I HEARTed the I HEART Faces photowalk!!

(The photo above was taken by Boybarian Dad who was our guide.  There were so many great things about this day, but the best part was spending time with my friend Stephanie and sharing our love of photography together.  Thanks for a great day, Friend!!!)

This weekend was the I heart Faces photowalk.  20 cities participated in all and I was lucky to be in proximity to one of the cities that was being hosted.  Chicago is a great backdrop for taking gorgeous pictures, so as soon as I saw it as an option to go, I signed up. 

Our day started out a bit rough with LOTS of rain in the forecast.  My friend Stephanie and I debated on whether or not we should even go.  Knowing we had sitters lined up for the kiddos and a day planned to hang out together, we hunkered down and just went for it...rain or shine.  Besides, if it rained, Michigan Avenue was right there and shopping was always an option!  We barely made it to our meeting spot at Navy Pier before the terrential downpours began.  Luckily, Navy Pier also had an indoor area to keep us dry from the elements.  Our 'official' photowalk that lasted from 9-11 included lots of rain, pretty much the entire time.  And most of what we photographed was limited to what Navy Pier had to offer indoors.  After lunch and after our photowalk was technically over, the sky cleared and the rain was gone.  We took complete advantage of the sunny skies and ventured out once again to capture some more images.  I'm so happy we did.  It ended up being an amazing day.   

I have to admit, it was a little  BIG challenge to jump right into snapping some pictures of inadimate objects.  I'm so used to chasing Owen around to get a good picture it seemed strange to take a picture of a subject that was sitting still.  I was constantly looking around and trying to find something unique to photograph.  Taking people out of the equation forced me to be a little more creative with what I was taking pictures of.  It helped me think outside of the box.  I looked at things a little differently than I normally would have.  Ordinary scenery and objects, ones I have seen time and time again on my visits to Chicago, became less ordinary as I photographed them.  Something I maybe would have passed by on any other visit into the city suddenly became picture worthy.

I thank I heart Faces for the opportunity to try something I probably would not have normally had the opportunity to try and to help me step out of my comfort zone.  It was a great day!!!