2011 – The Year that Flew

 

I’m still processing many of my experiences in 2011, and plan to post some of my favorite images, and stories from the year. One highlight was traveling to Port-au-Prince Haiti to co-facilitate a digital storytelling workshop at KOFAVIV (Commission of Women Victims for Victims), an opportunity I was able to take part in thanks to The Goldin Institute, and as a technical and production consultant graduate assistant for Stories at Work Project, with DePaul University Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse professor Lisa Dush. The handful female participants were tasked with writing, recording and producing their own digital stories detailing very personal, and at times, tragic, events of their lives. The other facilitators and I were tasked with training them to script, record and produce their stories, most of the time, through an interpreter, or by attempting to muddle through my rusty high-school French.

The experience for me was life-changing. While it was difficult to shed my documentary photojournalist skin for the week, I grew ever more appreciative of the magnitude a simple process such as digital storytelling can have and gained many insights into the empowerment of authorship.

More than a Convergence of Ideas

Convergence happens to be one of my favorite words. It also happens to be the name of the upcoming exhibit at the Indiana Welcome Center, where, fortunately, I will have a few framed prints on display. All of the images were taken while I was a staff photographer for The Times of Northwest Indiana, and all were taken near my favorite body of water, Lake Michigan. The exhibit also includes work by photographer Marc Hauser, NWI Times Staff Photographer John Luke, and others all totaling roughly 30 photographers from the region. The opening reception will be Friday, August 5 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at The Indiana Welcome Center, located at 7770 Corinne Drive in Hammond, IN, just a couple of miles east of the Illinois border.  Below is one of my images from the show – taken at the Gary Air Show in 2010 – but you’ll have to go see the exhibit for yourself to see the other two images and take in all of the photos from the shore region!  Special thanks to everyone who helped me get my photos, mat cutting, frames, etc. together (thanks Jeremy, Jonathan and, a VERY special thanks to Natalie, who let me know about the show!)

Video of Chicago Fire Soccer Fans: Section 8

I recently had the opportunity to create a short documentary film about Chicago Fire Soccer fans – who endearingly refer to themselves as Section 8. Marin Kolev, Ethan Faure and myself produced the piece for our documentary production class at DePaul University. E. Jason Wambsgans provided some additional footage of the game.

I had posted the video on Vimeo for my Dad to view, and assumed the video would get lost in space. I was shocked when my teammate (and Section 8 member) emailed me to let me know that within five days the video had received more than 2,000 views !  The Free Beer Movement, Offsite Rules and Major League Soccer’s official website had all linked to the clip. According to Ethan, “Pardon the pun, but this thing has spread like wildfire.”

Thanks to my Dad who relentlessly emailed me before I posted the video a little over a week ago.

Here’s the video, for your viewing pleasure:

A March Wedding – Crystal and Vince

I had the opportunity to shoot with Steven Rosenberg of Steven Rosenberg Photography last month. Not only was Steve one of my favorite editors when I first started my photojournalism career, but it’s always a treat to shoot alongside him. Especially when you get to work with a fun couple such as Crystal and Vince. We started our day in downtown Chicago at The Conrad Hotel, then boarded a bus with the whole wedding party and headed to Hammond, IN for the ceremony (I seem to find myself back in Northwest Indiana at least once a week!), and ended the night in Chinatown for the reception. The mid-afternoon March snowfall actually worked in our favor for the portraits.  Thanks to Steve and Crystal and Vince for letting me document such a gorgeous event!

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Northwest Indiana Wedding – Vanessa and Dave

Vanessa and Dave put out all of the stops for their wedding, including 10 bridesmaids, 10 groomsmen, three flower girls and hundreds of family and friends. Vanessa’s brother brought foghorns, which he used after the ceremony. Dave’s groomsmen even climbed aboard a tanker at a park adjacent to the Griffith, IN, church for portraits and I’m happy to report nobody I am aware of was hurt.
The reception took place at Radisson Hotel Star Plaza, where the DJ (also a close friend of the couple) set up an intricate lighting display, including projections of the “Dave and Vanessa” Presidential seal. Oh, yes, and I leave out the fog machine, which enveloped Dave and Vanessa in a cloud of smoke during their first dance.
Vanessa noted that every single person involved in their wedding, from the floral arranger, to the Priests, to the singer and the musicians, were all important people in her and Dave’s lives. These included several reporters and editors who work with Vanessa at The Times of Northwest Indiana, where I worked until the end of last year. It was fantastic to reconnect with such a great group, and be witness to their talented moves on the dance floor!
Thanks, Vanessa and Dave, for letting me document and be a part of your memorable day!
The lovely and talented Suzanne Tennant (also a Northwest Indiana native), was the second shooter for this beautiful event.

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Suzanne Tennant

Photo by Suzanne Tennant

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Suzanne Tennant

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

Photo by Heather Eidson

The Chicago Auto Show – An Amusement Park for Adults

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the 2011 Chicago Auto Show for The Times of Northwest Indiana.

Or, according the Rob Manker in last Friday’s Chicago Tribune, “…as it’s also known, the year’s second largest collection of vehicles on Lakeshore Drive.”

I’ve never been one to need a car with bells and whistles. If my car can get me from point A, to B, to C, to D, and E and back to B without breaking down, then I’m happy.  But there was something about my first auto-show experience that left me, well, electrified. And it wasn’t just the electric cars.

I can see why the Auto Show attracts young and old. Especially the old. It’s an indoor amusement park for adults.

My tour took me past a houndstooth-wrapped Smart car, a vintage Fiat and an eerily silent yet moving Chevy Volt.

