A Photograph of Chicago or a Scene from a Sci-Fi Movie?

by Skip Cohen 

The fun of this industry, especially these days, is keeping in touch with people. Whether on the phone, email, virtual meetings, or in social media, it's wonderful catching up with friends. 

Meet Michael Novo from Chicago. Michael and I met at Skip's Summer School many years ago. We've kept in touch, and he recently told me about the image above. Seeing a coyote running down Michigan Avenue with no cars, no people just hit me like a scene from a sci-fi movie. Throw an ape on horseback, and we'd have the making of another Planet of the Apes movie.

Michael's description of the scene pretty much says it all:

For those who know Chicago, I was on the north side, off of Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Ave, which seemed like a great place to start for my personal shoot.  With so few cars coming by, I thought I'd wait around for a window of the street being totally empty.  When the moment arrived, the silence and solitude was broken by a less familiar sound of something behind me. 

What I initially thought to be a dog, turned out to be a coyote running by as I swiveled my head.  Not exactly a sight I was prepared for and missed the opportunity of a head-on shot. So instead, did the best I could to focus and recompose after he passed by.  It's certainly not technically the 'best' image I've ever created, but once I saw it as a large print, it made a lasting impression of being in the right place at the right time.

Check out more of Michael's work with a click on the image above to visit his website. Plus, Michael's involved in a lot of different projects, and you'll find more of his images on his Instagram page as well.