First off, to all of our fans and supporters: we would like to thank you for all of your wonderful ideas and comments, and we encourage you to keep on giving us more feedback.  If you haven’t had a chance to browse around our site, we would suggest that you keep checking back often as we are frequently adding photos.

Also, if you see any photos that you would like to have as a print, please contact us via email and we will be happy to provide you with the print of your choice.  Please note, that prints will cost $25.00 plus shipping and handling, and all proceeds will go towards the expansion of Photometric Chicago.  A Paypal donation link will soon be posted as well.

We truly enjoy doing this project and would like to get the word out about this.  We would be more than pleased to have our work featured in a gallery, place of business, tv show, etc, however we ask that you ask us for our written consent prior to public display.  Thank you once again for motivating us to make this project something that can belong to the whole City of Chicago and we hope you enjoy the view.

- John M. Basile (co-creator/photographer)

Hello visitors!

Just a note to let you know that the photos are back up. We’ve posted photos from the following neighborhoods thus far: Rogers Park, Edgewater, Uptown, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Andersonville, Logan Square, Wicker Park/Bucktown, Greektown, Chinatown, Albany Park, & North Mayfair.

There are also some photos from the 2008 Chicago Auto Show and the South Side Irish Parade.

Enjoy! And remember, your feedback is always welcome.

So, the week of February 17 was riddled with errands for us busy people. We did manage to get a few shots here and there, but we came back with a vengeance the following week.

It was a beautiful day for February and we went down to Greektown. Our main focus was the hustle and bustle along South Halsted. We snapped some shots of the restaurants (of course), a bakery, a music store, and a man at Citgo who was kind enough to let us use the bathroom. We also went around to UIC, and attempted to gain access to their activity center, but they had to clear it with way too many people, and we didn’t feel like waiting to be approved. All we wanted to do was take pictures, not plant bombs! (Though John does carry a suspicious looking backpack! Ha…)

We also took a walk on  Taylor Street and got some great pictures there, too. We will definitely focus a bit more on that area during the summertime, as we’re trying to get more shots of people. They’re what make the neighborhoods, after all…

Since it was numbingly cold outside and both of your Photometric lovelies were suffering from bad colds, we headed to the Chicago Auto Show instead, where I swear, the flourescent lights are made to suck every ounce of energy from one’s body.

First, though, we went to Cafe Selmarie in Lincoln Square for breakfast. We took photos of their amazing food (um, we split a banana eclair, a meatless breakfast burrito, and banana griddlecakes. And we should have exercised for a week straight after that.)

We then walked around Lincoln Square and snapped some photos there. I must mention that my Nikon S10 died a few days prior to this shoot, and I was devastated. I ended up using John’s Sanyo point and shoot, which performs NOWHERE NEAR as well as the Nikon, but did what it had to do, particularly at the auto show. My battery died pretty early, about halfway through the auto show, so I was a bit depressed.

The auto show was pretty cool, though. We got some great shots there. John’s were all black & white 35mm and just…stunning. I swear he becomes a more talented photographer with each passing shoot. Some of the floor layouts were extremely eye-catching, and obviously, we saw more beautiful cars per square mile than anywhere in the United States (Chicago’s auto show is the biggest in the US, I read!)

Hmmm….suddenly I have a serious desire to buy an Audi. Maybe when we make enough money from this project…

This week, the Photometric duo hit the CTA Blue Line for some shooting in Logan Square/Bucktown/Wicker Park. Lots of snow on the ground made for some wet feet (I was wearing boots, but not the most practical kind — suede and probably too fancy for excessive amounts of walking like we’ve been doing.) and the weather was damp and cold.

We started off stopping around the Logan Square Blue Line stop. Took a stroll down Sawyer Ave (gorgeous houses) and around Logan Blvd, where we ran into some war protesters who happily obliged our request to photograph them. We hit up Fullerton Ave, also, taking in a lot of the business district. A suspicious-looking man was following us, and we’ve decided as precaution to make sure we look more like bums, or get official t-shirts, or do something to make ourselves less of a target, especially for when we hit some of the rougher neighborhoods on the South Side…

We got back on at the California stop and rode down to Damen, where we strolled down the very hipster Damen Ave/Milwaukee Ave area, photographing the legendary Double Door, Cafe Absinthe, Quimby’s Bookstore, and many other fabulous sights. We finished off with dinner at Penny’s and rode down to Greektown to plot strategies for next week’s shoot.

I must say, I have never enjoyed my weekends as much as I have since beginning this project. And John is so incredible to work with — I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else.

If you have MySpace, add us as your friend: http://myspace.com/photometricchicago !

So it was much, much warmer for week number two of our project. But of course, we weren’t without obstacles–the light was a bit off at first, and we had some snow on the ground, too. Nothing a pair of boots couldn’t glide through, though. And sometimes, you must remember, good shots have to be made. Thankfully, the two of us have enough ingenuity to create an infinite number of good shots…;)We hit up the CTA red line again this week, making the first stop at Lawrence and walking eastbound to shoot near the lakefront/ Lake Shore Drive area. We shot down Marine Drive to Irving Park Road and continued through Uptown, capturing the beauty of the homes in this area, and the streetlife on Sheridan Road. We then hopped back on and rode to Fullerton, where we took in Lincoln Park in all its glory as we walked down Halsted to North Ave, where we finally found sanctuary in a bakery/cafe with sandwiches and excellent gelato, and I took a million photos of cookies and cakes. (Wow, long run on sentence, sorry)

At dusk, we rode down to Chinatown and got some shots there, before my camera battery died a sad death. Upon discovering this casualty, we left Chinatown (we really need to devote a whole day there) and took the train back to Lawrence, where we finished our evening off beautifully at the longest running jazz club in the country, the Green Mill. There was a female alt-country singer singing songs about torsos without arms or legs, and a poetry slam, too…not to mention a crazy man named Bob and a bartender who thought my obscene hand gesture, a la Julie Delpy in Before Sunset, was amusing.

I’m guessing we got nearly 500 photos yesterday. I have to sift through mine, and it’s going to be awhile before John’s will be revealed, as he is in Mexico (I’m so jealous).

In the meantime, wish my right ankle back to health. I’m pretty sure I sprained it slightly yesterday, and since it hurts, I am walking like a gimp.

Despite the sub-zero temperatures, we managed to successfully complete our first day of shooting. Yes, we braved the freezing cold and were outside for hours! No worries, though, people — we still have all our fingers & toes, even though at times it felt like it was so cold they were going to fall off! Those “Hot Hands” packets really helped, though.

We began in the early afternoon and grabbed some groovy shots in Rogers Park, Edgewater, Uptown, and Lakeview. The bright, clear conditions made for some excellent shots with great light and shadow! We took close to 300 photos total, though we’re still in the process of sifting through them to determine which are ‘keepers’!

We’ll continue down the CTA Red Line next weekend. As always, your comments and suggestions are much appreciated.