Pleased to Meet You

This photo series began as an attempt to get a few photos for a G+ community I participate in. The theme for the week was 'home town'. Living in the suburban sprawl of Chicago-land, I drive and spend much of my time in towns, referred to as villages by local residents, other then my own. Busy giving my kids rides to the train or scheduled activities, I was finding it difficult to get photos of the village that I live in. It was the last afternoon of the theme and I thought I could get a couple of shots to share. I had seen the colorful banners in the business district of our village and had been looking for some orange to shoot for some fall posts, so, perfect, I thought.

Well, I liked the idea of the orange on orange of the banners and awning on the restaurant but that didn't quite pan out the way I wanted. Something better happened. While I was trying to capture my orange idea, I started shooting the new murals on the windows instead.

From around the corner, came a voice, with the question, "You like?" The muralist was still in the process of finishing his paintings on the other side of the building and asked me to come look. Chris introduced himself and showed me the paintings he was working on. We had a delightful conversation about art, painting, photography, technology and raising kids. Chris was friendly and talkative but a little shy about the camera. I continued on, happy to have made a new artist acquaintance.

Wonderful surprises happen along the way to following through on an idea or interest. Leaving schedules open for a little room to play and being open to conversations with new acquaintances usually proves interesting and beneficial. I'm glad I found a little slack in my schedule that day and to have had the opportunity to meet Chris and learn about his art.