Change of plans. Zeus and Thor and Jesus Christmas decided to cook up some weather that led Air Canada to balk, and my flight home was a casualty. And all the flights until after Christmas were booked. With the disconcerting prospect of hanging out alone in Brooklyn for Christmas day looming, I accepted a generous, spontaneous invitation from Margot and her family to visit them in Chicago for a few crucial days.

My attitude about Christmas is this: I want to be with family. Preferably and most often my own family, but this is the second time I have been welcomed into another family’s home. The first time was 2001, when the Rohrbachs/Feigenwinters introduced me to Samichlaus and Schmuzli, and took me to Church “because that’s how you earn your presents”. This year, the Ottens have filled me with huge meals, bought me personalized presents on 36 hours’ notice, and taken me bowling on Christmas day (my nickname on the monitor was ‘Focker’). I am feeling very lucky to be here.

Last night was my first visit to downtown Chicago. It was foggy, and the tops of many of the enormous skyscrapers were well out of sight. This, together with the deserted Boxing Day streets, added to the feeling of enclosure, as if we were walking through enormous, deserted tunnels.

My camera tilted upward at the foggy ceiling all night. I don’t normally point this out, but aside from shooting them with an unorthodox white balance setting, I have edited these photos very little. It’s just that I was photographing some very impressive objects in eerie conditions.