Day 62 (Saturday, August 12)

I walked around the house barefoot and enjoying the morning sunshine when the cell phone rang. It was no other than the coolest, most down-to-earth person I met in Chicago. Nataley was on the other line checking in to see what the game plan was for today. We had a play date as we had scheduled a day to go out to the park and play w/ our toys -- she, w/ her flute and guitar; me, with my cameras.

"2:30 p.m.?" she as ask she was ready to go.

I pushed play time back to 5 p.m. because I wanted to wait for "magic hour." The time when the day light turns pretty and makes pretty women like Nataley prettier.

I met Nataley, if you recall, on Day 35 of the journal. That's when I hung out at Xippo during Carlos' bday. I met a lot of great people that day, but she stood out. A down-to-earth person who has done missionary work in Bolivia. A person who is very deep within her music but carries a simple life. W/ two beautiful nieces. A sweet Italian girl who just loves life. A true inspiration to me.

I drove west toward Berwyn, Ill., where I would meet Nataley. I pulled up to her house and she was playing the guitar in the porch. She got up, but I told her not to move. The scenery was perfect. Good light peeking through the trees, creating a nice view.

One of the things that made this evening so cool was that Nataley is a total sport. She says she's afraid of the camera, but she's totally in love w/ it. She never flinches and her face does not contort whenever the lens is upon her. That's a great thing when shooting photos. There are some that can relax and show their personal beauty, and others that hide behind a scowl. I got Nataley to make some nice smiles by doing my usual "stick your tongue out" trick. It always makes people laugh and smile naturally. It's a good tool.

So we hopped on my truck and headed toward a forest preserve just outside of Berwyn. As we were getting ready to play w/ our toys the beautiful light came about. It was perfect timing.

I had a great time because I was enjoying "magic hour" while listening to some beautiful music coming off her flute. Wow!

We had such a good time just hanging out and making some audio/visual art.

I love the preserve. It was very intimate and away from car noise pollution.

I couldn't ask for a better shooting situation. I had great light, a model who was comfortable in her own "sandals" and a nice natural setting.

We squeezed as much as possible out of "magic hour" as we ran around looking for the right places to shoot photos while enjoying the little bit of sun light rays.

I really like the above photo. This was one of the last shots I made as we ran out of light. It's perfect. I can already seeing it being Nataley's CD cover.

We were starving so Nataley treated me to a cool meal. She took me to eat sushi. Yum!

The day wasn't over. We headed over to Jorge's house, where we hung out for a while before we followed him to Xippo Lounge, where he was DJing tonight.

We met our "Chicago Crew" there and we partied til the owner, an elderly woman, came down to tell is it was time to go home.

The above photo is of my Chicago Family. It's not a complete set as Milena, Nataley, Carlos, Adriana and Mirka are not in the photo. But the photo is of those who I am the closest w/. Clockwise starting w/ me is Javier, Antje, Anna, Diego and Jorge. These people are my family! I have a lot of respect for each and everyone of them.

I love y'all.

By the way, the photo was taken by Antje. Gracias por la foto amiga.

The night was over at Xippo, but just like the DJs in L.A. say... "You don't have to go home, but you have to get out of here."

I jumped in Milena's car along w/ Nataley, Anna and Antje as we headed for an early breakfast.

I felt like the coolest guy in Chicago as we walked into the 24-hour Mexican food restaurant. I was w/ beautiful w/omyn from across all over the place. Bulgaria (Milena), Italy (Nataley) and Germany (Anna and Antje).

We had so much fun at the restaurant. Nataley and Milena kept humming the sounds to a House song that Jorge played. It was a great way to end such a good day.

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