Beautiful sculptures in Logan Square and 90 miles Cuban Cafe!

OK guys I'm back, but I can't seem to get myself out of bed this morning. :( Me and my girl Cassie happened to go out last night and let's just say we had a little too much fun.  

You have a photography assignment to do Maria! Stop fooling around, and GET UP!  

All right...I'm up. Let's do this! I am going to bring my girl Cassie with me today. She is gorgeous, hilarious, and simply brightens my day whenever I'm with her. Sorry, she will not allow me to take her picture at the moment. You saw a quick glimpse of her in the video, and you will see her again in a few. :) She is the one with the quote on her wall from my first blog remember?  

"The Real Voyage of Discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." -Marcel Proust  

I think this quote will be helpful today due to the nature of my assignment. So this week we have to go outside and take 36 pictures of different sculptures. All the pictures have to be taken from DIFFERENT angles. You have to come close, go far, go up, go down, and all around, and see what happens when you change your position. My teacher says wait and see what happens. Hmm, I wonder what that means...sounds easy enough though, right? All right, lets go grab some coffee, and do this.

Remember Eunice? The girl from Dunkin Donuts that helped me with my assignment last week? Well, we decide to pay her a visit and give her the photos that I took of her. She was so happy with how well they turned out!

Eunice Jones at Dunkin Donuts, Chicago

You know, the more I do this, the more I like it and want to keep doing it. It truly makes me happy to see people smile when I show them their pictures. Ok Eunice, gotta go. Time to find ourselves some sculptures! 

I did some research beforehand, and saw an article on how some "mysterious" sculptures popped up in the Logan Square neighborhood. Logan Square? I thought to myself. That's interesting. Mysterious? NOW you got my attention. Off to Logan Square!

Since we are headed to Logan Square, why not stop at 90 miles Cuban Cafe first for some lunch. I've been there once at night, but never in the day time. Lets see what it's like.

                                          90 Miles Cuban Cafe 2540 W. Armitage Chicago

90 Miles Cuban Cafe 2540 W. Armitage Chicago

Hey, that's the sign that's in Key West...90 miles to Cuba! You are WAY further than 90 miles from Cuba here buddy, as you can tell from all the looooovely snow. 

I am really loving all the murals on the outside of the restaurant, especially this one of the Cuban band. It reminds of my friend Mike's abuelo, Roland Arrom, God rest his soul. He was a member of a swing band in Cuba in the fifty's. He played the saxophone, trumpet and all kinds of other instruments. He wrote his own music as well.  I remember when we used to visit him in Miami he would tell us stories about Cuba and how beautiful it was. He used to say, "Maria Elaina, MUSIC is LIFE," He used to call me Maria Elaina because of my middle name, Elaina. He really loved SWING music. His band was called the "Roland Swing." Awww....abuelo I really miss you. You had such an amazing spirit and passion for life.  I know you are making music with the angels up above, and having everybody dancing. :) 

90 Miles Cuban Cafe 2540 W. Armitage Chicago

Did I just see cafe con leche? Sign me up! Cafe con leche is a traditional Cuban coffee drink (actually it's common in most Latin American countries) It literally means, "coffee with milk." I have to have some ASAP. I know, I know, I just had some Dunkin Donuts, but how can I say "no" to cafe con leche??!

We walk in, and it is simply MAGICAL. I love all the paintings, and the little sayings everywhere. You also hear good salsa music playing in the background. I literally feel like I've been teleported to Cuba. "Two Cafes con leche please!" 

Cubana

If Love arrives....do not let it go. US FLAG?! (lol)

Always ;)

Cafe con leche

I got my cafe con leche, and I am IN LOVE WITH LIFE right now! Cheers! 

Even my girl Cassie is feeling the music, dancing, and loving life right now. Ready? HERE SHE IS! The beautiful Cassandra Hannan. 

Cassie!