I shadowed a couple of executives as they braved a ride in a 2011 Jeep Rangler Unlimited Rubicon. We gasped and laughed as the driver effortlessly lifted us up at a 30 degree incline, 28 feet above the showcase floor, and took us down another 30-degree incline before we landed safely again on the ground.

I sat in the 2011 hybrid version of my now 170,000 + mile 2003 Hyundai and thought, perhaps it IS time to consider a trade-in.

And definitely not-to-be missed, a perfectly-synced 27-camera extravaganza at the Chevy Camaro display, in which regular families are transformed into 3-D pictures, Matrix-style, thanks to time splice technology (view an example here: http://social-gen.com/chevy/cs.php?u=e2E49). The experience made me want to rig up my very own 27-Canon Rebel camera 3-D picture booth.

Below are some pictures from last week’s showcase. The Chicago Auto Show runs through the end of this week.  Enjoy!

Some images after the Chicago Thundersnow

Here are some images taken during my trip downtown earlier today after the now famous Thundersnow of 2011. My tour started roughly at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River and I looped through Lake Shore Drive and Division Street. What a beautiful, snow-covered site (My hands are still recovering from the cold)!

Chicagoans of all ages played on the frozen tundra of the Oak Street Beach, threw caution tape to the wind and walked across Lake Shore Drive, found refuge in a shoveled out embankment intended for pedestrians, and used the hill at General John Logan Statue (at the corner of 9th and Michigan) for a downtown sled fest. One nearly forgets that we’ve been hit with what the Chicago Tribune calls the “third biggest on record in Chicago.” Thousands in Chicagoland are still without power, and cars still remained stranded. For the day at least, Chicago was quieter than I’d ever experienced.

A Night at the Third Coast International Audio Festival

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In the classy Ballroom of the School Art Institute of Chicago, a straight-A student from Elkhart, Indiana lamented that he couldn’t go to the college of his choice because he was an undocumented immigrant. A woman from Mississippi sought to find the truth about her grandfather, Willie McGee, a black man who was convicted and sentenced to death for raping a white woman. And nine groups of producers from all over the world grew misty-eyed and sentimental as they accepted beautifully varnished awards that double as working radios.

Welcome to the Third Coast International Audio Festival. An annual audio awards ceremony honoring the year’s best feature and documentary stories.

Since its inception ten years ago, Third Coast International Audio Festival finds and curates audio documentaries from around the country and abroad, and shares them with as many people as will listen.

On this particular evening, radio producers from all over the world were recognized for their accomplishments in audio storytelling through Third Coast. I felt so very grateful to have a unique insight into this prestigious ceremony by having the opportunity to visually document the event. The night was hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich of Radiolab, my absolute favorite radio show, and their banter and witticisms truly elevated an already beautiful evening.

As the night continued and emotions intensified from the deeply moving stories that were presented, I couldn’t help but think of the past, present and future of radio.  I had spent the last year listening to many of the award winners’ stories on Chicago Public Radio while driving to assignments in Northwest Indiana. To see Ira Glass, host of This America Life, as one of the speakers, in PERSON, was enough to leave me absolutely star-struck and inaudible.

While Mr. Glass may be famous to me, I have friends who (I daresay) have never heard of him and his fabulous show. I’ve come to terms with the fact that shows such as This American Life and Resound may be tiny niches of  public radio, and that public radio is actually a smaller subculture of audio.

With the digitization of audio, these documentary projects available virtually anytime and anywhere. They have the potential to reach an even broader group of people, and the stories produced are well worth the download time. These compelling stories can be found in the archives at: http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/

You also may view more photographs from the awards ceremony, and the whole weekend’s annual audio festival, here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thirdcoastfestival/

One Family’s Struggle

November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. As a finale to raising awareness of Alzheimer’s, The Times ran an extensive article and photographs depicting how one family deals with the realities of the disease. I had the opportunity to spend some time with George and Arlene, a fabulous couple who have both been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s within about a year of each other.

My grandmother, who passed away last Spring, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease a few years ago. We were extremely close, and I visited her nearly every week for several years. Spending time with George and Arlene brought back a flood of memories of my time with my grandmother, and this short audio slideshow hardly does the family justice. I hope to go back and visit George and Arlene and their daughter Debra soon, as they continue lead their lives despite the difficult disease, which in Arlene’s words, “keeps on going.”
http://www.nwitimes.com/video-photo-galleries-audio-interactives/video/vmix_757a36f5-8e05-56b4-83cd-01b707ff8523.html

You can view The Times staff reporter Kathleen Quilligan’s powerful article here:

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/article_3a6fdd33-27b6-5a62-a0fe-f67827fb81df.html

Grant and Laura Wedding Day

The weather outlook was a little grim as I prepared to meet my friends Laura and Grant downtown for the start of their portrait session hours before their wedding October 2. A blustery wind and rain showers were sweeping through most of downtown, and it was by far the coldest day of the season. No matter, I’ve been told that rain on a wedding day is good luck. We managed to survive through a Dearborn Street Bridge shoot, some photos at Millennium Park and we spent just a few moments at Museum campus before the wind and rain ravaged us and forced us to head to the venue.

Grant and Laura’s wedding was held at the beautiful Keith Mansion, a 19th century estate nestled just south of the loop that still maintains its vintage charm. Just before the start of the ceremony, the wind calmed and this beautiful magic light emerged from the sky. Laura and Grant and I headed to the park next door, and I shot a few more frames just minutes before they exchanged their
vows.

The light changed several times from stormy, to slightly diffused, to pre-dusk sunlight and finally, darkness. In just a few hours, the change in the light allowed me to capture a myriad of different moods.

What a beautiful, intimate day! Grant and Laura are fantastic people and I’m so glad I got to document the many moments of their wedding.