here and there

on christmas day viv and i wanted to escape the "eat and drink like there's no tomorrow" atmosphere that major holidays usually bring with them around these parts and went out for a walk. we were in medias, my hometown, a quiet old burg in transilvania. if one would end up in this town on a sunday or a holiday, especially around midday, one might feel like having landed in a deserted place. we ended up going to a part of the town called greweln where i used to go quite often as a kid. it was all quiet and white and it reminded me of the winter season as i had known it as a child. i took some photos along the way and when i downloaded them, one of the images reminded me of another photo i took more than two years ago in new england.

i don't remember whether i was in vermont or new hampshire, but i remember that i took a wrong turn at some point while trying to find a shortcut on my way to an assignment and ended up on a narrow dirt road in the middle of a forrest. it was pretty obvious that i was going the wrong way, but that place was so beautiful and quiet that i decided to keep driving ahead. i was in no hurry so i took my time, stopped the car and took some photos. it was october 6th, the new england fall had just arrived and i had driven straight in the middle of it.

there's no epiphany in this story. it's just another unexpected link that the mind sometimes makes between two apparently unrelated moments.

@ comana

i spent the last sunday of october with viv, biux, irina, bogdana and babicu (not in the pictures) picnicking at the edge of the forrest near the village of comana and exploring a nearby marsh. these are three of the photos i took on film with my canonet camera during that day.

film

two frames from a film i exposed and developed last week. it was an expired 35 mm, 800 iso fujifilm.
the first is a potrait of my good friend andrei. the second came out square-ish because it was at the end of the film and only about two thirds of the frame were actually exposed resulting in an odd shaped frame. it's a photo of three friends walking on one of bucharest's old streets.

shot from the hip: vienna trams

odd

i found this photo while digging into one of my hard drives today. not a great photo, but definitely a somewhat odd moment. it's also very mundane at the same time. i kinda like it because of that.
i took it during one of my wanderings that i used to take on my days off while i was living in new england.

through the window

two frames from my recent trips to my hometown medias and to prague, in czech republic. i took the first one on easter day while traveling by train from medias to sighisoara. the second is from a few days ago while traveling by bus from prague to vienna, austria.

light test

this afternoon i asked vivian, my fiancee, to be my model for a test frame. i was trying to find a good setting for a portrait of a couple that i want to make for a project that i'm involved in. in the end, as it often happens, the test frame was the best image i took on this occasion.

exploring old bucharest

viv and i took a long walk on saturday and at some point ended up nosing around some old buldings located in bucharest's historic district. the area is generally referred to as lipscani district.

eyeing the ham

i met this little guy at my mom's house a couple weeks ago.

stolen

yesterday i was walking through downtown bucharest when i noticed this girl on the steps of the national history museum. her hat and her body posture caught my eye so i took a quick picture before i went on. as i passed by the column on her left i saw a photographer squatting down and pointing his camera in the direction where the girl was. i realized she was posing for him, and that i had just stolen a frame.

old friend, new friend

yesterday and today i spent a few hours wandering the streets and coffee shops of bucharest in the company of two wonderful dudes: an old friend, andrei pungovschi and a new friend, marko risovic from belgrade, serbia. they're both currently working on long term photo projects - andrei's is focused on serbia and marko's on romania. andrei returned to bucharest yesterday after spending several weeks in serbia.

at left andrei talks to his girlfirend bogdana while at right, marko tries on one of bogdana's hats.

waiting for the taxi outside the building where andrei lives.

replace

it's been three months since i returned to romania after a three-year absence. and it's been quite a while since i posted an image on this blog. i've been taking lots of photographs in the mean time, but my pickiness, and sometimes my laziness, prevailed so far.

i spent a lot of time with my old friends and made some new ones since i came back. one of these dear old friends of mine, bogdan stamatin, started a music band, along with alex bala, gabriela fierbinteanu and cristi fierbinteanu while i was away from romania. they named it replace.

i just happened to be around when they were getting ready to release new songs and i and other friends got sucked into their project to promote their first music video. together we made four teasers: one for bogdan, one for alex, one for cristi, and one for gabriela. these teasers announce the band's first ever music video that we shot at the end of last week and was released earlier this week. it was fun, and i think we all learned a lot since this was a first for all of us.
after the filming was over, i took a few pictures of the band members together. the one bellow is the one i like most.

