Thanks to Alicia from Time Out Chicago for writing a piece on the sleepy pics for Time Out. Alicia and her photographer got on the train with me to see how I take the pics. It was an interesting experience because this time there were no “hidden cameras” (NBC News had these crazy eyeglass video cameras), this time the photographer had this giant slr camera and was full on just taking shots of me taking pics, which as you can imagine made it a little more challenging to not attract a ton of attention.

But we all came out unscathed, no black eyes to mention!

Check out the article here:

http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/museums-culture/29869/the-scene 

What does life look like this second? Get out your cell phone and take a picture right now. And send it to “The Big Picture Project”

I’ve got another photo project going that you all are invited to be a part of. It’s called The Big Picture Project”
The Big Picture Project is a living mosaic. This project was inspired by the “Found in the City Gallery” here on Sleepyurbanit.com.

The Big Picture Project is about all the things big and small that we visually digest each day- all strung together into one big-picture-paragraph. The mosaic is like taking our everyday lives and shooting it through a funky kaleidoscope… multiple vantage points, locations, perspectives all at the same time.
I’m still taking the sleepy pics. I actually have a huge backlog of images to get up. I’ve been a little distracted by my band’s new cd release and this new idea.. the “Big Picture Project.” It’s based off of the “found in the city” and “urbanhieorglyphics”galleries here on Sleepyurbanite.com
But this time is a little different than the “sleepy pics”. This time, I want to collaborate with, well YOU. Everyone Anyone with a cell phone or digital camera is invited to take a picture of what you see right now..And text or email them to bigpicture[at]localsrock.com. The photos are instantly added to a “ living mosaic” at ShowMeTheBigPicture.com. The project coincides with the release of The Locals new CD release also titled “Big Picture”. The cd will be released on Sat, June 14th 2008. We’ll play a CD release party that evening at The Elbo Room (2871 N Lincoln, Chicago Il) at 10pm.

Both the music and the visual piece of The Big Picture project all follow the this same theme of looking at life things from a different angle in order to get an interesting take on the “Big Picture”.

So, how can you submit your pictures?

1) Take picture on your cellphone or camera

2) Send it to this email address- bigpicture(at)localsrock.com

3) Describe your shot in the email/txt message subject line. Put your location and a title for the image i.e. “My Friend Sue, Albany Park, Chicago”.

See your images in the living mosaic at www.showmethebigpicture.com

I hope to see your pics soon

I was interviewed yesterday by Orla Barry on Newstalk Radio, Ireland. We had a really good conversation. It was interesting to hear in international opinion. I’m told if I tried this in Ireland and someone noticed, I may get my ass kicked! I actually felt that way taking the shots in New York as well! LoL!
When I was first contacted by the radio station, I jumped on their site and had a listen. It appears to be pretty similar to NPR radio here in the states. I recommend checking it out, you can listen online. http://newstalk.ie/newstalk/index.html

The strong reactions to the Sleepyurbanite.com piece continue to flood in. People are very polarized on the whole thing. It does seem to be a love them or hate them reaction. It’s striking a cord, and stirring up some really interesting discussions:
A piece on sleepyurbanite.com was re-aired this past week on Channel 5. Here are some reactions from etiquettehell.com:

http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=22168.0

And here is a pretty interesting blog post as well:

http://www.roadsidescholar.com/2008/01/02/sleepy-urbanite-photos-by-yvonne-doll/

I like the city. Some people think there is no nature here. But they are wrong. The natural elements are just forced to choke their way through the cement, girders, and grit, creating a very unique phenomenon I like to call “The Urban Garden”. You have to get low, and dirty to see it. You have to really want it, and then when you experience it… it’s… well…it’s not breathtaking. We eclipse it. Nature is meant to be bigger than us, I think.

So I’ve taken to photoging it, ripping it out of context, putty a purty and mysterious digital frame on it, and presenting it here.

are we? and if so.. I suppose it’s a good idea to keep clear,

at least until we’ve got our hands on something substantial. All this

mucking about in the middle can be dirty work.

You Are Beautiful Project: Chicago Wicker Park/North Ave El Station

I’m online a lot. That being said I see a lot of great web sites. Even awesome. But rarely do I run across one that I am blown away by the idea.

Wefeelfine.org

Wow.

Wow.
Cool.

Awesome.

Cannot really explain. You must go and check it out.

In a nutshell they are harvesting,compiling, visually illustrating, the mass of human feelings being splattered on blogs around the web.

Fascinating.

Awesome.