Hot soft light

Six Flags Great America for the Chicago Tribune

Rob Hart — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:49:19 +0000

I was recently sent to Six Flags Great America to shoot a dress rehearsal/commercial for their new show ‘igNight’ that will be playing all summer long. It’s a pretty cool show with lasers, dancing, fireworks, and popular music. Felt good to just be out making frames and having fun.

CGI America for Clinton Global Initiative

Rob Hart — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 03:35:43 +0000

I was contacted to join the 5 photographer team covering the Clinton Global Initiative in Chicago. My job was to capture the feel of the situation, shoot some meetings, and make the kinds of pictures I felt need to be made. For the first time in a decade I was as excited to shoot photos as the person hiring me was to have me shoot their images. And that’s the best gift the freelance life can give you. Sometimes you never know where your next paycheck will come from but at least you know you’re getting hired by people who care about you and want you to succeed.

It was a wonderful experience so see so many great ideas being talked about and turn into action. To see real change being committed to.

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Clinton Global Initiative – Images by Rob Hart

Other Peoples Children OPC

Rob Hart — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:13:37 +0000

Holocaust Survivors

Rob Hart — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:53:35 +0000

I was photographing Holocaust survivors (at the time I didn’t know they were both survivors) Rochelle Eisenberg, left, and Irene Horn lighting a candle during the Yom HaShoah service at Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue. It’s 68th annual Holocaust Memorial Observance that marks the liberation of the Nazi death camps and is the largest gathering of Holocaust survivors in the Midwest. After after the service I was getting their names and some background when one of their relatives came up and told me the numbers the Nazi’s tattooed on them at Auschwitz were sequential. And he wanted me to photograph their arms. One rule I have is when someone asks me to take a picture I always do, no matter how annoying (TAKE MY PICTURE!!!) or how amazing, like this.

To some people asking two women in their 80′s to roll up their sleeve to photograph a tattoo given to them at a death camp might seem inappropriate, or insensitive. But this opportunity was not likely to ever happen again. So I politely asked them and said to Rochelle that I bet this happens all the time, and she indicated that they never had photographed them together. (The room was loud and she was talking quietly and a woman over my shoulder kept saying how disgusting I was for wanting to make that photograph.) Always be ready for life to present you with something grand.

Such Pigs

Rob Hart — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 04:20:55 +0000

When you get to a certain age weird stuff tends to stop happening, or at least stops being a daily occurrence.

So when a former photojournalism student sent me a text “I have a very strange favor to ask of you.” Then goes on to mention, portrait, guinea pig, bat-shit crazy, roommate, hilarious…. yea I’m in. Lauryn and Lacy were roommates while at Medill and recently decided to get guinea pigs. Now Lacy is graduated and moving to Milwaukee and they just wanted some photos, so why not ask the person that told them their photos were bad for 10 weeks. OK, Actually they both made some real nice frames and worked their butts off and I still gave them a hard time, exhibit A Lacy’s cialis ad, and exhibit B Lauryn’s photo at MSU of a drunk dude passed out where she got his name. That made me really happy. Go green!

Can I take time out of my day to make photos of really cool people who want to remember a great time in their lives? Always and hells yes. Thanks Muzafer and King Garfunkle for being such willing subjects. Lauryn, Lacy, Joe and Michael thanks for listening, our Monday nights was total joy for me. Go do great journalism and be nice to the photo staff wherever you land.

Water time

Rob Hart — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 02:28:58 +0000

Loyola Academy’s goalie Kyle Strobel was making some great saves as the Ramblers beat St. Ignatius 12-6. Water polo is usually a snooze to shoot but he was leaping all over the water stopping shots and made for great photos.

Ice time

Rob Hart — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:34:16 +0000

Does a relaxing Sunday for you include kneeling for hours on concrete steps sticking your camera through a hole in glass and shooting 3 hockey games? Yea neither does mine but you gotta love hockey at the United Center. The Blackhawk Cup is always fun and being in the right place at the right time at the UC is critical. The corner holes were eliminated years ago when Darryl Boyce lost his nose so unless you shoot through the thick glass or up high your vision of the rink is obstructed. Mondo Sanchez got a great photo of the win. Still an amazing day.

Family Time

Rob Hart — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:42:50 +0000

I came home from work today and found my baby and father napping in the chair. Sometimes you just gotta make a photo. They’ve been in town this week spending time with Parker and it’s been really great. I gotta start shooting more photos.

Christine and I spent some time at the Depot Diner. You might remember it from Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.

That Tree homage

Rob Hart — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:35:16 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot about a project called That Tree by photographer Mark Hirsch lately. It comes up in my facebook feed a lot and when I responded to a big structure fire in Oak Park I was somehow drawn to this tree that had a beautiful smoke backdrop. I respond to a fair amount of fires and this one was really bad. The freezing temps, the houses being so close together, and brick houses can be like huge kilns.

It started with a cell phone pic, then every time I’d send photos and come back to the scene I kept shooting that tree.

A case for staying late

Rob Hart — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:52:55 +0000

“Get there early, stay late.” – Every photo teacher EVER.

That saying was hammered into my head by every photo teacher I’ve ever had. I in turn say that almost daily to my students at Medill. Sometimes it’s easy to not follow your own advice.

After shooting all the key matches the Sun-Times reporter wanted, I ran into the father of OPRF’s Jake O’Mara, Kevin. Kevin was principal at Ridgewood High School when I started my career and was always super helpful, he even sent over a round of drinks when we ran into each other at an Oak Park restaurant. Needless to say great guy. He went on to be superintendent Argo High School a few years ago and we run into each other at sporting events. He mentioned his son was coming up and was wrestling an opponent who was nationally ranked. My deadline was inching close, I had spent hours prior freezing at a huge house fire. I smelled like smoke and honestly I was just beat. One more match, I could at least shoot Kevin’s kid. It turned out to be a turning point and OPRF went on to beat Montini. It was Montini’s first loss to an Illinois opponent since the Broncos lost 30-21 to Sandburg in the Class AA state final in 2007. So it was a big deal.

It seems every time I listen to that collective voice of every photo teacher ever, and just put in that extra 5 minutes of effort something good happens.