Month: October 2023

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Trees – Untitled #7

In May 2011, a friend and I took our cameras to the property of a mutual friend. We simply wandered in the woods taking pictures. I have often found myself, as is evidenced by some other images in our Etsy Shop “AbbasImages,” being near a tree or group of trees and just looking up. I couldn’t tell you why, really, but I’m drawn to consider the height and grandeur of trees in that moment and consider the forces it or they had to overcome to reach into the sky the way they do; and then to sustain and endure season after season. Inspiring.

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Flowers – Untitled #6

These Japanese anemone were part of a floral landscape that surrounded a portion of a fountain in the courtyard of the Aon Building on Randolph Street in downtown Chicago.

I shot this picture in July 2012, but before being allowed to do so, I had to get clearance from Aon security.

There are several, beautiful waterfalls and fountains on this Aon property. Despite the security drama (they were quite professional, cordial, and accommodating), I was able to take 75 pictures of the exterior grounds and building itself. I found it quite a fascinating adventure and could easily have returned several times to take more pictures but that part of Chicago has endless possibilities, attractions, and opportunities.

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Flowers – Untitled #5

Shot on the Fourth of July, 2008, this Yellow Salsify shows an interesting mix of simplicity and complexity, texture, delicacy, pattern, and symmetry.

I took over 260 pictures that day and to date, we’ve included one other, Untitled #57, in our Etsy Shop, “AbbasImages.” It was a lovely day and I ended up traveling nearly 80 miles to get the pictures I wanted. A far more complete backstory, the why behind traveling so far with purpose, can be found in the blog for Landscape – Untitled #57.

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Chicago – Untitled #4

This is the contrast of the old and the new; the Chicago Water Tower and 875 North Michigan Avenue (formerly, The John Hancock Building).

In this picture you see the Chicago Water Tower in the foreground and 875 North Michigan Avenue in the background.

The Chicago Water Tower, completed in 1869, is one of the very few structures to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. 875 North Michigan Avenue, complete 100 years later in 1969, is among the tallest buildings in Chicago and in the world. Another distinct contrast is the Chicago Water Tower is made from yellow Joliet limestone, a very popular building material in that day, while 875 North Michigan Avenue, foundationally, it made of steel.

A final contrast is in the picture itself which offers a hint of scale between the Chicago Water Tower, topping off at 182.5 feet, and 875 North Michigan Avenue’s height of 1,128 feet to the roof, 1,500 feet to the tip of the towers.

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Chicago – Untitled #3

This picture is taken from the 95th floor (1,030 ft above street level) of the, then, John Hancock Building, since renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue, in Chicago. This photograph is one of 66 taken that July day in 2013.

I set my camera on a ledge next to the observatory window, to gain some level of stability and avoid camera shake, and hit the shutter button. It was a relatively long exposure as evidenced by the thread-like images of automobile headlights and taillights.

Visible in this picture are portions of Lake Michigan, Lake Shore Drive, North Avenue Beach, Lincoln Park, Belmont Harbor and surrounding area, the Montrose Beach area, and points north.

This image shows just a slight fraction of the expanse of this interesting, colorful Midwest city that really never ceases to amaze owing to its diversity, the dreams of many, and a certain mystique that invites you to discover more.

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Landscape – Untitled #1

Sunrise, October 9, 2011. We’re at Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve. It’s that time of year in northwest Indiana when the nights are becoming cool but the days still relatively warm. In these woodlands that lie on hills and gentle valleys the fogs and mists appear at first light only to be “burned away” by the sun as it rises and warms the air.

In capturing this moment, we see virtually everything being painted and tinged with the oranges and yellows of the illumination of the sun. Even the fog in the valley, typically more whitish in color, has yielded to the warmer effects of the sun’s rays and power.

I took 93 pictures that morning, two of which are presently in our Etsy Shop, “AbbasImages”: Landscape – Untitled #1, and Trees – Untitled #8. It was a beautiful sunrise which opened a beautiful day.

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Why We Don’t Title Our Works

I began taking pictures with a camera, with purpose, in 2007. At first, I did it for fun; a friend had bought me a point-and-shoot camera and I just wanted to try it out. Some of the images turned out pretty well; friends began to notice, comment . . . I began to hear things like, “You’ve really got an eye.” Some of the pictures began to move people emotionally. I kept at it. I got hooked.

I sought advice and counsel from a variety of people as my dreams for photography began to form, take shape, give me vision, and perspective. One friend, whom I truly respect and admire, an accomplished artist in her own right, urged me to title my work. That prospect immediately caused tension; not with her and me but within me. I wrestled with it, struggled with it, and actually tried it. But it didn’t work. And, I wanted to know, if, for no other reason than my own satisfaction, the why.

What I finally arrived at forms the basis of our personal, very subjective, philosophy on why I take pictures and offer them to the public without affixing a title to each and every one, if not, most.

When I take a picture there is, obviously, a motive; something that drew me, caught my attention, spoke to me, captivated me; something that I felt, in that very moment, that was worth my attention, effort, dream of what it may look like . . . what it may look like to others. In that moment I witness what it communicates to me and the potential of what it may communicate to you; and they don’t have to be the same.

So, I share with you as the moment has been shared with me and I invite you to make the moment your own and whatever it may evoke in you. And title it, for yourself, if you will, or not.