-10T16:53:00.000-05:00

dont forget to check out: eleven9studio.com or tomgfoto.net

On this day last year... 5/06/09

2010-05-10T16:20:00.000-05:00

I have 3 that I missed. Man, I was shooting a lot in spring.

dont forget to check out: eleven9studio.com or tomgfoto.net

On this day last year... 4/29/09

2010-05-04T16:31:00.000-05:00

Late once again.

Went to the Flight of the Conchords concert at, of all places 'the Arie Crown Theater' at McCormick Place. What a strange place for them to play. Whoever was doing their booking was way off. I think that may have effected their performance too. They seemed tired and drained.
I managed to snap a few pics before I was told I couldn't by security. To quote, "You can't take pictures here with that camera, it's too big"
Hmm... I think by big he meant "professional". Thats fine, let all these other f**kers shoot with their point 'n' shoots that have about the same MegaPixels as my Canon. Oh well, all in good fun.
I wonder what ever happened to Brit and Jemaine anyway...

dont forget to check out: eleven9studio.com or tomgfoto.net

On this day last year... 4/27/09

2010-04-28T10:20:00.000-05:00

A day late. My new home desktop with windows 7 has been a real pain in my ass. I've been having browser issues as well as Flash issues. This is why people hate PCs, I think.
Anyway, these locations are not to far from where I work. It was a patchy day with storm clouds rolling in and out. It made for some pretty great light and drama.
The last 6 were all around the same location around 167th and Harlem. I parked at the bank parking lot on the corner and ran in. I was surprised to see mowed trails all throughout because you couldn't see them from the road.

dont forget to check out: eleven9studio.com or tomgfoto.net

Its been a while... VMR Studio

2010-04-22T11:03:00.001-05:00

Have'nt posted in a while. So, I wanted to get these pics up. My brother is trying to complete another album and I tagged along to get some pics.
I'm pretty excited about a few of them, I think I'm finding a post process nitche. They look cross processed without having to loose a lot of the detail which you typically do when cross processing film. We'll see. Im far too critical of my own work. I miss my days of classroom critique.
For some reason it is incredibly difficult for me to shoot him. He's always far too aware of my presence with the camera. I need to come up with a different trick to make him feel comfortable and less focused on 'oh shit!, he's taking my picture let me try to look kool'.

dont forget to check out:
eleven9studio.com
or
tomgfoto.net

How to Photograph sound

2010-03-30T16:02:00.001-05:00

To whom it may concern:Through many hours of research and seconds spent racking my brain and testing hypotheses, I had finally come to a conclusion.
I discovered that I was actually able to photograph... well, sound.
I know, I know, you say it can't be done. But, through my research I have discovered that indeed it can be done.
And, Im going to tell you how...

Step 1- Get film camera and film.
Step 2- Load film into camera.
Step 3- Point camera at sound.
Step 4- Pull camera away from sound and check to make sure lens cap is in place.
Step 5- Point camera back at sound (dont bother looking through the viewfinder, you can't see sound) and click shutter.
Step 6- This one is tricky!!! Get film developed (negatives only of course).
Step 7- Put film on scanner and scan.

And Sha-BAM!!! You got a picture of sound! Congratulations!!!

This is what sound should look like. If it doesn't look like this repeat steps 3-7.

dont forget to check out:
eleven9studio.com
or
tomgfoto.net

An ongoing project

2010-03-10T16:33:00.001-06:00

I have been working on a project tentatively titled 'Neighborhoods'. These are actually some of the first images I made at night for this project.
I have been searching for grants to help me to fund a gallery showing. I came across the Aaron Siskind grant which is due towards the end of April and I think I want to submit this project.
Its going to take a lot of work... and I've always been too lazy to actually put the effort in. But, now is the time...
Anyway, I think this is the direction I want to head with it.

Not sure these will be included in the series, but I did capture at our local park the other night when we had that really dense fog.
Sam and I went there we had a good time.

On another note, I want to create an etsy store to begin selling prints. I would appreciate any pointers anyone may have.

dont forget to check out:
eleven9studio.com
or
tomgfoto.net

Textures

2010-03-03T21:39:00.000-06:00

Little bit o' texture. Little bit o' fun.
I just thought these images worked together really well. Let me know what you think.

dont forget to check out:
eleven9studio.com
or
tomgfoto.net

BAC Street Journal Submissions

2010-02-25T14:25:00.000-06:00

I just finished submitting my selection of black and white images for the Beverly Art Center Street Journal.
It's pretty exciting to be able to reconnect with the Beverly Art Center since it was there that I took my first b/w darkroom printing class in 1994. It was a night class and I remember feeling pretty awkward because everyone else in the class was probably 25+ years older than me.
I shot with my mothers Olympus automatic camera (the kind with that real beautiful shutter sound that film cameras make) which she just found and gave back to me.

