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I was the photographer for the recent Downtown Raleigh Home Tour that was last weekend. Not much to say here, in case you missed the event, these are some of the homes! Enjoy!
EXTERIORS
INTERIORS
This is final part of my 3000 mile trip through the midwest. The previous blogs are below:
DAY ONE
The weather in Chicago was highly instable but I had a lot of fun there anyways. After spending the morning catching up on work, photographing Wisconsin’s State Capitol, then hopping through Milwaukee and Racine, I arrived in Chicago at sunset.
It was a very cooperative, windy sunset and the best sky I got to photograph my entire stay in Chicago. I was ecstatic with the results down off Lake Shore.
Chicago Lights (2011)
DAY TWO
I woke up to check out the Lake Shore Condominiums in the morning. Not as breathtaking, but still pretty cool. If it’s not my favorite high-rise in the city, it’s close to it.
It was a pleasant morning to shoot. I ventured towards the Pritzker Pavillion and the Millennium Cloud Gate – aka The Bean.
This is the underbelly of the Bean – the reflections are of me and a couple other people venturing below.
The curtain wall construction of the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies was pretty interesting.
Nearby is the “Spearman” statue with the Congress Hotel serving as backdrop. It was getting towards high noon, so I called the Milwaukee Art Museum to see if the wings were open. They were, so I took a 4-hour round trip just to shoot for about an hour or so. 
When I returned to Illinois that evening, I hit up the Chicago Theater and was lucky to get my personal favorite shot in at least a couple of years.
One Chicago Moment (2011)
DAY THREE
It rained all day, so I went to Plano to see the Farnsworth House designed by Mies Van der Rohe. I was fortunate to be the only person there and got a private tour, which was pretty kickass.
I went into the city to see buildings I had no intent shooting, but wanted to see like the Carson Pirie Building, Monadnock, and others. Also stopped by to revisit the Illinois Institute of Technology campus. It was architectural civic duty to see them before leaving Chicago!
DAY FOUR
The next morning was cloudy. I ventured near the Chicago Tribune to get some black and whites.
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Then took a trip up the Hancock Tower to see the city from above.
And this is the Hancock Tower. I had a good chuckle when one local paused to jest, “You know that building’s been shot before, right?” Yeah, but I’m going to admit, Chicago was the most touristy I’ve felt in a number of years. Combined with the weather, most of what I took were more snapshots than anything else. And it was FUN.
More stuff from Mies on Lake Shore Drive
The Aqua Tower looks like one of those architectural projects in design studio that you’re like, “There’s no way that’s ever going to get built”. Very interesting what they did with the floor plates in creating the undulating pattern. In the day it’s interesting to look at, but I think it becomes moreso at night.
DAY FIVE
Because of its reflective surface, the Bean is much easier to photograph on cloudy days than sunny ones.
That’s Gonna Be One Huge Beanstalk (2011)
It’s an interesting centerpiece to downtown, but I’m not a huge fan of Pritzker Pavillion. Maybe I’d feel differently if I was there for a concert or event. Or maybe I’ve seen too many swoopy metal structures.
Sail (2011)
Finally, I hit up the staircase in the Contemporary Art Museum that EVERYBODY and their grandmother photographs. As a tourist, I was no different.
Blink (2011)
Saw Wrigley field on the way out of town, which was incredibly underwhelming. That pretty much covers it. I got to see just about everything I wanted to in a few days and would like to thank Tricia, Brian, and Mr. Zeke for their hospitality! This’ll be my last blog while I make a few major tweaks to my website.
This is part four of my 3000 mile trip through the midwest. The previous blogs are below:
The architectural centerpiece of Milwaukee is the Milwaukee Art Museum designed by Santiago Calatrava. Calatrava is one of my favorite architects and I wasn’t leaving this part of the country without taking the photos I came for. What kind of sick, twisted mind goes on vacation to shoot architectural photos if he does that for a living?
That’s right baby.
DAY ONE
I’m not personally huge on iconic architecture, but I really love this building. The first day was very windy, so I didn’t get to see the museum in its full glory. Still a pretty cool building to look at and it was a nice day, so I captured a few shots that afternoon…
…and at night.
I called it a night, hoping I’d be lucky to see the transformed museum the next day.
DAY TWO
The next day was Monday and the museum was closed.
DAY THREE
It rained. It snowed. It sleeted. I drove to Madison. I thought Wisconsin drivers knew how to drive in sleet, but I counted at least 9 vehicles stuck in the center ditch on the interstate between Madison and Milwaukee.
DAY FOUR
Hung out in Madison. There were people protesting something going on out there.
I drove out to Milwaukee again on the way to Chicago. The museum was open BUT IT WAS TOO WINDY AGAIN! Argghh! If I had to stay in the midwest an extra week, that’s what I was going to do.
