Photo Essay

I grew up in a town just outside Milwaukee. After high school, I moved to Minnesota where I studied at Winona State University for a few years. Eventually, I made my way back to Wisconsin and moved to Milwaukee's East Side, where I've lived for a few years. During that time, I've developed a deep, deep appreciation for this town.

There's a constant energy here... always moving, changing, developing, evolving. It's an exciting time to live in the city. So while I'm here, I thought I'd shoot some photographs that document what the city means to me.

This is an ongoing project that will eventually lead to a much larger final peice, but I thought I'd take the time to post a few of the photographs I've taken these past few weeks.


The city’s dynamic changes at night. The lights, the colors, the scene… it all works together to create a unique energy that can only be felt when the sun goes down. When the temperatures are bearable, I often find myself walking the city streets at night with my camera, always looking for the shot that defines the moment. This particular photo was taken on the newly constructed Brady Street bridge overlooking Lincoln Memorial Drive and the downtown skyline.



My friend Blake recently got a camera of his own. This is nice on two fronts – one, because I have a partner to shoot photographs with, and two, because I have someone to compare photos to in order to improve my own knowledge of the craft. I snapped this photo of him in late November outside Alterra at the Lake. He might look scary in the photo, but that’s what’s fun about taking pictures – you can make a scene look more surreal than it is in real life.



Milwaukee has an amazing array of bars to choose from when out on the town. One of my favorite hangouts is the Jazz Estate just off North Avenue in the heart of Milwaukee’s East Side. Every week they play host to incredible musicians. The atmosphere, the sounds, the people… it all makes for a fantastic evening every time I set foot inside.



Anyone that drives a car in the city knows that parking can be a major hassle. While I don’t see this is an amazing picture, I do see it as a funny, but somewhat accurate portrayal of what it’s like to park on Milwaukee’s East Side.



While I do drive a car around the city on occasion, I take the bus 99% of the time. Most of the year, bus stops are bearable. The majority of them are enclosed with glass on three sides, have a metal bench, and a roof that “protect” you from the elements. But given that one entire side of the stop is open to the outside air, the elements oftentimes find their way inside the shelter.



This photograph was taken from the breakwater that lines McKinley Marina to the northeast of the city. The breakwater extends thousands of feet out into Lake Michigan and provides spectacular views of the ever-changing Milwaukee skyline. The two notable newcomers to the skyline are Kilbourn Tower (second from the right) and University Club Tower (just to the left of Kilbourn Tower). University Club Tower will be 66 feet taller than Kilbourn Tower when completed.

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By its very nature the city is different from other places people live. There is a sense of liveliness at all times of the day and night. The energy is different, the people are different, the shops are different, the living arrangements are different, parking is different, nightlife is different, everything is different.

When I leave the city I almost feel lost. A sense of bewilderment comes over me as I attempt to understand how I ever lived without it. The sameness of homes outside the city borders, the quiet feel of the suburban streets, the overwhelming lack of action; it all seems so dry, so boring.

Milwaukee is home to me. The energy here is hard to describe with words, so I strive to describe it with images. I always attempt to capture the good and the bad – all while having a primary goal of capturing the feel – what it is truly like to live in the city. For this particular assignment, however, it’s the good that retains my focus.

I’ve lived in a number of different cities throughout my life but none compare to Milwaukee. I feel intertwined with this city and there’s no question that I’ll always have that bond. My camera will always help remind me of what that bond was at any given time. It reminds me of what the city means to me… or at least what it meant to me at the time I snapped the photo.