09.29-30.16 : MADELINE NORTHWAY : CHICAGO, IL

"I lay in my cozy bed until i have to pee so bad it forces me up (welcome to fall)"

Madeline Northway is one of those women who seeks out the cracks of light in every circumstance, in all its forms - from “ultrasoft morning light” to the mid afternoon drippings on the walls to soaking her face in a big ol' ray-shine . I met Madeline on the first day of my most recent job slinging oysters and champagne at a local Chicago spot. I had to shadow her that day and she was the most buoyant person - not letting any of the bullshit of serving get to her. This is a very very hard feat in our line of work - it almost seems like a cruel joke, as if people wait to unleash all of their dissatisfaction on the poor person bringing them their steak tartar and Prosecco. But Madeline just waltzed her way around and gave me a reason to say yes to this new job because being around other people who can deflect the negativity make ALL the difference in that environment.

Slowly, and to my delight, we’ve become good friends. We are fellow wanderlusts and tend to meet up with each other when the timing is just right. For example, last Monday I had a 6am flight to catch, so I decided to try the thing where you don’t go to sleep so you don’t miss your flight. Well, last Sunday night my neighborhood was an absolute ghost town - friends were occupied elsewhere, all bars were slow or closed, Sunday night karaoke at our usual spot wasn’t even happening (which is an absolute anomaly). Just letting you know - this is highly unusual where I live, the great thing about Chicago is that it is ALWAYS alive. So I wandered the streets at midnight searching for food and face timing my family while slurping ramen noodles, begging for something to keep me awake and Madeline texts me at 1am to meet her at a spot I haven’t been to in a while. So I walked over (looking like a scene from the movie "A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night"), got lost for a moment, then stumbled into what felt like a scene from "Cheers" where Madeline was sitting contentedly making friends with the other strangers at the bar. Magic.

Mad's wanderlust brings her to travel around the world with her photography (MadelineNorthway.com) snapping photos of mouth-watering food, Japanese bed and breakfasts and even New York Fashion Week. Take a peek below to get a view of this light-catcher's day-to-day in Chicago:

for more peeks into madeline's brain, check out her interview on the blog : "a philosophical fly on the wall"