Stopped by Racine to check out the Johnson Wax building by Wright. Hightailed it to Chicago for a brilliant sunset.
DAY FIVE
Toured a bit of Chicago in the morning. During lunch, I called the museum and asked if the wings were open. The respondent affirmed that it was.
Heeeeck ya. So I took the 1 3/4 hour trip back to Milwaukee. Why, oh WHY, Sterling would you take THREE separate trips to Milwaukee just to see one piece of architecture?
I went for the wings.
I know, I know – that’s a little obsessive, but if I’m determined to get a certain photograph, I will stay as long and/or keep returning until I exactly what I want. This was my first extended trip through the Midwest and I didn’t know when I was going to return. Architecture and photography are my life. Calatrava is up there on my list of architects and this is one of my favorite buildings in North America. As both a designer and photographer I was not going to miss checking out this museum.
When it comes to vacation, some prefer lying on the beach. This is how I roll.
Take Flight (2011)
Fortunately the partially cloudy afternoon sky worked splendidly. It was fun and and totally worth it.
Wingspan (2011)
Satiated, I returned to Chicago.
Okay, okay. I said this was going to be a four part blog. I lied. It’ll be more like five or six parts. Sue me.
I walked through downtown Milwaukee a few times, took a bunch of photos but was pretty intrigued by this big ugly blue building installed in the center of town.
Blue (2011)
Reflections of Milwaukee (2011)
Also checked out Miller Field, which reminds me a bit of Enron Minute Maid Park down in Houston.
What really caught my interest was the vast industrial and warehouse districts in Milwaukee and how it bled into downtown. Again, this is a very superficial look as I only had a couple days here. Despite the rain, I spent a lot of time in the Menomonee River Valley, Third, and Fifth Wards. If I had the time to properly tresspass urban explore I’m sure there would be an incredible wealth of finds. However, I was happy with what I got to see.
Under the Bridge II (2011)
Stop (2011)
Billboard (2011)
Love the Game II (2011)
Thanks to Susan and Robert for hosting me while I was in town! By the way, if you’re ever in Milwaukee, you MUST go to the Milwaukee Public Market. St. Paul’s fish market. Salmon on a stick. Mesquite flavored. YUMYUMYUM.
Milwaukee Public Market (2011)
Wait…isn’t there another building in Milwaukee?
This is part 2 of 4 regarding my recent two-week 3000 mile road trip. To see the previous blog, see below:
DAYTON, OHIO
The issue with traveling through so many cities was that as much as I would’ve enjoyed staying long periods of times in these cities to discover hidden nooks and crannies, there simply wasn’t time. You really have to embed yourself in a city for a sustained period, or live there to really capture it’s true nuances.
In one morning, quickly walked through most of downtown Dayton. Not too much immediately caught my interest except this old industrial warehouse/manufacturing facility. I’m not sure which one this is, though I heard the old Delco plant is downtown.
MADISON, WISCONSIN
I spent 36 hours in Madison, got to see my old friends Mike and Ryan, and meet Ryan’s fiancee Melissa. The first place I went to was the Monona Terrace Convention Center – initially designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and finished by the Wright Foundation in 1997. I came out of curiosity out of anything else, and I’ll be honest – I wasn’t too impressed. Not to mention it was odd to knock on the molded walls of a Wright design and receive a hollow sound in return. No pics, but if you’re there, it’s worth checking out. The convention center has a great series of Wright’s B&W portraits on the wall from his official photographer.
I’m sure you’ve heard there’s been some political chaos going on in Madison. As my friend Mike indicated, it’s like any place else in America. The situation depends on who you talk to. I know this is my cynicism speaking, but the downtown business really know what side their income is buttered on.
Wisconsin’s state capitol is GORGEOUS. One of the best I’ve personally seen so far. It’s almost impossible to take a bad picture here.
It sleeted between driving through Milwaukee and Madison and that evening, I got to witness THUNDERSNOW for the first time. For those of you who don’t know, it’s lightening, thunder, and snow all at the same time. As comedian Lewis Black jests, “They don’t even write about that kind of weather in the Bible.” It was Ryan’s first viewing of this phenomenon as well and if I remember correctly, we had a Thundersnow High Five.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
Indianapolis was along the way back and forth on the road trip, and I mainly stopped to capture this series of structures labeled “The Pyramids”, for obvious reasons. Even before leaving from North Carolina, I foresaw how I wanted to depict these buildings and was hoping the stormy weather would agree. Thankfully, it did.
The Pyramids (2011)
It was storming both days I swept through Indy and I wasn’t too impressed by their downtown anyway, so didn’t mind too much as long as it didn’t interrupt the rest of my trip – which you’ll see in the next two blogs.
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