Peek-A-Boo...

...I see blue.

Faces of 9/11

After hearing the news last night, it didn't feel right to just sit at home so Jordan and I headed to Downtown Naperville to see if anybody was at the memorial there, but alas, there was not.
Not being a town of action, Naperville didn't have the hoopin' and hollerin' seen in other parts of the country and honestly, I'm kinda glad.
While I can't say I didn't feel a bit happy Bin Laden was dead, I do think that pouring onto the streets was a bit much.
By no means do I allege to have answer for what should or shouldn't have been done, but at what point are we just perpetuating the cycle of action and reaction.
The man took thousands of innocent lives and probably did deserve to die. Now though, we have more people getting more upset at our country which may result in even more innocent lives being lost.

Just some food for thought...

School Daze

Ever since I started at the Beacon, I have been drawn to the architecture of the school buildings. They have a beautiful classic look to them that makes you feel like your stepping back in time. I'm sure the current tenants of these buildings resent the fact that they lack some modern conveniences, but from a purely visual standpoint they are superb.
This in mind, I found myself at Bardwell Elementary the other day photographing the installation of a new climbing wall.
I had some time to kill prior to the wall arriving, so I explored the inside of the building a bit...

Easter With the Techies..

...I mean Powers.

Here in Naperville we have just discovered this thing called Skype. Not sure if you have hear of it yet...
Well, we dialed up the grandparents in Daytona for a little skyping (is that what you kids call it these days?) after Easter dinner.
Technology... bringing the whole family together....


...until someone gets the newer thing.

Midwest Photo Summit

Awhile back a bunch of photographers from Illinois got together, looked at photos, talked shop and called it a Summit.

We had a blast.

Lakeside

Beginnings

The College of Dupage photo blog recently featured some of my work that was part of the portfolio that received an honorable mention in the Illinois POY competition.
I had the opportunity to go back to C.O.D. the other and talk to a class about working on stories. It was an interesting experience to go back and stand at the front of the same classroom where I realized this is what I wanted to do.
To see the write up click HERE

Re-Charged

After a great weekend of seeing some amazing work, talking to old friends and meeting some new ones while at the Midwest Photo Summit the batteries have been re-charged.
2011... bring it.

Southside extras

Interesting little piece of sidewalk art on the way to the game....

Fruits

After a few nerve racking weeks of waiting, the Illinois Press Photographers Association wrapped up its annual conference and contest this past weekend in Evanston.
I put a lot of pressure on myself this year because I really wanted to do well my first year competing in the professional division.
I am pleased, ecstatic, thrilled, (insert other happy words here) to say that among a few other awards including first place feature story, I was awarded honorable mention in the Photographer of the Year competition.
Congratulations to Tribune photographers Scott Strazzante, Alex Garcia and Will Deshazer who won first, second and third respectively.
This post also would not be complete without a big congratulations and Thank you to Jonathan Miano who really helped shape me as a photographer during my first floundering years at the Naperville Sun and also placed third in the Sports Portfolio category.
So if you have a chance, check out all the amazing work on the IPPA website HERE.

Opening Day: SouthSide

Opening Day: Southside from Brian Powers on Vimeo.

White Sox fans sold out U.S. Cellular Field for their teams home opener on April 7, 2011 when they beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 behind 13 strikeouts from starter Edwin Jackson.
Even though I didn't grow up on Chicago's southside, I did grow up going to Sox Park aka Comiskey Park aka U.S. Cellular Field.
My grandfather and I would go to countless games a year, to be able to shoot opening day for the Sun-Times was and amazing experience.
Again, my assignment was to focus on the fans and the environment surrounding opening day, but I couldn't help but sneak down into the pit to grab a few actions shots of the best team in baseball.

Cubs Opening Day

I was lucky enough to shoot opening day at Wrigley field yesterday for the Sun-Times.
My assignment: Produce a video showing the feeling and environment of Wrigleyville and Cubs nation.

Lake Reflections

UnOfficial

I had the great opportunity to team up with the crew from BOOTH 25 EVENTS for the Unofficial St. Patrick's day in Chicago bar crawl on Saturday. We started at Casey Moran's in Wrigleyville then it was over to Vines down the street just to name a few.
Any day spent toasting the Irish is a good day in my book.

Antiquing