*The last two posts chronicling the Erica/Dave wedding extravaganza will be coming Tuesday and Wednesday. Come back tomorrow for some gorgeous pictures of some gorgeous people, but in the meantime . . .

For those of you who are into (or want to get into) photography, I highly recommend that you take advantage of the beautiful weather and go out on photo adventures. Experimentation is crucial to the learning process. Every minute I spend dedicated to seeing the world through my lens is adding to my knowledge and experience, essential qualities of the Good Photographer I eventually aspire to be.

The beautiful weather is a huge enabling factor, because when I tried to have a little picture-taking adventure on the lake this past February, the cruel Chicago winter winds ripped the skin off my face and I lost 100% of my body moisture in the tears that were pouring out of my pain-ridden eyeballs. It just wasn’t working. I got about 6 quick shots and I was outta there, headed straight for Metropolis cafe and their promise of hot lattes. Also, please don’t mention the fact that my face no longer has flesh on it–it’s still a sore subject for me. Though I’ve been told I have an attractive skull. Here are a couple of those forlorn shots–’twas the beginning of my DSLR love story:

The contrast in temperature was so gargantuan that as soon as we walked into Metropolis, my lens fogged up.

Forgive me my son, for I knew not how to set my white balance. Or how to meter.

Aye me.

I was young and inexperienced.

Yep, there I am right before my skin fell off. It’s nice to have a photographic record of what I used to look like. At least a record of the bottom half of my face.

This May, my friend Jamie from church and I decided to hit up the Lincoln Square neighborhood here in Chicago to see what we could see and take many, many pictures. Here is Jamie:

She’s a Canon girl. I’m a Nikon girl. But we managed to put aside our differences for the afternoon.

There’s nothing like shooting with a friend who’s also interested in photography–it’s motivational, fun, and you can bounce composition ideas and camera settings off each other. Mmm! Plus, 2 people with large cameras strapped around their necks look more legitimate than 1 person with a camera around his or her neck. This was convenient since I was snapping a lot of pictures of random kids playing baseball. I figured that being accompanied by another human being made me look less like a stalker (always a plus).

Here are some of the shots from that afternoon out and about, starting with the door to the café where we took refuge from the heat and cooled off with some iced drinks. Hmmm–I’m starting to detect a pattern involving extreme weather conditions, photography expeditions, and the amount of business I bring to my local cafés.

We came across a cute little sale happening on the sidewalk.

Everone was eating outside. . . I imagine they got caught up in the excitement of the first hot day of the year. The buckets of sweat pouring from their underarms may or may not have dampened their enthusiasm into more of a soggy placidity.

Is there anything more quintessentially American than a row of baseball bats?

I love the different expressions on the boys’ faces. It’s a fascinating study in concentration and focus.

This poor little onlooker is probably the bored sister of one of the boys playing.

I love the colorful advertisements plastered all over this store front:

Having a camera in hand really makes you open your eyes to what’s around you. Like this sad piece of . . . of . . . of something round stuck on a fence.

I know I just overloaded everyone with images . . . but let me know if you have a favorite, one that said something to you. Or if you thought they were all butt-ugly–I want to know that, too. I think my favorite is this last one of the bike, with Jamie in the background messing with her camera. Or the row of baseball bats? I feel wholesome just looking at that one.

Find a friend and hit the streets with your camera! And if you decide to share these pictures via the internet, send me the link! I’d love to take a look.