This image was the sixth that didn't get submitted because I originally thought it was 6 images max and found out that it was only 5.

On this day last year... 2/20/09

2010-02-22T15:28:00.000-06:00

Late...

Graces birthday party last year. Selected favorites.

Waiting patiently for cake...

Ah, Jack loves his beer bottles. If you're not careful he'll steal it right out from under you.

Our dog sam in a winter stocking hat.

On this day last year... 2/11/09

2010-02-12T16:18:00.000-06:00

I messed up again. These should have been put up yesterday. Wah wah.

This is a farmhouse that I pass everyday. Sometimes it looks like there are people working on it, then it has a bunch of busted windows. Windows get fixed, then get busted again. After many years of seeing these changes to the house and noticing that the windows were broke, I figured that I could slip in and out unnoticed.

I was too scared to go into the basement. It was pitch black down there.

On this day last year... 2/07/09

2010-02-10T09:22:00.000-06:00

I forgot to bring my hard drive home last night so I could'nt post.

Anyway...
This was a commissioned project for St. Patrick High School. It's located on Chicago's north side at Belmont/Austin.

As you can see there wasn't a foot of snow on the ground.

I had this image printed to about 18"x22". It was auctioned off at the Alumni Fundraiser Event. I don't know how much it brought in, but it did look pretty sweet.

I was told this is the hallway where freshman take their beatings.

Fin.

mmhmm

2010-01-29T16:39:00.000-06:00

Well, since I dont have another (on this day last year...) post till the 7th of Feb. I thought I would post some stuff that I have been working. I have been going through the few portrait sessions that I shot last year, trying to organize a portrait portfolio for my website, ELEVEN9STUDIO. I really really like these images, but unfortunately they didn't make the cut for the website.
So, please, let me know what you think and let me know if you are in need of some portraits or headshots as I'm going to be offering super discounts to build my portfolio.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!!!

The lovely Ms. Lauren Frost...

The brilliant Mr. Ashton Likes

On this day last year... 1/22/09

2010-01-22T12:40:00.000-06:00

I had to return to UofC to shoot the Harper Library classrooms. I think when I was there before they were having a class and I couldn't get in.

This University is so unique and full of history.

On this day last year... 1/20/09

2010-01-20T15:21:00.000-06:00

I was downtown Chicago gathering some more pics for a brochure we were putting together for work. Which is what those UofC pics were for also.
We wanted to show images of all the amazing electrical work we do.

These were taken at 222 N Lasalle where we used to do a lot of work. This is the lobby as soon as you get past the security gaurds. I couldn't possibly imagine having to change those bulbs, which is probably why there was about 5 of them blown out.

Some detail shots of the ceiling.
After that I walked over to the Daley Center and noticed they had, on the jumbotron, the Inauguration Parade.

The Oriental Theater
Daley Plaza
And some random pics going up and down the elevator for like 15min.

Lake St East

N. Dearborn and the Chicago River
Lake St West

Lake St South East

On this day last year... 1/19/09

2010-01-19T22:16:00.000-06:00

I had to drive to the University of Chicago to take some pictures of the work we did in some of the classrooms.

Bohn Chapel

A flock of birds

Downtown

On this day last year... 1/18/09

2010-01-18T17:24:00.000-06:00

See this image larger here

I passed by this old abandoned factory a few times. It is right on Halsted at South 130th St.
I didn't really feel comfortable going in the factory by myself so I cruised around back and found
these other little buildings which seemed to be part of the factory but, about a hundred yards away.

It seems like it used to be a a tire factory.....perhaps.
This was another building that seemed to be attached, but it looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time. I came across a calander on the ground that was from 1957. Then I noticed there was a stack of order forms hanging on the wall. The date read 5-1-1963.
Suburban Materials Co-op., Inc. Producer of Ready Mix Sand, Stone, Gravel, and Cement.

On this day last year... 1/15/09

2010-01-15T10:26:00.000-06:00

Grabbed some shots on my very cold drive to work. The sun was just right and the steam coming from the roof tops was remarkable.
This is my favorite image from this ride. I love how the sears tower is all by itself, making it seem tiny.

This is the St. Benedict's church on bell, which i pass by everyday because western is jammed every mornin'.

On this day last year... 1/13/09

2010-01-13T20:19:00.000-06:00

I drove past this old house in Glenwood, IL.

While driving around for a bit trying to find out where I should park, I found this church with a big empty lot. To one side was farmland and the other was the woods.

I had to trek through the woods and cross this slippery tree bridge over a river.

