if the wind kept blowing forcefully from the north i wouldn't get wet but i shouldn't have pressed my luck by trying to walk to the orange line in the hopes of beating the severe weather. i kept going thinking that there would be bus shelters. 

was a bit worried as while i was in the bridgeport coffeehouse the sky to the west was black, the people in front of me were showing each other weather maps on their i-phones. as they chatted without picking up their orders i kept looking at the sky. 

nearly booted a mother and child as she chose that time with an impending storm to teach her kid how to negotiate steps blocking most of them with the stroller. 

racing up 31st street i think i hear someone say that he saw a funnel cloud. 

i'm fine as long as the wind doesn't change, and then it does. the asian gentleman standing beside me protecting himself from the rain opens his brolly and places it over both of us.

we stand in silence only broken by me offering to hold the brolly as his arm seems to be getting tired. the bus comes he ushers me on then follows. we both exit at the orange line.

-i prayed to jesus to bring us relief and he did. the woman at the top of the moving stairs said. - i couldn't bare the weather of the past two days so i prayed to him to bring this rain.

-i hope he doesn't overdo it. i answer.

-he knows what he is doing. he's been protecting us for many years now. it's because of him that you are talking to me now. if he weren't here we'd be dead.

the train arrived asked if she was getting on. no she was heading in the opposite direction.

nodded thanks once more to asian buddy and headed toward the loop.

cotação - R$1,55 = US$1,00

dear digital,

give me a break here.

didn't i dare to devote myself to you during this oh so long and painful summer trapped at the 'tute?

didn't i state that i wanted to finally come to terms with your ways and try to take you seriously.

weren't you the one who has always been in my bag you with your clunky oversized protrusions, making sure that i had no other options when i cam across a snap with potential?

haven't i treated you with the same respect as i do with the real cameras? no patronising, no not looking through the viewfinder, no making twenty snaps when one would do, in fact haven't i translated my working method with other hand cameras exactly even to the point of not looking at the screen after the file has been made - well that was that time with the tavern owner when i wanted to prove that i was not nefarious and to offer her a print.

i haven't treated you specially, i haven't used the live view - unless i was pretending you were a twin lens reflex and even there allow me some comfort when photographing things on the ground due to my age. i have kept you on as i would any other camera when out on a wander. only turning you off when i was absolutely sure that there were no potential snaps within a kilometre. the lens cap is lost somewhere in one of my bags.

i have kept you raw. i have used you in auto - the way that i would do any other camera with such a setting. i get no thrill setting the camera manually when in essence i am only slavishly following your recommendations after all when i want to change a setting i simply aim the camera in a different place.

maybe i go overboard as i stop, steady myself, make sure that lines are vertical and horizontal. i make sure of the framing - guessing the finder discrepancy - before i squeeze the shutter à la leica using the area between the first and second joint of my finger instead of the ball.

nevertheless i find that no matter how careful i am settings are changed. no i didn't set the iso at 6400. both image stabilisers seem to come on at will i know as i can feel the camera vibrate. nothing is parallel to the edge of the frame i don't mind the barrelling of the lens anymore and prefer that to the correction in lightroom where a good 5%of the edge is cropped off to make the lines straight. and how can i possibly knock the exposure compensation when one needs to hold down two buttons and turn a wheel.

even though i take my time it seems that you need even more as i still have to wait for that insurance snap as you think your way through the first exposure.

this i can deal with if i have to. i'll be even more precise, more slow, more aware of your presence.

in return i only ask one thing. not to go through batteries the way a hummer going 240km/h goes through gasoline. it is a problem being 80km from a charger and have the battery die. i was saved embarrassment after photographing the tavern owner chatting in the bar then heading out again to photograph only to find a dead battery.

no no it is not fair. you know full well that i constantly check the battery and the remaining power. when i entered the tavern you were at 50%. 20 minutes later you are dead.

i understand. i am nothing if i don't learn from my mistakes - see i treated you like my other hand cameras - the next day i returned with three batteries to finish wandering pell lake - by way of genoa city.

but you bettered me you made sure that not only was i 80 km from a charger but a good 4km from the machine so i would have to walk back noticing all the snaps i wouldn't be able to make.

i was prepared though in when the second battery and i continued on.

you upped the ante by having that one die in a mere 20 minutes. i couldn't find the third. i had to empty the bag to fetch it hidden in an obscure pocket. once it was in. you were only turned on when i needed to make the snap. framing etc was done with you off. the wandered ended, i checked the remaining power and felt in control with 65% remaining.

so why when i got home with you off the entire trip, were you down to nil again?

we had good times together we seemed to work well in the past. remember all those people and places you photographed during the navegacio of 2008, and meandering the maritimes in 2009. we were one i didn't think twice about using you - but i did make every snap i made with you with ubaldo or ziquinho also. i found that you were not threatening to people, you had the perfect aspect ratio for real postcards.

was it that i ignored you when in conche did you resent being used only for the  online entries - but that was what we agreed - it was my failing that i depended so much on you in the previous two years.

i am not minnesota flats. i don't mind the wait to see my results. i don't mind the restrictions that photoshop-less film give. i like photographic traits not photoshop photographic filters.

let's put this behind us. we have to work together here especially during july when we are trying to be part of solo photo book month - sofobomo - we are halfway through. you know that i have had problems with focusing on an idea, that non photographic obstacles have popped up.

so we have to become one by burying the mutual suspicions and moving forward during the remaining wanders.

keep in mind, if this works out you get to go with me over the new year after all with the price of film you'd be the logical choice.

so what do you say onward lake beulah?

i was in ravenswood to pick up an inkjet printer that was to be discarded due to it being outmoded but filled with piezography carbon inks. trying to be mature and thinking of widening the methods of making a black and white print. i also worry that the large paper size 60cm width would effect my feeling about small prints what with the temptation.

i came down during rush hour and a cubs game thinking that it would be difficult to keep calm if i had to go through this daily when i heard shouting and a person being restrained by two others while yet another person approached.

ask buddy on a motorcycle what had happened and it seems that the person being restrained was trying to cross the street when suv couple being jerks wouldn't yield to him and he threw a bottle at the windscreen. while the driver of the suv wasn't sure what to do as this person would breakaway only to have another person restrain him, his woman companion was making snaps of the damage with her smart phone.

the pedestrian was lead away up ravenswood stopping every now and then when something said irked him. where he would be restrained again and led away.

once the printer was in the machine i leave as the police arrive - four large suvs - the woman shows her snaps. they ask which way he went. they point up ravenswood saying that they think he went into one of the lofts.
how long ago?
ten minutes
ten minutes? what do you think we can do now? but they go through the motions of looking.

i snake through the cordon.