Earlier this month, Ravenswood photographer Brian Ulrich received a special letter in his mailbox: No, not a rhyme-y poem from his mom (that's what we receive in our mailbox), but a note stating that he had won a Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography -- the same prize bestowed upon such shutter-snapping legends as Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus and -- it's worth noting -- a slew of Chicagoans. Ulrich, who is an adjunct professor at Columbia College and part-time prof at the Art Institute, will use the fellowship to continue his Copia project, which examines Americans' relationship to consumption and, when completed, will comprise a decade of work. Recently we chatted with Ulrich about photography, economics and big-box aesthetics. more ›