vikings over bears
The Minnesota Vikings were so much better than the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon that they even were making catches while standing on their heads. ©2009 Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune

a day of thanks
I spent about 3 hours at Patricia Jefferson’s home as she and her family prepared Thanksgiving dinner. Here are some of my favs.

the skyway
I am in Minneapolis this weekend for another Bears’ loss. I am staying downtown. If you have ever been to Minneapolis during the cold weather months (September to May) you probably have experienced this city’s skyway. The skyway links most of the downtown buildings and allows your average Minnesotan to amble about without going outside. It is very handy but it also is very creepy especially at night and on the weekends. Some parts are very vibrant and bustling but others are incredibly desolate and depressing. This is my take from a stroll this afternoon. ©2009 Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune

blecch friday
Somehow throughout my 20 plus year newspaper career, I have avoided having to photograph the annual Black Friday shopping frenzy. Last night that streak ended as I was assigned to shoot shoppers camping out outside a Best Buy and bargain hunters storming a Toys R Us that opened at midnight. I wasn’t especially excited about the assignment but it ended up being pretty good especially the Toys R Us part. ©2009 Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune

window to the soul
I didn’t start work until 6pm on Thanksgiving so I decided to spend a good chunk of the afternoon visiting my recent photo subject Patricia Jefferson. I had two reasons for the visit. First, I wanted to make sure Patricia saw her photo on the front of the Chicago Tribune last week. Second, I wanted to shoot some more. I didn’t feel that my story up to this point was a complete thought so today was probably my first of several follow-up visits. As I arrived today, Patricia and her husband Bill were waiting outside for a taxi to come take them to an ATM. After they left, I waited in my car for them to return and I made this image th