The United States Chamber of Commerce hosted the "Hiring our Heroes" job fair at Tellabs in Naperville on Thursday morning.
I knew the only way to distinguish this Job fair from other fairs was to find a soldier or veteran in uniform. Luckily I found Shawn Kackert of Lockport dressed in his camo.

After following Shawn around for a little while I found myself attracted to the way the light came streaming into the lobby at the Tellabs building. The photos didn't say much about the job fair and were a little to artsy for the paper so I thought I would share them here.

As the economy continues to tumble (depending on who you talk to) there is a bigger focus on shopping local and supporting local businesses. It doesn't get much closer to home than your local farmers market where business like Second Chance Coffee Company account for almost 1/3 of their sales.
Based in Wheaton, the company sells their "I have a Bean" coffee at local vendors as well as farmers markets and even some Whole Foods stores.
Not just focused on good coffee, Second Chance also employs former offenders and partners with local churches and organizations to reduce the rate of recidivism in the area.
You can read more in Wednesday's Naperville Sun as well as Second Chance's website: www.ihaveabean.com

I made my way out to the Occupy Naperville march on Saturday traveling a little lighter than normal. Leaving the big Nikon's at home, I grabbed my old film camera, a few rolls of film and headed out to the march for a Saturday afternoon of fun.

In the photo lab here at the office we have two huge windows that look out over the parking lot, not a great view, but at least we get some daylight.
Last night, before heading out to Metea Valley for Regional semi-final soccer, dusk was settling in and the light outside balanced nicely with the light reflecting on the window from the rest of the Beacon-News/Naperville Sun/Courier-News offices. I was testing out some gear and liked how the reflections played with the depth in the photo...and, as I've stated before, I am a sucker for those colors.

The Regional was rain-soaked and cold, but the games themselves were really good. It didn't seem to be raining to hard until you would look up at the lights and this is what you saw...

The Devils Sweat Hot Wing Challenge at Crosstown Pub and Grill in Naperville:
-13 wings
-no time limit
-no wiping, drinking, or throwing up

"I've seen grown men cry because of this challenge," said Susy Nichols, wife of Crosstown's Chef and Co-Owner Jim Nichols.
"A lot of people have tried it but it is rare that someone actually finishes." She said.
It just takes one look at the Wall of Flame where only 4 photos hang on the wall of people covered in sauce who defeated the challenge and, "earned their wings."
On Monday night, the Travel Channel was out at Crosstown to film a segment for their show, "Food Paradise," centered on the challenge.
Four contestants from the area bellied up to the table to see how much heat they could handle.
"It was a terrible experience," said Naperville resident Howie Mason who had done it once before.

Check out the full story in Wednesday's Naperville Sun to see more photos and who won, but for now enjoy a few photos that just weren't hot enough.

Photographers often find themselves at at events surrounded by hundreds, sometimes thousands of people that have come to watch. More often than not though we are there to photograph whatever is happening in front of us, but what I find just as interesting is what's going on behind us. A passionate fan can offer up the same, if not better, photographic opportunities than whatever the event can.
So here they are, a few of my favorite images of fans, spectators and the general public that make each event possible by offering up their time and hard earned money. It's about time you got your moment in the spotlight.