in this image, from left, alex bala, cristi fierbinteanu, gabriela fierbinteanu and bogdan stamatin.

the blacksmith

i met samuel johnson of lakemoor, ill. ealier today while i was on assignment for the nw herald at an event that attempted to re-create a day on an american farm during wwll. some sort of a homefront perspective. johnson and a couple of his friends had a tent set up there and they were doing ironworks using traditional methods. meaning they used coal powered fire and hammers to shape the metal. his face covered in sweat and coal powder, his bright green eyes, along with the hat, the pipe and the blue shirt made me want to stick around for a few moments and take a few photos. the one bellow was made when he took a short break to light up his pipe and talk to a possible customer. it's the one that i like most out of the several compositions and expressions that i ended up with after a few minutes there.



This image is © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

king of the hill

a ski jumping event in the middle of the summer at the norge ski club in fox river grove, ill. the images are pretty similar, and - besides the rather unusual association of skis and green grass and flowers - are quite common photos, but i like them nevertheless. can't decide which one i like most though...





These images are © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

flag retirement

Gordon Jesme, Senior Vice Commander of VFW Post 4600 in McHenry, Ill. puts Old Glory flags on fire on Flag Day, Monday, June 14, during a flag retirement ceremony, at the VFW Post 4600 in McHenry, Ill. For those who don't know this already, the American flags are never thrown away when they become worn, torn, faded or badly soiled, but they're retired (burned) during a solemn ceremony as a sign of respect.





These images are © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

memorial day

two photos that i took during my memorial day assignments. one, the second, got published. the other is a moment i noticed while photographing something else inside the woodstock ill. opera house.

22-month-old Morgan Hill of Woodstock, Ill., plays with a flag given to her by her dad, Damon Hill, on Monday, May 31, 2010, inside the Woodstock Opera House during the Memorial Day ceremony. Because of the heavy rainfall the parade was canceled and the ceremony was moved inside the Opera House.

Peter Verastegui of Rockford, Ill., is reflected in the plaque mounted on the 6-foot-tall memorial in front of the Woodstock National Guard armory, on Monday, May 31, 2010, in Woodstock, Ill. Verastegui was friends with Sgt. Robert Weinger of Round Lake Beach (center on the plaque) who died on March 15, 2009 in Afghanistan. The two served together in Iraq. Company D. 1st Batalion, 178th Infantry in Woodstock, an Illinois National Guard unit recenlty returned from Afghanistan recognized its fallen by unveiling a memorial on Memorial Day.

These images are © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

hawks

the chicago blackhawks won the stanley cup last night in philadelphia. it's been 49 years since the hawks won their last stanley cup, so their success it's a pretty big deal around here. especially since the other chicago teams haven't been doing too well in the last years. i didn't get to photograph any of the games of the final, but i covered the blackhawks' fourth and last game against the san jose sharks at the united center in chicago. the hawks won the series in 4 games, and went on to play against philadelphia flyers in the stanley cup final. it's pretty darn sweet to be in there and hear 20,000+ fans sing fratellis' chelsea dagger song after each goal.
bellow is an image that i took during that game.

Blackhawks forward Dustin Byfuglien celebrates with fans along the glass after scoring the go-ahead goal in the third period of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, on Sunday, May 23, 2010, at the United Center in Chicago, Ill. The Hawks won 4-2 and finished off the San Jose Sharks in a sweep to advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1992.

This image is © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

immigration march

on friday, may 21, a group of immigration rights activists set out for three-day 53-mile march along illinois route 14 starting from st. bartholomew church on the west side of chicago and ending in woodstock ill., in front of the mchenry county jail where suspected illegal immigrants are held before being deported. the activists were calling for an end to deportations and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
i met up with the group towards the end of their first day of marching, in arlington heights, ill. at the st. james catholic church where they were offered food and shelter. they had walked for 18 miles that day. i wanted to take a photograph that would show more than just a group of people walking on a road and holding up signs.

a member of the immigration rights activists group fell asleep on one of the mattresses provided by the volunteers at the st. james catholic church while the others gathered in a circle to share their stories at the end of their first day of marching.

