Blaine cupped his hands tightly around his cup of coffee, holding the steam under his nose to warm up. He adored Chicago, except for the winters. But honestly, it was a little price to pay to be in one of the most beautiful places in the country. He was truly blessed to be attending Columbia College, majoring in his biggest passion.

He was a photographer; film being his favorite type. Though he wasn't opposed to going digital, seeing as it was becoming harder and harder to find equipment, not to mention finding a way to develop his pictures after he'd graduated. He'd have to go digital if he wanted to survive in the profession.

Right now, he had an assignment to tackle. People in action. He'd already gotten a roll each of people entering and leaving the Red Line and the El, on their way to the tall, beautiful office buildings, and back home to the slightly unkempt apartments. Now, he decided to snap as many pictures as he could of people just passing by on the street, beginning with the coffee shop near his place.

He set the thin cardboard cup down on the sidewalk next to him while he adjusted the film speed and shutter settings on his ancient camera. After checking for how much time he had before class, he began snapping picture after picture of people walking by him. The shots seemed to just appear in front of him; a mother and daughter hurrying through the street to day care, a businessman in a freshly dry-cleaned suit sloshing carefully through the snow, people struggling to parallel park on the curb.

The camera clicked a few minutes later, letting Blaine know that the roll had finished and he needed to rewind it. A satisfied, excited smile settled on the boy's face as he twisted the lever on the top of his camera, feeling the resistance tug on the silver handle until it suddenly released. He shivered slightly, mostly from the cold, but he loved knowing that he had finished another set of pictures and created works of art that he could share with the world. It was a kind of accomplishment he would never be able to find anywhere else.

Blaine popped the back of his camera open to take the film canister out, stuffing it into its container and into his bag. It was such a great start to his day to have a roll finished before class even started, which reminded him that he needed to get to Michigan Ave. right now. He picked up his coffee and began jogging down the street, sloshing his feet through the dirty, gray snow while he headed to Columbia.