Tim Griest of Illinois Marine Towing goes over crew assignments with Josh Fox on the morning of their shift change on October 20, 2010 in Lemont, Ilinois. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/1000 sec. @ f/4, ISO 200.

Before I even got onto the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, I found myself outside the office of Illinois Marine Towing in Lemont, Ill., talking to some of the deck hands who were scheduled to start work that morning, and would remain at work for three weeks.  Crews on the tugboats that push barges up and down the waterways live on the boats for three weeks at a time, sometimes four if they’d like to earn a bit more money, before coming home for a few weeks.  There are a lot of moving parts in the discussion about Asian carp and the Great Lakes, and these people who make their living working on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal are a part of that debate, as is the cargo that they help to push up and down the waterways.

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Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, EOS 5D Mark II, Master's Project, photojournalism
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Antonio Lopez, a deck hand for Illinois Marine Towing, looks on as a barge loaded with components for gasoline passes by on October 20, 2010 on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Ill. Perez, who is in his sixth year in the industry, has already earned his steerage license and plans to make a career on the canal. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 51mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/3.5, ISO 100.

Last Wednesday I had an opportunity to spend most of a day on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with three men who make their living pushing cargo up and down the man-made waterway created 110 years ago.  Bill Russell at Illinois Marine Towing, a small barge company in Lemont, Illinois, granted me access to one of the fleet boats as it repositioned barges and other tug boats around the shipyard and up and down a stretch of the canal.  Capt. Dan Egan, Antonio Lopez, and Steve Gray were all very open to the idea, and basically allowed me great access to the work that they do, although there are some safety precautions that certainly limit how much of their job I could photograph from close range.  But I didn’t want to be the victim of a snapped line or fall into the water, either!  Be sure to see the rest of the images after the jump.  And there will be more to come!

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Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, EOS 1D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, photojournalism
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Dairy goat judging, North Carolina State Fair, Raleigh, N.C. | Panasonic Lumix G1 and 45-200mm f/4-5.6 OIS lens | Exposed 1/40 sec. @ f/5.2, ISO 800.

Tags: Lumix G1, photojournalism, pictorial
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Giant Horse Alive, North Carolina State Fair, Raleigh, N.C. | Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens @ 31mm | Exposed 1/400 sec. @ f/5.4, ISO 200.

On Sunday, Elizabeth and I went to the closing day of the North Carolina State Fair.  You see a lot of strange things at events like that, but this one just depressed me.  I don’t know what poor creature lives inside this tent, but I doubt its existence is a happy one.

Tags: Lumix G1, photojournalism, pictorial
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Mallory Green, a tour guide for Wendella Boats, tells passengers about the famous Chicago skyline on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010. Tour companies like Wendella Boats would be hampered if the Chicago Harbor Lock was closed in an effort to prevent Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 40mm | Exposed 1/2500 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.

I’m beginning to wrap the shooting for my master’s project.  One of my last days was spent playing tourist in a city I used to live in.  While barge companies would be adversely affected if the Thomas J. O’Brien lock on the Cal-Sag Channel was closed permentntly, closing the Chicago Harbor Lock would mean an end to boat traffic from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River, and hurt tour companies like Wendella Boats.

Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, Chicago, EOS 5D Mark II, Master's Project, photojournalism
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Chicago River from the Wrigley Building, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mark II and 24-105mm f/4L IS lens @ 24mm | Exposed 2 seconds @ f/8, ISO 400.

While making a long walk back to Union Station from Navy Pier, with a detour to Water Tower Place (some detour, I know…my legs are still burning a bit) I happened upon the Wrigley Building right after twilight.  The image about would have been better if I had taken my 24mm TS-E with me, but I had borrowed my dad’s 24-105 f/4L IS because it’s lighter and smaller than my 24-70. and I only wish that the couple in the image below hadn’t been standing right by those beverage containers.  You can’t have it all.

Making out by the river, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mark II and 24-105mm f/4L IS lens @ 105mm | Exposed 1/25 sec. @ f/4, ISO 3200.

Tags: architecture, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS, Chicago, EOS 5D Mark II, landscapes, photojournalism, pictorial
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Heather Calkins looks back at the Cal-Sag Channel as the Fish & Wildlife Service electro-shocking boat heads towards the Thomas P. O'Brien Lock and Dam in Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 52mm | Exposed 1/2000 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 200.

As I go through my take from Thursday, I find a new image I like each sweep.  It’s interesting to me how different my editing process is with storytelling photographs than with my more traditional nature and architectural fare, where I am far more ruthless in the initial sweeps of the takes.  I suppose it’s part of learning…

Brett Witte sets up the electro-shocking probes before setting them in the water ahead of the Fish & Wildlife Service boat in Lake Calumet, beyond the Thomas P. O'Brien Lock and Dam on the Cal-Sag Channel, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm | Exposed 1/500 sec. @ f/4, ISO 100.

A bottle of hand sanitizer and ear-protective goggles rest on the plexiglass shield ahead of the pilot's position on the Fish & Wildlife Service electro-shocking boat. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 85mm f/1.2L II lens | Exposed 1/800 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.

Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, Canon 85mm f/1.2L II, EOS 5D Mark II, Master's Project, photojournalism
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Heather Calkins, left, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service holds back the electro-shocking boat as Brett Witte, center, prepares to turn the wheel to let it roll towards their truck, while Andy Plauck, right, looks on at the Sleep Inn parking lot in Tinley Park, Ill. | Canon 1D Mark III and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 42mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.

From the early morning before I rode out on the Cal-Sag Channel with the crew pictured above.  Oh, if only that lamp post wasn’t growing out of Andy’s head…or if I could have a little more separation between Heather and Brett’s feet.  As always, comments and criticism welcome.

More to come…

Tags: Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, EOS 1D Mark III, Master's Project, photojournalism
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