This image is © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

80s dance-a-thon outtakes

Benjamin Stump, 19, of Lake in the Hills, Ill. rests on the stands with his face covered by his hat after a dancing on '80s music on Saturday, May 8, 2010, during the "I Love the '80s" Dance-A-Thon fundraiser event hosted by the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association (NISRA) at the Hannah Beardsley Middle School gymnasium, in Crystal Lake, Ill.

Madalena Madigan, 4, of Elk Grove Village, Ill. examines the "Caution - Wet Floor" signs placed in between the water fountains on Saturday, May 8, 2010, during the "I Love the '80s" Dance-A-Thon fundraiser event hosted by the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association (NISRA) at the Hannah Beardsley Middle School gymnasium, in Crystal Lake, Ill.

Michael Heidemann of McHenry smiles as he displays his 1984 presidential election campaign button on Saturday, May 8, 2010, during the "I Love the '80s" Dance-A-Thon fundraiser event hosted by the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association (NISRA) at the Hannah Beardsley Middles School gymnasium, in Crystal Lake, Ill. "I bought this back then," said Heidemann, who added that "These people (NISRA) are the best! I love this!"

These images are © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

mchenry west high school graduation

Nicholas DeLorenzo, left, and his girlfriend Trisha Hurckes kiss while waiting for the comencement ceremony to begin, on Thursday evening, May 20, 2010, at the McHenry West High School, in McHenry, Ill.

Nicholas DeLorenzo, left, and his girlfriend Trisha Hurckes hold hands while waiting for the comencement ceremony to begin, on Thursday evening, May 20, 2010, at the McHenry West High School, in McHenry, Ill.

Curtis DeLord, left, has his tie knot made by Tom Switzer on Thursday, May 20, 2010, before the commencement ceremony at the McHenry West High School.

Samantha Broderick plays with her hair while talking to a classmate on Thrusday, May 20, 2010 minutes before the commencement ceremony at the McHenry West High School.

Graduates throw their caps up in the air on Thursday, May 20, 2010, at the end of the commencement ceremony at the McHenry West High School.

These images are © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

face paint

Nathan Nguyen, 4, of Cary smiles after seeing the star that Liz Delzell, a Fox River Grove Memorial Library employee, drew on his cheek, at his request, during the Earth Day festivities, on Saturday, April 10, 2010, at the Fox River Grove Memorial Library,

This image is © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

rush hour in the pond

i was in evanston ill. a week ago and at some point i took a walk on the northwestern university campus. it's a beautiful campus, right on the michigan lake shore. they also have a pond there that is filled with asian carp. i find it amusing that the duck is pushing the big fish away with one of its feet.

lost dreams

firefighters worked friday night into early saturday, april 10, to put out a fire that engulfed and completely destroyed the house at 3619 berry court,in crystal lake. the house was uninhabited at the time the fire started. the owners were planning to move in the following week. the damages were estimated at $3.5 million.

This image is © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

track & field meet

These images are © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

old cemetery

Maureen Mikyska sits on a chair in between two tombstones Saturday afternoon, during the landmarking ceremony of the Barber Cemetery, in Riley Township. Mikyska, dressed as a "lady in mourning," represented the mother of Lucius W. Barber, a former Civil War sergeant, who lived in between 1839 and 1872 and was burried at the Barber Cemetery.

This image is © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

night burn

a few weeks ago i was assigned to photograph a prescribed prairie burn at the glacial park in ringwood, ill. bellow are some of the images i took that evening.







These images are © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

man-made rainbow

yesterday was a warm day - the high was around 70 degrees farenheit - and very breezy. it was also a busy day for the firefighters. there were a few general alarms over the radio and i had to cover one of them at a farm nearby. an old hog barn and some corn stock bales got swallowed by the fire. fortunately, the damage was minimal, and the fire didn't spread to the more important assets of the farm. while i was lurking around the firefighters, i noticed that a small rainbow had formed in the area right above the corn stock. i took a few quick shots before it disappeared. i guess it was the smoke, water, and bright sun light combination.

This image is © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

ouch!

Woodstock North's base runner Natalie Bruchsaler, 19, bottom, colides with Richmond-Burton's first baseman Jessica Kerns, 3, amid a pick off during a double-steal attempt in the fourth inning, on Tuesday, March 30, 2010, in Richmond, Ill. Bruchsaler was called out and Kerns continued to play.

This image is © 2010 Northwest Herald and may not be reprinted or used without permission.