Seeing My Own Hometown Again 📸
Bloomington & Normal, Illinois
It’s funny how you can live somewhere for 20 years and stop really seeing it.
I’ve driven downtown Bloomington and Normal more times than I can count. School drop-offs. Meetings. Coffee runs. Everyday life. But this week I grabbed my camera and just… wandered.
No big plan. Just me and my Nikon walking around my own hometown.
And honestly? It felt really good.
The murals downtown have so much personality. The big Route 66 “Welcome to Bloomington” one. The Lincoln “Lost Speech” mural. The bold colors, the brick, the history layered right into the walls. Even the fun ones — “Ice Cream Rocks. Coffee That Cranks.” They make you smile.
I used to bring high school seniors down here all the time for photos. We’d duck into alleys, use the colorful walls, lean into textured brick. Downtown was always such a good backdrop — gritty but creative. Walking those same streets again brought back so many memories of those sessions.
I found myself really appreciating the architecture too. Uptown Station in Normal — that curved brick and big clock. The McLean County museum building with the columns. Solid. Timeless. Buildings that feel like they’ve seen some things.
And that giant Bloomington mural? I need to go back for that one. I’d love to shoot it early on a weekend morning when the streets are quieter and the light is softer. Less cars. More calm. I can picture it already.
Sometimes we think we need a road trip to feel inspired.
But sometimes you just need to walk your own town with fresh eyes.
After a couple hours of shooting, I stopped at The Coffee Hound in Normal. Sat with a warm cup and just slowed down. There’s something grounding about supporting local places that have been part of your life for years without you even thinking about it.
Bloomington and Normal aren’t flashy. They’re not dramatic. But they have heart. History. Color. Character.
Twenty years here.
That’s a lot of life.
It felt good to pause and appreciate it instead of just passing through it.
I’ll be back — probably early one quiet morning — chasing better light and noticing more.
