Chicago: Oh the everyday

 My mother and I often make jokes about how we could use events from our everyday life to write great research papers. I've seen everything from navy airplanes and space shuttles flying overhead, to prostitutes, to peace marches, and ponies all in my small little area of the city. Some of these things annoy me and some of these things amuse me. My need to prove that this type of stuff actually happens is the main reason I take my camera with me everywhere I go. 

Everyday life in Chicago is usually pretty mundane. You wake up, you go do whatever it is you do, be it work or school or whatever, and on the weekends you relax and party in the evening. But then sometimes you wake up on a Saturday morning and you see six ponies in front of your house. You might blink a little bit and make sure what you're seeing is actually what's in front of your face and sure enough there they are. Cute little ponies that stink.  

The day the ponies were here it was about celebrating. It was Monroefest and it was the chance to have fun,  foster a sense of community, and to just enjoy the day. However, that's not always the case when things go on here. Sometimes it's about raising awareness of the ugly things that are going on in the city. Case in point, the march that my alderman participated in. This march was all about making a stand about the violence going on around the city, especially in the poorer neighborhoods of Chicago.

The clever little shirts all said "Peace in the Hood". Normally I am a bit irritated by large groups of people outside my house, especially when they are accompanied by drums. But this wasn't one of those cases. Anyone from Chicago knows that gun violence is a very serious and sad occurrence. There is absolutely no reason for the murders that go on here. So if a politician puts himself out there, walking with his constituents to get people involved then I'm all for it.

These are the types of things though that happen on an everyday basis. 

It's pretty cool I suppose. It keeps life exciting and it means that I will always have something to talk about on this blog.


Despite these stories, Chicago isn't just the random things like ponies and peace marches. Everyday life is just people going to the beach, or jogging next to the lake. Just like any other city there is tons of traffic. Kids go to school (with their weird clear plastic backpacks) and parents go to work. There are always complaints about riding public transportation. 


Everyday life is dealing with politicians who lie and cheat all the time. Everyday life is having to be re-routed because of weather, or movie filming, or a parade for a sports team, or a big political trial. That's what makes Chicago so dynamic I suppose. There's never a boring day here. It's always something to do here that is unexpected.  


Now that I've written more than I expected, it's time for the photo spam. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of CHICAGO: THE PHOTO STORY...uh actually it's no so much exciting as it is visually appealing. Anyway, read on.

-L

Lauren Green, 2010

Lauren Green, 2010

Lauren Green, 2006

Chicago: Now let us pause for History

Chicago is one of the world's 10 most global cities and one visit here will prove why. Every year thousands of tourists come here. They ride the trolley, visit the beach, shop on the Magnificent Mile, eat the great food, and participate in the night life. Chicago really is a scenic and beautiful city. From the beaches to the tree lines streets of various neighborhoods there is plenty to look at and participate in while here.

From this view behind in Burnham Harbor which is on the Museum Campus.

The Museum Campus is where the Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, and the Field Museum are located. Way off in the distance you can see Navy Pier, a fun little place with boats and rides and other random fun.

The Field Museum of Natural History was founded in 1893 and named to honor Marshall Field who was its major benefactor.  It houses an array of artifacts from all over the world, everything from dinosaur fossils to Native American artifacts.

In elementary school whenever we took a trip to the museum it was always the Field Museum. I HATED IT!! To me the Field Museum was the most boring museum of all. It was only when I grew up and visited as an adult that I was able to appreciate it. 

There's just so much coolness inside this Museum. I can't advocate enough people going to visit this place. So go! But only after you finish reading this blog.

Lauren Green, 2010

Lauren Green, 2010

Lauren Green, 2010

Lauren Green, 2010

Laure n Green, 2010

The John G. Shedd Aquarium opened in 1930. John G. Shedd gifted the museum to the city and was a protege of Marhsall Field. It is another fun place that gets lots of visitors. Most people like to go and see the live shows with the dolphins. It's just really cool in general to go around and look at the different fish, dolphins, and beluga whales. This just might be the only museum like place that I've ever seen have a line that goes out the door and wraps around several times.

The last building in the museum campus is the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum which was founded in 1930. I found out that it was the first planetarium built in the western hemisphere. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the building. However, since I am me I'll probably be going there soon and it will have it's own blog post.

I enjoyed going to the planetarium as a child, mainly because I was very much into astronomy. I wanted to be an astronomer until my father told me that they don't make very much money. That shouldn't have influenced me so much to drop my dream but hey I was a kid.

Now with this, I end part two of my photo story. Hope the photos are being enjoyed. Part three shall be coming soon. Thanks for reading.

-L

References
http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20100817/838/tbs-delhi-mumbai-kolkata-lag-behind-in-g.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_Museum_of_Natural_History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shedd_Aquarium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adler_Planetarium_%26_Astronomy_Museum

Chicago: The not so Second City

The Chi is my hometown. For better and for worse I love this place with every part in me. I love the beauty of it. I mourn for the ugliness that exists in it. My love for my city and my love for photography is what has influenced me to do this photo story. Enjoy.


Chicago was founded in 1833 and since then it's grown to be quite a huge place. Chicago is loud, it's messy, it's annoying and it's cool. The weather is bi-polar and it's gets ridiculously windy. No lie, sometimes you have to walk backwards if you'd like to reach your destination in time. Chicago can be both bitterly cold and tirelessly hot. It has a huge feeling and small feeling all at the same time.





There's no way to get away from construction no matter how hard you try. Chicago is the type of place that makes you wonder sometimes. There are so many contrasts that exist in this place that you wonder if it's really real. How can a city be both beautiful and terrible?

I never thought of Chicago as being a second city despite that nickname being given to it. To me it's a first class city with all the drama and greatness that comes along with that label. Sometimes I want to escape, get away from the ridiculousness of the politics and the red tape. But where would I go. Having grown up here I'm ingrained with the ability to deal with all the crap thrown at me.
This post is just an introduction to what I hope turns out to be a thoroughly enjoyable story. I'll show the beauty and the beast that is Chicago. I hope to inspire other people to get out and take a look around their own cities. Takes pictures of the mundane things. Become a tourist of your own town. Appreciate everything that is around you. Now onto the lovely other pictures! Part II is forthcoming. YAAAAAAAAAY!

Lauren Green, 2010

Lauren Green, 2010




Lauren Green, 2010

Thanks to Teri Green and Perry Baylock for being my adventure buddies and going around with me. Thanks to Rakesh Prem for being my research assistant and getting me motivated enough to actually put this up.

Tourist in your own city

Sometimes I wonder if people actually know how to enjoy their own city. See I don't have a lot of money to be able to go on vacations so I have to find my enjoyment in different ways. My mission this summer has been to explore Chicago. It's nothing fancy but there is certainly something very enjoyable about going around your hometown and taking photos. It's simple but oh so much fun. So after months of work I'm putting up my photo story. It isn't professional but it's definitely been a labor of love.