LaSalle St. bridge

Lincoln Park

Lake St.

Over the past twelve months I’ve been privileged to have been able to photograph some amazing things, I took a huge leap and moved to Chicago, and I self-published a photo book.  I spent about a third of the year living on the road at the Kentucky Derby, the US Open, and in Florida for the final flights of the Space Shuttle.  The hours were long, but the returns were huge.  The experiences I had last year will stick with me for life.  Here are a few of my favorite images from the past year.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom being walked to the winners circle at Churchill Downs.

Mission specialist Sandy Magnus and pilot Doug Hurley walk along the rope line as Atlantis is moved into the VAB in preparation for her final flight at the Kennedy Space Center.

A news anchor is silhouetted by studio lights as weather delays the roll back of the RSS at the Kennedy Space Center.

USGA Agronomist Darin Bevard uses a TruFirm to check the firmness of the putting surface during the practice round at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. on Wednesday, June 15, 2011.  (Copyright USGA/Joel Kowsky)

Space Shuttle Endeavour is lifted inside the VAB in preparation for her final flight on STS-134.

Space Shuttle Atlantis sits illuminated by work lights on pad 39A just after 3am on June 1, 2011 after completing her final journey from the VAB.

A couple enjoys a walk on Montrose Beach in Chicago, Ill. on January 2, 2012.

Decided to break out my medium format camera last week for only about the third time since I bought it a few years ago. I can’t believe how mild winter has been so far, it needs to snow so I can start working on my next project. Watch for a post of my ten favorite frames from this past year sometime next week.

Happy Holidays!

Finished off my Thanksgiving weekend with a trip to Kansas City, Mo. for the final meeting of Missouri and Kansas as members of the Big 12 Conference. Missouri defeated Kansas 24-10 in the final edition of the second most played rivalry in college football.

Last Saturday was a long day, after cross country finished up I headed up to Milwaukee, Wis. for some soccer.  I shot the first round game between the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and Illinois State University.  UW Milwaukee defeated ISU 3-0 to advance.

I made the short trip out to DeKalb, Ill. to shoot the NCAA Cross Country Midwest Regional for a couple of schools.

Chicagoans marched through downtown to mark the 10th anniversary of US and NATO involvement in Afghanistan on Oct. 8, 2011.  Only seven months until Chicago hosts the G8 and NATO Summits, then things will really get interesting.

You just have to wonder, if it wasn’t for the movie “V for Vendetta,” would people really be wearing Guy Fawkes masks?  I’ll be posting some images of Occupy Chicago later this week, check back!

Went in search of a high school game to shoot on Friday night and found one just up the road.

Made the trek downtown to checkout the Bank of America Chicago Marathon this morning.  Saw the runners come through downtown and then headed up to a Old Town to watch them head through a feed zone.