All right, lets EAT! So Cassie let's me do the ordering, since I am semi-familiar with the food on the menu. I remember them from the time Mike's mom, Martha, would make them for us in Miami. She is a lovely woman and a phenomenal cook! :)

So we order:

Ropa Vieja, with plantains, rice and beans 

Guajirito with plantain chips.

Yucca

This is Cassie's first time eating Cuban food and she is simply amazed at how good it is. Everything tastes delicious. From the shredded beef(ropa vieja), to the plantains(platanos) that came with it, to the Guajirito(which is the Cuban version of the Puerto Rican Jibarito), to the Yucca, which is a root vegetable similar to the potato. Wow! That was good!

Now, we are stuffed and ready to go back to BED, but we can't! We must stay focused. We finally pay, and head towards the door. As we are walking out, something catches my attention:

I made it nice and BIG so you guys can see it. 

The poster speaks for itself. You can come to 90 miles in Logan Square every Wednesday and be transported to a Latin American country for the next few months! Are you kidding me!? Heck yeah! Whose ready? I know I am. Food AND entertainment from a different county each week? Can't beat that. Also, 90 miles is BYOB, so bring your favorite bottle of Malbec wine (or whichever kind you like) and enjoy. :)

We get back in the car and start driving towards Logan Blvd where the sculptures supposedly are. We get to Logan Blvd. We're driving, driving, driving, AND nothing! Huh, that's interesting. Where are they? I tell Cassie to  look left, as I look right. Still nothing. Ok. Where did they go? 

I can tell you guys are tired already huh? I know, but come on, stay with me. We're almost done, I promise. We can do this! :)

As we turn around to go back the way we came, Cassie spots one, "There it is!"  Phew....finally! 

These sculptures are pretty far apart from each other and since it's cold outside I decide to drive, stop, shoot and go. So lets do some shooting already! So this is what I did. I took the pictures from far, then I came close. I went up, I went down, and then I went ALL around. 

Here is what the sculptures look like when you simply look at them from a distance. 

"Expanding Universe" by Eric Lindsey

"Another Thought" by Michael Brown

"Living Sculpture" by Jason Verbeek

"Bouquet" by Terrence Karpowicz

And NOW here is what I saw with my camera lens ;)  Can you tell which ones go with which sculpture above? You know what...forget it. I'll make it easy for you. Nobody's got time to think anymore. ;)

"Expanding Universe" 

"Another Thought"

"Living Sculpture" 

"Bouquet" 

WOW!!!!! COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!

I felt like I was getting lost in them! I would go closer and notice one thing, even closer and notice something else. I really enjoyed the flowery one. You would never know that those are plants inside that sculpture, unless you went that close! Also, the icicle just hanging down on the "Bouquet," amazing....simply amazing.  Which one is your favorite? I still haven't decided on mine. All I know is,  they are ALL beautiful.

I have to say,  that this assignment taught me A LOT! You don't know what you are missing until you look at something up close, from multiple ways, in different angles, and so forth, AND as a photographer; it's really important to pay attention to these DETAILS. (Wink, wink Ernie) It totally gives you a new perspective on the object that you are looking at. The teacher was right. I definitely made a new discovery today.

I ask you to try it for yourself and see what you will find. Trust me, you will be AMAZED. I know I was. 

Until next time,

XOXOXO

  

PS: I found out that these sculpture were placed in Logan Square by the city, and Mayor Emmanuel, to incorporate ART and CULTURE to different neighborhoods in Chicago. They will be displayed on Logan Blvd till Fall. Enjoy while you can:)  

Depth of Field and Aperture

Hi everyone! I hope you are all staying warm in this crazy COLD Chicago weather.  I keep telling myself that it takes winter to really appreciate the summer, but old man Win', you are making it really hard for me to believe that right now.

Patience Maria, this too shall pass, and we will be on our way to summer again! Ahhhh...SUMMER. The sound of the waves as they hit the sand....the wind in my face as I am cruising on my bike.... beaches...bikes....smiles.....

