Here is a new measure of professional and client satisfaction: the quality of the hug at the end of the assignment. As we finished up two really full days (13 and 11 hours) of shooting for the Illinois Institute of Technology, I got big, genuine hugs from my two minders from the college. We thoroughly enjoyed each other. I’ll be back to Chicago in February to do indoor shots, so this trip was devoted to getting as much outdoor coverage of the campus and students as possible under these late summer muggy (upper 80’s) conditions.
Naturally, things didn’t always pan out as planned. At sunrise yesterday I awaited the cross country team along the shore of Lake Michigan. Their regular training run takes them from the campus, a mile inland, up the Lakeshore path and back again. They never showed. The coach forgot that I was going to be there, and took them on another route. Appropriately contrite, the coach scheduled another opportunity this morning.
Ten minutes before their scheduled arrival I hear fire sirens, and a big plume of black smoke billows over the trees between me and my Chicago skyline view. This is something so deeply out of my control I can only laugh. The efficiency of the Chicago FD saved the day, and the sky had cleared by the time my runners arrived.
I have a day off tomorrow before diving into three days on the University of Chicago campus. My new problem is dealing with the tsunami of data I have created with my Mark II. Two days of photos has filled 33 gigabytes on my laptop and card reader. I’m nearly out of room, and I need to buy some portable hard drives tomorrow on which to pass off the data. Then I finally get to explore the Art Institute of Chicago, which has been a goal of mine for as long as I’ve been interested in art museums.
Ahhh, Art Institute - Great Chagal glass, the big Okeefe painting, pointilism, a great museum. Trteat your self and go to dinner at Charlie Trotters or Tru, then you'll have a great day.
Enjoy!
Posted by: Christian | October 05, 2005 at 09:06 AM
Love the picture of you and the students! Lots of joy all around.
Posted by: David Adam Edelstein | October 06, 2005 at 09:29 PM