On a dark rainy night; as people are ducking into cabs, walking at top speed, frantically trying to get to their destination, or to find one, before the rain turns into deluge, I step into a lighted space of stark white walls covered in photographs of my Chicago. Not just photographs, but images of the unusual, the extraordinary. And every photograph tells a story. I am talking to Photographer, Chuck Osgood.

The opening reception for the “Sidewalks: Photographs by Charles Osgood & Stories by Rick Kogan,” exhibit is being set up; workmen are moving ladders, still hanging photographs, and hammering. Osgood takes the pre-opening chaos in stride. We move toward the front windows of the gallery to talk.

For more than 11 years, Chuck Osgood, (former Chicago Tribune Photographer) and Rick Kogan (Chicago Tribune Senior Writer) have been telling the stories of the people who make up Chicago; Osgood through his images, and Kogan, with his words. The exhibit, “Sidewalks” features more than 60 of the most memorable images and stories from Osgood and Kogan’s “Sidewalks” Chicago Tribune column, and from their books, “Sidewalks II: Reflections on Chicago”, and “Sidewalks: Portraits of Chicago”. But these are not any ordinary coffee table books because theirs was not an ordinary column.Chicago Tribune readers will remember the weekly column. Osgood and Kogan, on what seemed to be a perpetual road trip, would tell about their adventures. They would introduce us to people and places. It was always a surprise and a delight to discover what we may not have even noticed had we passed by. Osgood and Kogan captured the spirit of Chicago and of its people.

How do you find your stories? “What’s made this work, I think, is that Rick and I have similar ideas of what we like to do, what we think is a good story. We’ll be driving around, and we’ll spot something, and we’ll just look at each other and say, ‘That’s it’. It’s hard to say exactly what it is, because it’s always different. But there’s something kooky, there’s something really unusual, there’s something flamboyant, there’s something extraordinarily gorgeous. Most of the time, we are in agreement on the stories, so it works. This has been such a positive experience all the way along. I’ve loved doing it. It’s like the ideal assignment, to be able to go out and discover things on our own, find our own stories. It doesn’t get better than that. As long as there are people, there are stories.”

But you see what the rest of us don’t. We seem to be so distracted by technology now. “When there are people walking around, off in the wild blue yonder with some music, and not paying any attention to what’s around them, that’s different. I do that in the car, but I’m still very visually aware. I see a lot of people, where, like this woman right here, (Osgood gestures through the window at a woman hurrying by on the street outside) talking on the phone. She has no clue about what’s around her or where she’s going except that she’s very careful not to walk in puddles. But, you can only focus your attention on one and half or two things at a time, and maybe only one thing really really well.”

What do you want people to see in this exhibit? “I hope they see things that they haven’t seen in the city before. I hope the same thing happens to them as happened to me, which was treasure hunting; seeing some of Chicago’s treasures that you just weren’t aware of, you know. Anybody can do this. I could go to someone else’s show that did something similar and come away with that feeling of discovering something; not for the first time, but the first time for me. I think the right picture will inspire people, will confront people on one level or another so that’s always going to be true. Whatever the technology is, images will always be there, just like words. 

As far as the actual stories go, for me, life is discovery. This is learning. Life is being curious, as Studs Terkel used to say, and that’s what kept him going so long. It’s just a curiosity about life, about people- what makes them tick. And whenever someone’s doing something really different and wonderful, I want to know about it, and I want to meet them, I want to photograph them. It’s a matter of investing time, People think you just snap a picture, but it’s different. When you’re working, you work the assignment, you work the picture; you keep trying something new, and you keep trying to improve on the best image you’ve shot, because only one image is going to get in the paper." 

A favorite story? “One specifically? One I like a lot is the one of Bobby Davis, at Maxwell Street because Maxwell Street has always been a wonderful place to go, and I’m so sorry that it’s gone. We were there after Maxwell Street closed, but when people were still fighting to preserve parts of it. We went down there one day and there’s this guy, Bobby Davis, playing the guitar, and he was so delightful. It was like having your own blues concert, your own personal blues concert. He just played away, and he was singing, and howling and it was great. And I, the fun thing is that I’ve been trying to get a hold of him for years, and I finally tracked him down; talked to him about an hour ago, and he’s going to try and come tonight.”

Will you ever stop being curious? Osgood smiles. “I don’t think so. I’m always packing heat, you know. I always have my G10 (camera) on my hip and I continue to take pictures, just for the fun of it. But even when it’s for the fun of it, I’m always trying to compose something that’s interesting. Just an hour or so ago, coming up the outer drive; the light on the buildings was extraordinary. Those buildings on the outer drive are kind of silvery, and there’s this dark sky in the background, and the sun was out behind me, and I was like, ‘Wow’.” Every image in this exhibit reflects that wonder, the curiosity and interest in what would otherwise be ordinary and overlooked. Through Osgood’s eyes, we see the beauty and the extra- ordinariness. In Kogan’s words, we hear the story behind what we see.

If you are interested in photography, or art, or stories, or Chicago- or if you want to see stories you may not have noticed, go to this exhibit. Be sure to stop by and be reminded, once again, of how very special and unique this city of ours is because of the people in it- including Chuck Osgood and Rick Kogan.

The exhibit: “Sidewalks”, will be at the Chicago Tourism Center Gallery,72 East Randolph Street, from November 19th through February 28th.

On January 15th and February 19th at 12:15 PM, Rick Kogan will be at the gallery for lunchtime discussions inspired by “Sidewalks”, including conversations with some of the people featured in the columns. Admission is free.