                                Me with my vintage Schwinn Slik Chik in Chicago, Summer 2013


Wake up Maria! You've got an assignment to do! Sorry, I started daydreaming there for a minute. I tend to do that sometime. Anyway, so in my last assignment I was in Rogers Park.  http://spanos311.blogspot.com/2014/02/shutter-speed-in-rogers-park.html While I was there, I had taken some pictures of Yodit the owner of Royal Coffee cafe. The other day, I decided to stop in and give her the copy I promised her. She loved it! She thanked me and said that she will put it right next to her Guadalupe icon on her wall. Remember we talked about the Guadalupe in my first blog? We now know her story too. :) Here is a picture of Yodit right next to her own picture.

                                               Yodit  at Royal Coffee, Rogers Park, Chicago.

So I have some good news this week. My photography assignment can be done outside OR inside! Wait, what? Inside? Oh yeah baby! You heard right...INSIDE. This weeks assignment is on DEPTH OF FIELD. We have to take 18 photos with a shallow/lower depth of field and 18 photos with an extended/greater depth of field. You may wonder what depth of field is. I am going to explain it my way so you can understand. (Remember: this is how I understand it) Creating a depth of field helps put the focus on  WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHER WANTS YOU TO SEE in the picture. Let me show you, so you can understand better. Here's my lil rap for ya....;)

Higher depth of field: Everything is in focus: The whole song is clear and visible. 

 Lower depth of field: The photographer puts the focus ONLY on 

what he/she wants you to see:  "you want Maria"

You want ME? Well I'd say.......... ;) Silly little rap song huh? BUT you are getting it a little more now....maybe? Hopefully:)

Anyway, I hope you guys have a very basic understanding of depth of field. It gets WAY more complicated than that, but I will not get into it for this blogs sake. I want to keep it simple for us beginners. So with which function on the camera can you create the depth of field? ANSWER: APERTURE!

Aperture is the SIZE of your camera's hole (lens opening).  It controls the AMOUNT of light that is let in. In the past, the aperture was adjusted by placing cards with different sized holes cut in them behind the lens. These holes were referred to as "stops." This word "stop" is still used in photography today. We've came a long way since then. Now, instead of using cards with holes in them, all we have to do is click the wheel to change the aperture (size of the hole). Here is a chart so you can see:

Your Camera Lens at different f-stops. (f: focal number)

 

Note:

 the lower the f-stop : The bigger the hole(aperture): The more light is let in. 

the higher the f-stop : The smaller the hole(aperture): The less light is let in.

If you are confused right now look for yourself. Grab your camera and look for the wheel that controls aperture: You can turn the wheel left or right to change the f-stop. Try taking the same picture with different f-stops and see what happens. You will notice that with LOWER f-stop the depth of field decreases, and with HIGHER f-stop the depth of field increases!

Since I can do my assignment inside or outside this week, your's truly waits till the VERY last minute and STILL goes outside. Yeah you can say my @$$ is itching for the ice. Honestly, I figured there is more light outside and it might make it easier for me. After taking a few shots, and I mean only A FEW shots, I run back to my car. F-this! It's freezing out here!

                                 
                                                    Shallow depth of field: f 1.8 (F.....this cold!)

           

                                                  Greater depth of field: f 14 (Rogers Park Loyola Beach)
                         
So now that I am nice and warm in my car, I've got an idea! Why don't I just take pictures in the car? It's kinda like marrying the two elements together: Inside environment and outside light! Why din't I think of that sooner? There are so many cool things in my car that I can focus my viewers attention on, like the cross, and this St. John icon by my dashboard. Jesus will be HAPPY! :) Hey look....it works!

                                        f 1.8: St John and Cross, Maria's dashboard.

After a couple pictures I am done. I learned my lesson. I can reduce the depth of field with a smaller f-stop to bring something small and specific into focus, OR I can increase the depth of field by using a larger f-stop to bring the whole picture into focus. Let's just get up early tomorrow and finish this before lab.

I wake up this morning a little earlier than usual, I get dressed, grab my bag, and head out the door. I am feeling dissapointed with myself that I waited till the last minute for this assignment. I know what will cheer me up a right now...COFFEE!

