Official A2K Gathering in Chicago, May 7th, 2006!

Thomas, my plum, will you be at the architecture tour on Friday morning?

Not to call you my plum, on purpose, eh, it just slipped out.

Still, shape up and show up, or call us, or email.

Jo/osso and walter, and CI...

Thanks, Joe, that shortcircuits any mistaken foray to the Mgrille in early morning. I suspect we will find a venture along the way to the architecture place...

Only yesterday my dealer (with me) phoned the importor: my new camera (Nikon D200) might arrive by end of next week (and I got assured that I will get one, even since I didn't order it in January).

Just now my dealer phoned me to tell: IT ARRIVED today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great!

Oh, good for you, Walter!

I assume you'll be bringing it to Chicago, then. I thought I'd bring mine, too, unless you'd rather be the Official A2K Photographer. :wink:

Wonderful, Walter...

I just double checked the architecture tour time - tour starts at the ArchiCenter office which is at the Santa Fe building, at the northwest corner of Jackson and Michigan Avenue - at 9:30. I made my reservations for Friday morning by telephone for the Highlight Bus Tour (there are five or more tours that day). When I called, the fellow said to be there by 9:15 to check in - I'm thinking, a little bit earlier would be smart.

The ArchiCenter is across Michigan Avenue from the Art Institute. Directions here - http://www.architecture.org/directions.html

You can pay for tickets on line - just click on tours if you are using the Directions link and follow the pages. The Highlight Bus Tour is on page three of the ticket master pages. Or click on Highlight Bus Tour in blue in the first paragraph.

I've no at intend at all to be something like an official photographer!

(I just wanted to have a good, semi-professional digital camera, still use my analog camera [e.g. tomorrow at the 1rst communion of one of our children and for black&white prints].)

Besides, it will take some time (for instance in the plane :wink: ) to study all the various functions (although most are similar/identical to those with my F80).

Don't forget, osso, to PM me about the where's and when's re meeting on Friday morning!

I'm bringing my digital camera too. Ahem, I haven't used it yet. I'll be reading the directions in the plane...
and I'm bringing my nikon 70 - which I'm planning to use for black and white. Unless I give up on the digicam and use my old nikon for color.
We'll see, that book of directions is pretty thick.


Walter, I want to look up possible breakfast places along Michigan Avenue between Harrison and Jackson... and to find that bakery the guy at the ArchiCenter mentioned as being next door. If CI and Thomas and any other a2kers are also taking the tour, maybe they'd want to meet us there first.

Oh, good....we can all compare cameras. I'll be rereading the instructions for mine on the plane, too. There's a way to shoot in black & white as well as sepia, but I haven't tried it yet. I want to try some architecture shots those ways.

There's also macro...and my garden is calling me. Shouting, actually.

Eva, I love to use the macro on my camera to take pictures of flowers; one of my favorite subjects.

To do macros, I'll have to change the lenses (sometmes, depending which one is on), on both cameras.

Okay, osso, we might do so - at least a bakery and having breakfast together sounds much better than doing so alone in the hotel.

CI, did you sign up for the arch bus tour? (I forget, think you did).

How do we "sign up?"

go look my post on page 165, CI --- click on Highlights Bus Tour, sign up for the Friday at 9:30 a.m. one on May 5th.


I just called them by the way, talked to a lady at x 241 to find out about coffee shops/bakeries. She said the corner bakery is sort of fast food like, not known for its coffee, or indeed its pastry. There is a Starbucks on Wabash and Jackson, just a block west of the ArchiCenter. I'm not a great starbucks fan, but I don't want dishwater coffee either....


She said there weren't any coffee shop type places around there. I think I'll nose around online for breakfast in Chicago (that's a longish tour we'll be on).

OK, that's better, I found an Au Bon Pain french bakery about 1-1/2 blocks north of the ArchiCenter on South Michigan Avenue - that's much more what I had in mind.
We can either meet there, Walter, or walk there together from my hotel lobby, which makes more sense as it is on the way from your hotel..


http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/search/29177,0,1736339.venue

We'll walk there together from your hotel - that'll be fine.

OK! - I'm thinking I should be down in the lobby around 7:45 so we don't have to rush..