The first thing I came across was the barn, which was home to a family of racoons. They must have enjoyed the warmth from the thousands of cow pelts on the inside. I had no idea what it was at first, until I examined closer. They looked like fashionable jackets thrown all over the inside of a barn.
There was a slaughter house located just to the north. I was nervous because I could hear them working, but it looked as if this place had not been used in years.
I would have taken a picture inside there, but I was anxious to walk through and on top of the pelts. Not to mention the racoon family living somewhere in there.....

I kept a lookout for fresh or semi-fresh footprints of which I saw none. That made me feel comfortable enough to keep on exploring.
I circled around the house just to make sure nobody was living here.

I walked up to the front door and peeked in...

The light was just right when I entered. Although I wish some of the windows weren't boarded up.

I started heading upstairs when I heard some rumbling around. Assuming the worst, (e.g. squatters, or vicious baby racoons) I got the hell out of there and and made my way back through the woods and over the tree bridge and back to my car.

Good times...

On this day last year... 1/10/09

2010-01-10T16:09:00.000-06:00

The Ho-Chunk casino in Wisconsin.
The hotel hallway.

A view from the hotel window.

On this day last year... 1/07/09

2010-01-07T10:16:00.000-06:00

Among all the ideas I have had for this blog I do believe I can keep up with this one. I am going to post image that were shot on the same date in 2009.

These were shot somewhere in Frankfort, IL during one of my explorations.

....So, enjoy...I guess.

2 pics

2009-11-30T14:45:00.000-06:00

I recently had 2 photographs accepted as honorable mentions to RoHo Photo Gallery contest. The images will be available for purchase on the their site...

www.rohophoto.com

or more preferably through me directly.

My images will also be published in the the book "body of work".

I've always had an incredibly hard time evaluating and critiquing my own work and feel like this was a major step forward for me.

This was taken on the last night of Christine and my honeymoon on Kauai's Coconut Coast.

This was actually taken on our first anniversary trip to the Traverse City, Michigan area at Sleeping Bear Dunes N.P.

The place I breifly called home

2009-11-20T10:48:00.000-06:00

I have begun to dig around in my old slides and negs looking for images I have'nt seen in years. I promised myself that every sunday will be the day for scanning old work.

When I was 18, almost 19, I ran away to Oregon to live with some very close friends. Ashland is a small town in the Southwestern part of the state, just east of Medford, south of Crater Lake, north of Mt. Shasta, and home of Southern Oregon University.
My Friends, Mike Peskac, Morgan Gavin, Eric Ten Broeck, and Brett Bielinski, had moved out there a few months earlier. It made me so jealous that I couldn't go with them on this great adventure, that after a few months and a series of unfortunate events (not to be described here) I hopped on an Amtrak train and was on my way.

[pictures taken from the train of somewhere in montana and the columbia river]

Now I'm not sure if I should make this chronological or not. Which I probably should otherwise it may be confusing, if in fact anyone in the world is actually reading this. I suppose it could'nt hurt to make this a recollection of my/our past. And hopefully get some stories out of these guys.
There were some good, shady, sad, lazy, burnt-out, stupid, hilarious, and idiotic things that happened out there.

The Rougue Valley looking NW towards Ashland
see it bigger here

Mt. Ashland

Mt.Shasta

More from that session.

2009-10-22T15:37:00.000-05:00

2009-10-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

Not entirely sure how I feel about these images. It was an experiment with layers and textures.

otto

2009-10-11T18:13:00.000-05:00

This is a pic I took of otto in college.
I just started looking through my old 4x5 negatives.
I scanned it in as a positive and inverted it, boosted the contrast and turned up with this.
I tried the same thing on another and could not achieve this same result, which is kind of annoying.

mike g portraits

2009-09-22T23:28:00.000-05:00

Shot my brother about a month ago. He rocovered, it was a small wound.

The Time Traveller:

See some more on my flickr page

See Mike's website

A sense of place 2

2009-08-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

Lunchtime adventures... take 2.

I shot some portraits with my brother mike last week. I am currently processing and editing and I hope to be post some of later in the week.

a sense of place 1

2009-08-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have an idea for this project. I want to begin thinking about and exploring the idea of "Sense of place".

Through a feeling or a memory we feel like someplace is familiar or we are comfortable there.
We may know that place and perhaps begin to take it for granted.

It needs some more thought..., but this is an image where I feel it may be an easy starting point.

I found this place while exploring the areas around my place of employment in the spring. I remember how I felt like this area was overly industrialized and uninteresting. It is full of fast food, strip malls, and Walmart. Throughout years of working in Hazel Crest, I have discovered places that were waiting for me to find them. I began exploring the areas around me where I discovered a sanctuary right beneath my nose.

