DSC_0291, originally uploaded by mg33_chicago.

I took this photo of the Aqua condo building in downtown Chicago on a particularly foggy Saturday morning in April.

A few weeks ago I finally upgraded to a new DSLR with a Nikon D90, something I’d been wanting to do all year. I’ve had a Panasonic Lumix TZ1 point-and-shoot since 2006 that has been a wonderful camera, taken some great vacation shots, and served me well at three Lollapaloozas with it’s 35-350mm range working perfectly when a DSLR isn’t allowed into the festival.

I’ve been really happy using the D90 so far and obviously I’m in love with this new versatility. So far I’ve got a Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 lens, and a Nikon 50mm F1.8. I’ve only had a few days and evenings to get around town and put it to use, but it’s great getting out and taking advantage of the lakefront, the great fall colors, the free Lincoln Park Zoo, and the downtown Chicago architecture. I’m definitely going to need a longer zoom at some point, though the 17mm wide angle of the Tamron is something I’m really enjoying. I’m looking forward to winter, lots of snow, and Lake Michigan freezing for some great landscape shots.

I’ve put up a gallery of some of the photos I liked most from the past two weeks. I’ll be adding to this here and there over the next few weeks.

Click here for photo gallery.

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Lollapalooza 2009 has come and gone, and it was another great weekend in Chicago full of the usual hot weather and great rock and roll. I was fortunate to once again have Guest passes from C3 Presents (Lollapalooza’s production company) and it made the weekend a pretty unforgettable event all the way around. This year, we discovered the “Fest Express” golf carts that took us from stage to stage along Lake Shore Drive, eliminating the need to trek back and forth through the crowds to rarely make the start time of a performance. One of my best friends and his girlfriend were up from Texas for the second year in a row, and we had an incredible time. I got to see plenty of my favorite bands, with White Lies being a huge highlight since I am terribly addicted to their debut album, To Lose My Life. I had stage access to about a dozen performances, allowing for some great photos and a much more up close and personal experience.

Nothing, however, beats my girlfriend randomly getting her arm signed by Snoop Dogg as we hung out in the Chicago 2016 backstage area after his show. He was surrounded by his security entourage, and was signing a few things for people while walking to a van. Even better, I got a photo of him while he was signing her arm. She’s got real street cred now!

Across all three days, I took in White Lies, Bon Iver, Crystal Castles, Thievery Corporation, Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon, Delta Spirit, Miike Snow, Atmosphere, Arctic Monkeys, Glasvegas, TV On The Radio, Lykke Li, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bat For Lashes, Kaiser Chiefs, The Raveonettes, Neko Case, Passion Pit, Cold War Kids, Snoop Dogg, The Killers, and Jane’s Addiction.

To view my photos from the festival, click the photos above, or click here. Enjoy!

On Saturday, August 23 my girlfriend and I took the train to Springfield, IL to attend Barack Obama’s speech and first public appearance with with vice presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden. While waiting in a wrapped-around-a-city-block line of people, we realized that there was an abundance of different Obama shirts, and that it would be a great opportunity to take some photos of them. Well, we ended up with more than 60 different shirts overall.

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Recap
This was the first Lollapalooza I’ve attended since it found it’s new home in Chicago two year ago, and the entire thing was a great three-days of music. It was way too hot on Friday and Sunday, but we made it through and had a blast. The last big festivals I’ve been to were in Dallas - Ft. Worth, and I must say the crowds here in Chicago are far more polite than anything I ever experienced down there. Maybe it was just where it was, maybe it was the lack of macho-aggression that seemed to accompany some festivals down there, maybe people are just different here. Either way, everyone had a great time and there was a ridiculous amount of music to enjoy.

Day One - Friday:

The Polyphonic Spree: They’re a band made for a festival like this. The Flaming Lips/Wayne Coyne comparisons are totally correct. They were lots of fun and it was my first time to see them. I remember when they started as a complete one-off joke down in Dallas. Really enjoyable and they go nuts out of pure happiness.

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