I start driving to my usual "pick me up" stop Dunkin Donuts on the corner of 16th and Michigan in the South Loop neighborhood. I park the car and run inside with my camera. I feel like this might be my last chance of capturing some photos. I ask one of the customers that was sitting down sipping on his coffee if I could take some photos of him, and he straight up says, "NO! I can't help you. Sorry." Wow, this  might be harder than I thought. I was under the assumption that people loved getting their photos taken. NO Maria! Not everyone is like you. You photo doto! I go up to the counter to ask for my coffee and the girl that greets me has this BEAUTIFUL smile. She is very friendly and happy. I am loving this girls attitude!  I ask her for her name and she tells me Eunice. You know what I am bout to do right? I ask Eunice, and she says, "Yes! I'd love to help you! SWEET! Lets do this! Here is the GORGEOUS Eunice.

f 1.8

                                                                           f 3.5

I din't had enough time to do a greater depth of field picture, but I still like the way these turned out. Notice, they are both of shallow depth of field. In the second one, I gave the cup a relationship with Eunice simply by moving it next to her, instead of in front of her, and going to a higher f-stop!

 I will post some greater depth of field ones for you in the future. :)

So even though I felt kind of crappy this morning, Eunice and her beautiful smile brighten my day! See, it doesn't take much people. You never know what person's day you can make better just by simply SMILING!

With this I am off to Lab. Wish me luck...I NEED IT! Till next time friends! And remember to.....

xoxoxo

Shutter Speed in Rogers Park

Hello, I am back!  I know that in my previous blog I mentioned that I will be doing a new blog every week, but let me tell you, this weather is making it very difficult for me. Please excuse me while I talk to my city for a second...

So how 'bout this weather Chicago? What's up? It's been snowing almost every day this month. Six to eight inches of snow on the ground, it never melts, and you just keep adding to it! They are now calling you "Chiberia!" I mean come on. Give a photography girl a break! I need to be OUTSIDE to complete my assignments and you are going to make it harder and harder for me, huh? I know, it's not your fault. It's all good...I STILL LOVE YOU CHICAGO! :)

Anyway, sorry about that. I needed to vent a little about this CRAZY weather we've been having. If you remember in my first blog, I was in Pilsen.  http://spanos311.blogspot.com/2014/01/first-photography-lesson-pilsen-chicago.html. So where should I go to today? Hmm....how about ROGERS PARK! Why here? Well first, you got one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city, and I LOVE diversity. There are over 96 languages spoken in this hood alone! Second, it has a ton of graffiti art, which by now you guys know I adore. Lastly, Rogers Park has been my work home for seven years. Even though I may have changed residencies six times since I moved to Chicago, one thing has remained the same...I always end up coming to Rogers Park.  All right, all right, so I picked it out of convenience, BUT wouldn't YOU do the same if you were in my shoes? IN THIS WEATHER? That's what I thought ;)

Ok. Let's go. It's like -10 degrees right now and my assignment has to be done outside on a cloudy day, or on the shady side of the street. I have to take 36 photos using different shutter speeds. Shutter speed? You may ask. What's that?  Shutter speed controls TIME. It is the amount of time the camera's shutter is open while taking a photo. So if photography is about "capturing time," being able to control shutter speed, could produce some pretty cool images. 

I decide to pick up my co-worker Nikko Jones on his lunch break to help me out with this assignment. The only way to get Nikko to help you out is to bribe him with food. Yeah, it really IS that easy;) Anyway, we decide to go to Royal Coffee, a cute Ethiopian spot on the corner of Sheridan and Pratt. As soon as we walk in, I notice a sign that says "The story of Coffee." One thing about me is, that I am a coffee ADDICT. I seriously have an addiction to this stuff.  If I don't have my coffee in the morning, stay away for me please.

 I ask the lady that works there if I could take a picture of it, and not only does she says yes, but she wants to model it for me! Her name is Yodit. Isn't she gorgeous? 

