Michelangelo Pays a Visit to the Chicago Sky
I love walking through my home city of Chicago. It’s a time to think. Observe. Be inspired. And some walks are more inspiring than others. As I walked back to my studio late yesterday afternoon, there was a report of a large storm getting ready to roll through Chicago later that evening. The sun began to [...]
Part 19 of 50: Staying Inn-side with Anoush Anou
This is part nineteen in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. Todos Santos Inn is a lovely place to live for a while. It’s a cozy, secluded and lush bit of paradise in the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. I had been staying there for almost a week as part of [...]
Part 17 of 50: Tara Translates Our Way Out of a Jam
This is part seventeen in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. The secluded beach cove at Playas Las Palmas had become quite the popular shooting location as ZoeFest progressed during the week. That was both good and bad. It was good because it’s always fascinating to see what other photographers [...]
Part 16 of 50: Color or Black & White? A Photographers Dilemma
This is part sixteen in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. I’ve been writing a lot about how I decide whether the photographs I create are going to end up being in black & white or color. Perhaps it’s time to share my opinions on that further after the last [...]
Part 15 of 50: Keira Pays Attention
This is part fifteen in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. Keira Grant pays attention. There were so many highlights from this year’s ZoeFest in Todos Santos, Mexico. For a first timer like me, getting invited to this exclusive artists retreat meant I had a lot of catching up to [...]
Part 14 of 50: ¡Las Tortugas! The Very Nearly True Story of Henderson the Sea Turtle
This is part fourteen in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. After safety returning Meghan to the Hotelito with no major incidents with los Federales, my next shoot was scheduled with the ever inspiring Brooke Lynne in a few hours. I found Brooke curled up on one of the comfy [...]
Part 13 of 50: Prohibido el Paso with Meghan Claire
This is part thirteen in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. On the fourth day of ZoeFest, my true love gave to me…. Sorry, my brain is saturated to the point of insanity with holiday music this week. But yes, it was the fourth day of ZoeFest in Todos Santos, [...]
Part 12 of 50: Playing in the Light with Rebecca Lawrence
This is part twelve in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. I was nearing the end of my experiment of two days in a row of having booked three shoots in one day. Looking back, I’m glad I did what I did for two reasons. First, it would have been [...]
Part 11 of 50: St. Merrique, Made in the Shade
This is part eleven in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. Ever been to a party where you don’t know anyone? Many people find that to be an uncomfortable situation. Me? I don’t really mind it. I guess it depends on the people at the party, but I can usually get a [...]
Part 10 of 50: 2,500 Miles to Chicago
This is part ten in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. People have been asking me: “So, Billy. How do you know this blog is going to be 50 parts?” or “So, Billy. Are you really going to write 50 entries about your trip?” Both fair questions. I originally figured [...]
Doug Menuez talks at TEDx about photographing Steve Jobs and the Geeks of the 80s and 90s – The Beginning of Modern Tech Success
I’m taking a small break today from writing about my wonderful adventures in Todos Santos Mexico to talk about a great photographer. Doug Menuez is a friend, mentor and genius humanitarian. One of Doug’s recent projects is a photo book on how 20 Ugandan AIDS orphans have come to be a incredible dance touring group [...]
Part 9 of 50: More of the Photographers of ZoeFest
This is part nine in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. As I mentioned in the last entry, ZoeFest X 2011 was loaded with talented photographers. Lots of different styles and ways of working. And although we did bump into each other from time to time at the various locations [...]
Part 8 of 50: The Photographers of ZoeFest
This is part eight in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. I thought I would take a moment from the BillyShow here to give some well deserved attention to my photographer colleagues at this year’s ZoeFest. As I mentioned before, Zoe Wiseman, the incredible photographer behind the Fest that bears [...]
Part 7 of 50: An Unexpected Turn with Sara Liz
This is part seven in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. A funny thing happened on the way to the shoot concept with Sara Liz. I’m going to write more later about how ZoeFest allowed me to stretch and experiment in a way that I haven’t had the opportunity to [...]
Part 6 of 50: Carlotta and the Pool
This is part six in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. I dropped Ella Rose back at the Hotelito and returned to Todos Santos Inn where I had arranged to meet the lovely Carlotta for our mid-day photo shoot that was scheduled to begin in just a few minutes. I [...]
Part 5 of 50: The Ocean and Ella Rose
This is part five in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. In preparing for ZoeFest, we all would have to find our way up the Pacific Coast of the Baja Penisula to Todos Santos from the Cabo San Lucas International Airport. That meant renting cars. Two days before I was to [...]
Part 4 of 50: Good Morning Todos Santos & Samantha Grace at Casa Dracula
This is part four in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. Waking up at Todos Santos Inn my first morning was a lovely experience. I managed to sleep in until about 8:30am. I threw on some clothes and stepped outside into the glorious daylight. We Chicagoans have a special appreciation [...]
Part 3 of 50: “Hi, I’m Billy”
This is part three in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. My home base for ZoeFest X was a charming boutique hotel called, most appropriately, Todos Santos Inn. Like many historic buildings in town, it had once been the home of one of the local sugarcane barons in the 19th [...]
Part 2 of 50: The “Highway” to Todos Santos
This is part two in a series of blogs on my recent artistic adventures in Mexico. Mexico Highway 1 turns into Federal Highway 19 in Cabo at the very Southern tip of the Baja Peninsula and heads North along the Pacific Ocean towards Todos Santos. In about five or ten years, it will be a breathtakingly lovely [...]
Part 1 of 50: An Unexpected Email
A week ago today, I got on an airplane in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to fly back to Chicago after one of the greatest artistic adventures of my life. It’s a long, long story. Certainly too much for one blog. So this will be part 1 of 50. Here’s how it begins: Last July, I got an [...]
Screw Smelling the Roses, but Remembering to Stop Anyway
I forget to stop. I’m not really sure why I’m wired that way. Maybe it was the way I was brought up. Maybe I’m trying to prove something to myself. My friends tease me about how many hours I work in any given day. It’s true. They’re right. I do work too much. I do [...]
Yes, I Love What I Do: Finding the Enthusiasm
“Wow, you really love what you do.” I get that a lot. A few months ago, I was out shooting a long time lapse project with a great client of mine. We were going to be out there for five hours watching the cameras click away, every eight seconds, so we had a lot of [...]
Billy and the Sexy Lady Bug
She walked in my direction, scanning the crowd with her large eyes as she neared. Orange tubes circled her plump middle with purple wings on her back. Suddenly, she saw me sitting there and her giant lashes expanded with her eyes growing even larger as a huge smile washed over her face. “Ooooh! You are [...]
If only I were a flower. Then I would love this weather.
But alas, I am not a flower. We’ve certainly had our fair share of rain here in Chicago the past few months. At least it makes for pretty pictures. This one I took with my iPhone and processed it in Lightroom with Silver Efex Pro 2. Click on it to make it bigger.
