• Rooftops of the Parisian apartments in Montmartre by Chicago artist Tracey Capone

    Sunday Morning in Montmartre: Two People, One Camera and No Plans in Mind

    The other day in my post about Venice, I talked about the magical light that pulls you in as you walk around the back canals. I can honestly say it is a light I have never seen elsewhere, until one Sunday morning on our recent trip to Paris. My husband, Joe, and I stayed in Montmartre for the week, a section of Paris that I have previously visited and loved. We had spent the week hopping on and off the Metro seeing as much as we could possibly see and, after a week of that, decided we would take a day and just explore the neighborhood without an agenda. Basically,…

  • The Art of the Festival (Introduction: How to Thrive, Not Just Survive, the Art Festival Scene)

      Lugging everything to the location for hours of setup: your tent, your display gear, the work. Here in Chicago, this typically happens in hot and humid weather, with the chaos of everyone else setting up at the same time, plus the noise of the city,  so you’re a sticky, sweaty ball of confusion and exhaustion. If you’re lucky, you get to set up the night before, go home, catch some shuteye and start fresh in the morning. (if you weren’t there until 1 am…) If not, you’re up at 4 am, hoping to get as early a start as possible so that the tent is all set up in…

  • Photographing Chicago CTA Trains: My Obsession… and some tips & tricks for shooting.

    I have been posting a great deal from my latest trip so I decided to mix things up a bit and focus on a local obsession of mine: CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) trains. When I moved to Chicago, in 1999, I didn’t have a car so it was sink or swim learning the Chicago Transit network as quickly as possible.  Of course, trudging to a 9 to 5’er to spend my day in a cublicle didn’t exactly give me a fond appreciation of the “chariot” carrying me to my slow and painful daily death. However, having grown up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, riding the SEPTA system maybe twice in…

  • Abstract photograph of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from beneath with the sun shining through. Photograph by Tracey Capone

    Photo of the Day: “Basking” (An Abstract Photograph of the Eiffel Tower in Paris)

    Going to Paris in April is always a gamble when it comes to the rain. We arrived to sunny weather which quickly gave way, that afternoon, to heavy rain showers. When in Paris though, you don’t let some rain get in the way, you just plan your time around it. My husband and I had both been to the Eiffel Tower in past visits but wanted to see it again, together. (and, admittedly, I was on a mission to capture some of the spring blossoms in Champ de Mars surrounding the tower) Nothing really prepares you for just how awe inspiring the tower is, no matter how many times you…