Chicago -- Week 3

Well this update is going to be a little bi-polar. I’ve had an awesome week, but a terrible day.

 To recap a little bit, last Monday I went with my editor, Chase, and our resident online-expert Stephanie to the American Idol tryouts at the United Center. And it was not nearly exciting as anyone really thinks. Chase arrived at around 5 a.m. where around 2/3 of the eventual 12,000+ auditioners were already in line. I got there around 10 a.m., after the majority of them had already gone inside and the tryouts had begun. Mostly, while I was there, it was a lot of people smoking and bitching. I got to see some of the “losers” leave the arena, but no real outward explosions of emotion.

Tuesday was more fun. I spent the first part of the day shooting the construction/set-up for the Dew Tour Nike 6.0 BMX Open. A long name for a really cool BMX tournament that took place in the middle of the city in Grant Park. And that night I got to shoot my second red-carpet event, the premiere of (500) Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (from 10 Things I Hate About You) and Zooey Deschanel (Almost Famous, Elf, etc., though she was not at the premiere). It was a much more low-key event, but still fun. JGL is pretty hott, so, ya know, not complaining :-p

Wednesday was a low-key day, my only assignment was later in the afternoon and it involved shooting summer mixed drinks. Watching the “mixologist” make the drinks and hearing him explain everything was a lot of fun. We got a little more creative with the settings of the drinks as we went on, and the drinks were the cover of the weekend RedEye. And that night, I hung out with my cousin Peter and his roommate Leo again and we actually made one of the drinks I had shot earlier. Totally by coincidence. The drink is a Caiprihana (still not positive on the pronunciation), and it is made with fresh limes, sugar, and Brazilian Rum. Absolutely delicious.

Thursday took me back to the BMX Open. I shot the qualifying round on the dirt course and practice on the vert and park courses. I had never shot any sort of extreme sport before and I really enjoyed it. It took me awhile to figure out the best compositions and get my timing down with the different tricks, but I did end up making some really cool images. And that night in the newsroom reminded me why I enjoy working in that type of environment, where everyone has to pull together to create this publication, to meet the deadlines, to get the news out and printed. And here, to do it with the RedEye readers in mind.

During our daily “budget” meeting, we were discussing what our cover was going to be, when Scott, our resident iPhone buff, interrupted with breaking news: Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest. That completely blew open the meeting. It was quickly and unanimously agreed that if Jackson died, he would without question be the cover. However, that news had not been released and confirmed at that time, so we also decided if it was reported that he had gone to the hospital, but was now stable, we would stick with our original cover.

Within the hour, we knew. Chase started downloading and printing MJ photos. Our designers went to work creating mock covers to decide which one suited us best. The editor, Tran, led the discussion on which image we liked and why. What text should accompany the photo and why. We threw a ball around to designate who could speak. One at a time. It was an incredible moment to be a part of, despite the sad circumstances. We chose a photo and Tran came up with idea for the text. A designer, Trent, put the final design together. It was simple and beautiful and really said a lot. (If you didn’t see it, scroll down, or let me know and I’ll send you the link.) I left the newsroom really feeling a part of something.

The weekend moved pretty fast: Friday morning I woke up semi-early and drove home for my niece’s first b-day, which was on Saturday. Saturday was a ridiculously busy and exhausting day. But of course, Claire was adorable as always, and kept everyone entertained. Sunday I woke up semi-early and drove back to Chicago.

After a mini-internal debate, I decided to go see The Fray and Jack’s Mannequin concert, which was about an hour South of where I am staying. I have never gone to a concert alone before, but there are two of my three favorite bands and I did NOT want to miss this show. I found a spot on the lawn of this massive amphitheater and soon made friends with the couple behind me, who let me sit with them, and did not mind my crazy singing. To put it simply, this was one of the (if not the) best concerts I have ever been to. The Fray’s lighting designer is a genius and the band is terrific at transitioning from song to song. Isaac is great with the crowd and the crowd was completely into the show. Absolutely wonderful. If I could go see this combo again, I really, really would.

And then came today. I won’t dwell too much, because even just recapping all the good things has made me feel a bit better. My assignment today was to feature hunt at the Taste of Chicago. And I failed. I was feeling good at first, and then I crashed. It was crowded, it was hot... blah, I could go one with excuses, but I just did not shoot well at all. I wasn’t finding the moments. I tired quickly and am just now starting to feel not exhausted again. And my assignment tomorrow: feature hunt at the Taste. Gotta do it til I get it right. In addition to shooting terribly, I received a not unexpected, but still disappointing text message. And one my “friends,” has not returned a call, text, or message in about three weeks. It is irritating and extremely disappointing. I’m still getting used to being alone, and while having my own living space is nice, it sucks not having anyone to share the experiences with.

 

*Big update tomorrow.”