Royal Coffee 6764 N Sheridan, Chicago.

So coffee was discovered by goats?! How fascinating! Well the shepherd noticed the goats, but face it, the goats are the real heroes in this story. So next time you are enjoying your cup of Joe, just remember that a hyper Ethiopian goat put it in your hands. I wonder if that's why we drink it for  breeeeeeeeeeeakfast (in my goat voice) I know, corny, but had to throw it in there! :) 

Moving on to the second most important part of this place, the FOOD of course! I decide to go with the vegetarian plate which consists of, potatoes, greens, chickpeas, and beans. It is served with traditional Ethiopian injera. Injera is a spongy-like flatbread which reminds me of the Greek pita, or the Mexican tortilla. Either way, it holds my food in place while I devour it. Mmmm....so GOOD!

Vegetarian Plate: Royal Cafe Chicago

Niko is having the Kitfo, which is an Ethiopian stew, made with beef and vegetables in a curry sauce.  It also comes with injera, and is beyond delicious. Notice the little candle inside keeping the Kitfo warm? It makes me smile. :)  

Kitfo: Royal Cafe Chicago

After I was done eating, I ask Yodit if I could take some photos of her by a cool coffee bean wall in the restaurant. I tell her I will use my Nikon this time. Looking at me, she smiles and says, "Of course!"  I could tell she was a little nervous at first, but then I said a little joke to her and brought out that beautiful smile. :) 

Here she is! I promised her that I would print it out and give it to her. Royal Coffee is a unique place, with great food, and even better coffee. If you are ever in the Rogers Park area, stop in inside, have some authentic Ethiopian coffee, and say hello to Yodit. 

Yodit at Royal Coffee Chicago

Now that we are stuffed and can barely move, we must go outside in this weather and take photos. How does that sound? Not very appealing huh? Well a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Nikko and I rush to the car and drive one block to the lake. That's right! You heard. We DRIVE one city block. What? You expect me to walk ONE minute in this weather? Ain't nobody got time for that!

We get to the lake and it looks like something from Antartica. I am thinking this is NOT the beautiful beach that I am used to seeing. The sand is covered by snow and ice. Now I see why they call it CHIBERIA! Brrrr.....

                                                              Pratt Beach Chicago January 2014

Pratt Beach Chicago January 2014

If you look out in the distance, you can see the Chicago skyline in the second picture. In the summer, this beach is truly beautiful. If you are ever in Chicago in the summer, definitely stop by and see for yourself. This is where I come and drink my wine and relax. It takes all your stress and tension away....believe me.

Ok, so this assignment is definitely  going to be rushed, because I can't be outside in this freezing cold. I tell Nikko to climb up a little ramp and jump down so I can "freeze" him in the air. In 18 of the 36 pictures that I take, I have to use the shutter speed to "freeze" the action. (Freeze I know, no pun intended). Poor Nikko, climbs up the ramp, jumps as high as he could, and lands on his feet. He starts screaming, "Ouch, ouch my knees, my KNEES!!!!" I go over there and ask him if he's ok. He says "No you idiot! You got me jumping and sh... and I'm in pain! On top of it, it's cold as f...out here! " 

Air Nikko

At this point, I start bursting out in this uncontrollable laughter. We both cannot stop laughing. I tell him only a few more jumps on this smaller ramp and we can go. None of the pictures are coming out right. F.... this! Let's go!!! Even though I won't be able to use them, the pictures are hilarious!

Nikko Jones Flying like Superman LMAO!!!

I drive Nikko back to Walgreens, and he couldn't be more relieved. He asks me what I was going to do about my assignment. How was I going to get it done. I needed 18 photos of freezing the action, and 18 photos of showing the action occuring. (Blurring the action) I tell him that I might just go into Walgreens and ask a fellow coworker to wave their hand really quick, and capture the action that way. He turns and says "Girl, I could of done that the whole time in the restaurant! You got me jumping off hills and s... and you know my knees is bad!" LMAO! I can't stop laughing right now! We are both cracking up. He says "At least Yodit got one good picture for herself. What do I get? Broken knees?" 

