5 A.M. by Chipka

Photography • Urban/Cityscape • posted on Aug 28, 2011

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Description

There are times when even Belmont Avenue is quiet; at five in the morning, with the promise of winter hanging, curdled, in the air, many of Chicago’s streets seem to contract. Darkness lingers. The days are short, after all, and even when there is noise, it’s attenuated, muffled, buried under something. I noticed that as I made my way from Corey’s apartment to the south side of the city. I had to work. I had to move heavy stuff in cold weather. I left Corey’s apartment at an insane hour and arrived at the Belmon Avenue Red Line connection at 5 in the morning. The day, as I remember it, was a short one. It began early. It didn’t become even vaguely interesting until I’d returned from work and helped Corey navigate through the opening chapter of his post-surgical adventure. Unfortunately, this post-surgical adventure doesn't contain a soundtrack by Ron Grainer (and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop) and so it doesn't sound like a mad marriage between Doctor Who, The Prisoner, or anything else as avant-garde swanky, or just loopy in that science fictional way. Oh well. I have taken many pictures since then; I have captures of warmer days. Those will come later. Right now—nearly a year after I made this capture—I’m posting this. It’s a quiet moment in a strangely quiet city. It’s darkness at the beginning of a chilly day. It’s a stranger on the other side of a stark, modern partition, waiting for a southbound train, and it’s the only picture surviving from that particular day. There really isn’t much to photograph, when you’re moving dental equipment, after all. As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting and I hope you’ve all had (and are continuing to have) a great weekend.

Comments (19)

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flavia49

5:15PM | Sun, 28 August 2011

outstanding capture

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Sea_Dog

5:33PM | Sun, 28 August 2011

Very nice. This shot gives the feeling of being ahead of the pack as the morning begins; seeing things while others are still brewing coffee or taking showers. Well done.

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sandra46

5:34PM | Sun, 28 August 2011

IMPRESSIVE LIGHT I LIKE THE PERSON SEEN THRU THE DOOR

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mgtcs

5:38PM | Sun, 28 August 2011

Nice capture indeed. I can clearly picture that time which is, for some, a an early beginning for the day, and, for others, the late ending of a night. The first haven't quite taken off yet, and the others have just landed. The buzz has both finished and not yet begun. That moment is clearly portrayed here.

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MrsRatbag

6:06PM | Sun, 28 August 2011

A little confessional box for the city? "Bless me father, for I have sinned..." Intriguing shot indeed. And I must say you always manage to find some pretty interesting shots moving dental equipment!

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jac204

7:19PM | Sun, 28 August 2011

Interesting location and great capture.

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NefariousDrO

9:39PM | Sun, 28 August 2011

Isn't it funny how human perception works? When I first saw this, I thought: "What a warm and inviting cubby to sit and read a book in" After reading your ruminations on the moment this was shot, I looked more closely at what can be seen through the blinds on the window, and yes, it looks cold out there. What's funny to me now is that the image therein could easily be the stereotyped "Russian Winter" shot. Yet the warm yellow light, the soft filtering through the window-shade still makes that cubby look like an inviting place to sit and read something scandalous in...

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