No.110

These are photographs from the McMillin wedding I attended as a guest this summer. Found them while picking prints to make for our family album.

No. 95

Revisiting Channing Street, Elgin, Illinois.

No. 83

This here is a clip from the December 2009 issue of Chicago Social magazine. Writer Amalie Drury, a beautiful day and some fox hunting in Wayne, Illinois. No fox were present at the hunt but we did brush paths with hounds, beautiful horses and eloquently dressed riders. I will post some outtakes later this week.

No. 68

Today I walked south on Romke Road in Hampshire. The breeze moved through at a fast pace and as the dog lead me to the front porch where I leashed him like I was asked.

No. 43

I’ll tell you first hand that when you meet a man who was forced to hide in an attic for two years with the fear of dying aching in his stomach you can barely breathe. Through his lips I watched this aged man whistle to the crowd “I wanted to live.” Then the slow tune of pain he endured during the Holocaust stared to unravel. Aaron Elster is well into his 70’s now but as a young Polish boy of Jewish decent during WWII he survived the hatred of Nazi Germany. Yesterday he spoke to an auditorium packed with middle school students in Carpentersville, Illinois, hoping to spread the message of hope. Elster’s movements were slow. His voice very chilling and his message clear: Any one person can change the world. If only we greeted injustices with such optimism. Elston no longer harbors hatred to the force that took his family or to the people who made him hide in terror. Two years without a shower, adequate food or sunshine, no smiling faces or warm embraces 10 year-old Aaron waited for his freedom. The war ended and the liberation Elster faced may have been bittersweet. If you are interested in the stories of people this world has made you should read the gentleman’s book: ‘I Still See Her Haunting Eyes” at www.aaronelster.com.

No. 36

In light of the popular 2008 election I have chosen to explore the candidate fandom. Specifically in signs and merchandising.
I have not yet found any creative republican signs but I have found this one down the block on Walnut Street in Elgin, Illinois.
I am still looking for signs of support from the other spectrum. I just received word that I will be creating video clips on the local elections in the Kane County area. Wish me luck.

No. 20

The National Press Photographers Association finally posted the Region 5 monthly clip contest winners for the month of May. To my complete surprise I placed 3rd in single feature for an image of a man receiving oxygen therapy and 2nd place in multiple feature for a photo story on Prom 2008. I nearly forgot I had made these images. I do remember that the oxygen therapy made the man look so peaceful. The patient was watching daytime television, making me jealous. As for the prom story I dressed up in a pink prom dress, so I wouldn't feel out of place, and followed the starry eyed teens prepare and enjoy their high school prom. I graduated high school 11 years ago and I cannot recall such raunchy moves on the dance floor. The '08 prom was definitely an eye opener for me. I had a chance to witness teens and their sexuality. There is a lesson learned every day while photographically documenting my beat. What is in a photograph cannot be erased.

No. 15

Well the time has come for someone to stare at me in exchange for all the staring I've done in my small lifetime.

No. 9

Thanks to the crew at Hot Chocolate and Outstanding in the Field I had the opportunity to eat a farm fresh meal in the apple orchard of Nichols Farm in Marengo, Illinois. I watched as the crew set up shop in a small portion of the orchard. They cooked as I fetched beer and the dwarfed trees hugged the space we breathed. The guests were a riot and we even had a New Zealand war dance sighting. I will say this was a unique experience for the restaurant. Watching a full kitchen blaze in a natural setting was only fitting. And to think we live, eat and transport ourselves in boxes.

I posted the partial gallery online at www.lightstalkers.org/marinamakropoulos. Check 'em out, that is if you like food and farm.