LOL

Laughter I tell you, it's an INSTANT VACATION especially in THIS weather.

-Milton Berle 

So we go into Walgreens and notice some yelling by the cosmetic counter. Somebody was getting arrested right there by an off-duty police officer! It happens that this police officer was shopping at Walgreens and he noticed the guy stealing. He shouts to him, "Put your hands behind your back!" Then he cuffs him....Wow! Never a dull moment in Rogers Park I tell ya. After a while however, the officer plead bargain with the thief and let him go. He tells him not to do it again and releases him. Everyone deserves a second chance no? And I got to see this fine act of forgiveness first hand in my Walgreens. So you want a photo huh? Not this time sorry. Let's try to keep the photos POSITIVE:)

We walk back to the pharmacy, I tell Nikko thank you for his help, and let him know that the "wave of the hand" photo wouldn't of worked anyway, because it would be done inside, and that does not count.  He laughs and says thank you for lunch. I wave good bye to my work crew, and start heading towards the door. 

As I am walking out, SOMETHING catches my eye! It's a little table set up right by the front door, and on top of it it's full of condoms! I was like, "Hey! Are you giving those away?"  The guy turns to me and says that they were. He then explains that he is here with Chicago House. Chicago House is an organization that started back in 1985 to provide housing for people with HIV and AIDS. That was the first year the HIV test was available. At that time, when a person tested positive, their life was headed downhill. They lost their homes, jobs, even family support; therefore Chicago House was created by community volunteers to provide support for these people. In those days, people with HIV/AIDS had a decreased life expectancy than they have today. Today, Chicago House still lives on, providing people with HIV/AIDS housing, support, and job programs all over the city of Chicago. How cool that Chicago has such an AMAZING program to help out people in need! It never hurts to stop and talk to someone even when you are rushing out the door. You never know what you may learn. :) I then tell him about my assignment, and ask him if he'd let me use the wheel to test out the different shutter speeds and see what happens. So after experimenting, I realize that at lower shutter speeds you can see the action taking place, but at higher shutter speeds it "freezes" the action. Hey now! There's your lesson right there!

I thank him for helping me. I take a few more photos. I grab a few condoms, (for my friends ok? ;)) and I finally walk out. Before I forget, I want to tell you guys about this video that I found that talks about the differences between living with HIV now, and back in the day. If you have time, please watch it. It's really eye-opening and heart warming.  

 http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nbcnews.com/43244393

So at the beginning of the blog,  I mentioned three reasons for picking Rogers Park. (Even though convenience is the REAL deal here) You saw a little diversity. You saw a little bit of my work. Well ok. You guys barely saw anything, but aren't you having fun? When the weather warms up, I will post more pictures of Rogers park so you can see the diversity of it. It is simply UNIQUE!  The whole world comes together in one spot in Chicago. This is why I love working here. I get to meet people from all over the world every day! Who needs to travel to meet different cultures when they are all RIGHT HERE! Well, I still LOVE to. :) Anyway, enough about that lets go shoot some STREET ART!

OK So for my finale. To HIGHLIGHT what I just said before about the UNIQUE DIVERSITY of Rogers Park this is what I found. Enjoy!

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL ROGERS PARK. ONE OF A KIND. CREATING A DIVERSE EARTH.

All this beautiful street art can be found along N. Ravenswood avenue, between Morse and Greenleaf. As for my assignment, it eventually got done. Thanks to my beautiful friend Cassie and my many instruments, the next day I managed to capture photos of  freezing the action at VERY HIGH shutter speeds, and showing the action at LOW shutter speeds. I remembered the lesson I learned from spinning the wheel at Walgreens, and I was LITERALLY done in 20 minutes. Here's a sample of my work. :) Stay warm and be safe....Till next time!

XOXOXO

Shutter Speed 1/60

                                                               Shutter speed 1/500

Shutter speed

1/250