Jeep

2009-07-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

I love my Jeep.
Jeep in HDR

I found this spot right by my work. It's right next to this housing development site that seems to be halted. It's right off of 171st and Kedzie.
I was driving around during lunch and happened across this driveway entrance that looked like it lead into the woods. Being as inquisitive as I am I drove right in there and it opened up into this clearing. There were all sorts of Illinois wildflowers blooming everywhere and it was really kind of beautiful.
It was really muddy and there was a big storm lurking in the distance. I cruised around the path to get the jeep a little dirty. (Jeeps are really the only vehicle that I think looks better dirty).
When I pulled back out of the the little driveway I left some huge mud tracks along 171st street. I thought it was pretty amusing especially when a car pulled up behind me as there was all this mud and rocks flying off my car.

2009-06-24T08:53:00.000-05:00

Abandoned house somewhere in southeastern illinois.

byebye Helen

2009-06-22T10:02:00.000-05:00

Byebye Helen
moving to London for some time
she has this feeling deep in her spine
that she needs to go, go away
where she will get together with ben
and figure out where he's gone
where he's been
She'll come back to us
almost as soon as she's gone
back almost as quick as you can mow a lawn
She does have friends here that certainly will miss her
but she must go to London to find her better kisser.

Tucson, Az

2009-06-17T15:29:00.000-05:00

My brother and I went to Tucson, Az around April 2007, to visit my friend from college. We rented a sweet mustang and drove all around tucson. This happened to be in and around Catalina State Park, just north of Tucson. I wish you could see his arms more, instead he looks like Kristin Wiig's SNL character on the Lawrence Welk show, with the small baby hands.
We also made our way to Tombstone, Az. which is pretty touristy, but well worth the visit.

We stopped in this shop to try to find a horseshoe so I could bring it back for my wife. The woman working behind the counter was wearing the old fashioned lingerie that you see in the movies at all the whorehouses. I asked if I could take a picture, she accepted the offer and began asking us questions. "How long are you two staying?" Why don't just go ask the horse carriage operator if you can have a horseshoe?" Why don't you two stick around here and wait for me to get off work, so we can have a few drinks and party a little bit? We declined to stick around, but I did go ask that horse guy for a horseshoe.

Which lead us to finding the Tombstone cemetary. It's kind of off the beaten path of tourists. It is supposedly where a lot of famous people are buried. Of course it didn't really provide anything all that interesting besides this picture.

And these are for fun

WYATT EARP

COWBOYS

Pool Players

Drive Home

The Annuals @ Ribfest on Lincoln

2009-06-15T10:34:00.001-05:00

Sorry I didn't post yeterday. Woke up at 1pm and went to ribfest by 4pm. Saw "the Annuals".

♦

2009-06-13T16:33:00.000-05:00

So last summer, almost exactly one year to the day (6/15/08), I was woke up at 4am by my neighbor Girard knocking on our door and calling our cellphones. I woke up just as he was about to go back upstairs and fall asleep. I opened the door and he told me my car was just involved in an accident. I said "bullsh*t, I've been home since midnight-ish. So he opened the front door and this is what I saw.
For those of you who don't know, I live on western ave, a very busy street.
So apparently this asshole was driving drunk and tried to weave between 2 cars, clipped both cars, one went spinning in one direction, and the other right into my #ucking Jeep (which you can see in the image). The drunk loses his front bumper along with his license plate, and decides to himself that he should probably just keep going.
The cops took down his licence plate and actually ended up finding the idiot about 2 miles north on western ave STILL! I guess he hit a few more cars on the way.
The most humor that I took out of this was trying to communicate with the poor little crossdresser named Eduardo, who was unfortunately the owner of the white car which spun out and hit my car. Poor Eduardo didn't have insurance.
So, I had to fork over a $500 deductible to repair the car, which was involved in an accident and I wasn't even driving!
The total damages on the car , which was less than a year old, were over half the actual worth of the car, but just shy of being totaled, in which I would have received a brand new one. So good luck to me trying to sell that bad boy in the future.
The mechanic I brought it to actually hooked me up by getting me new solid steel bumpers and a soft top. Thanks Eddie!... the mechanic, not the crossdresser.
Needless to say, I do not park on Western Ave anymore.

1 and counting...

2009-06-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

So, this is my first attempt at a blog post. I wonder if anybody will really actually enjoy watching and reading my nonsensical bullshit. If you do I am severely impressed and invite you to comment. I invented this little blog right out from thin air. It's main purpose is a way for me to show pictures that I take... I mean actually show them! I have for years just collected and archived and... wtf is the point if no one see's them until I am dead or I loose my hard drive.

I really am going to try my freakin' best to try to post a new pic every day. whether I think it sucks or not. I'll let you decide... if there is a you.

So here it is my first image...