Liam Rieber
The LiftValue estimator’s result panel showing an estimated market value of $5,786 for a used forklift, with low, typical and clean prices
Close portrait of an older man with silver hair in a tan coat against brick
The plan, written down firstEarly blockUnread until the second testDiscoveryRules picked from a fixed grid of 18ValidationTest 1HoldoutOpened oncePaper since Sep 3200020072017202301.5−1.5Sharpe ratio, with its 90% rangeTest 12017 to 2022Missed one of six pass marks0.75Test 22000 to 2006 + 2017 to 2022Passed six of six0.71Holdout, $50,0002023 to 2026Opened once, reported as is−0.73

Liam Rieber

Photographs, reporting and data tools. NYU, New York.

I grew up outside Chicago and now study economics and journalism at NYU. I photograph news, people and cars. When I want a number nobody has checked, I collect the data and check it myself. This year I am applying for finance internships.

Photographs here carry the settings they were taken at. Numbers carry their source.

See the workIndex of all 14 projects

Taken MAR 6 2026 13:34Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 1000Focal length 200MMLens RF 70-200MM F2.8Camera CANON EOS R5 MARK II

Selected work

  1. Taken MAR 6 2026 13:34Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 1000Focal length 200MMLens RF 70-200MM F2.8Camera CANON EOS R5 MARK II

    01 / 04Photo essay and reporting2026

    Rev. Jesse Jackson

    Chicago’s farewell to a civil rights leader, photographed for the Columbia Chronicle. Three former presidents joined thousands at the funeral.

    How it was shot

    The funeral frames run from 8:19 in the morning to 3:49 in the afternoon. Fourteen of the sixteen were made at 200mm, 1/125 of a second, f/2.8.

    Published in the Columbia Chronicle

    Open the essay, Rev. Jesse Jackson
  2. The LiftValue estimator’s result panel showing an estimated market value of $5,786 for a used forklift, with low, typical and clean prices

    9,965 sale prices26.4% median error, holdout20.2% with year and hours

    02 / 04Pricing model2026

    LiftValue

    What is a used forklift actually worth? A price estimator built on 9,965 public sale prices.

    The decision that mattered

    A set of sales was locked away before any tuning and opened once at the end, so the error rate is the one a stranger would get.

    Private. Shown here, not usable

    Open the case study, LiftValue
  3. Close portrait of an older man with silver hair in a tan coat against brick

    Taken NOV 22 2025 14:48Shutter 1/100Aperture F3.2ISO ISO 500Focal length 70MM

    03 / 04Portrait project2025

    30 Over 30

    Strangers on Michigan Avenue, each asked for one portrait.

    How it was shot

    Twenty-eight of the thirty-three at 70mm, between November 15 and December 5, 2025.

    33 portraits

    See all the portraits, 30 Over 30
  4. The plan, written down firstEarly blockUnread until the second testDiscoveryRules picked from a fixed grid of 18ValidationTest 1HoldoutOpened oncePaper since Sep 3200020072017202301.5−1.5Sharpe ratio, with its 90% rangeTest 12017 to 2022Missed one of six pass marks0.75Test 22000 to 2006 + 2017 to 2022Passed six of six0.71Holdout, $50,0002023 to 2026Opened once, reported as is−0.73

    0.71 net Sharpe, 11 yrs out of sample6 of 6 pass marks, second testSep 3, 2026 paper trading since

    04 / 04Systematic research2026

    Momentum, pre-registered

    A trend-following rule I wrote down before I tested it. The first version failed, and the write-up says so.

    The decision that mattered

    Pre-registration. Every test was declared in advance, each block of data was opened once, and every result was reported whatever it said.

    Paper trading since Sep 3, 2026

    Open the case study, Momentum, pre-registered

Photography

Chicago, in frames

Most of my photographs come from one school year at Columbia College Chicago, September 2025 to March 2026. The cars came first.

  1. A dragon dance winds down a city street 06Photo essay2025 to 2026 Chicago One school year in the city, in the order it happened. 26 frames Taken MAR 1 2026 12:49Shutter 1/1000Aperture F5.6ISO ISO 400Focal length 95MM
  2. A demonstrator in a respirator holds flowers, a megaphone and a bike helmet 07Photo essay2025 Protest One afternoon outside a fenced lot in Illinois. 8 frames Taken OCT 25 2025 14:01Shutter 1/400Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 100Focal length 24MM
  3. A mechanic works on an engine pulled from the car 08Photo essay2025 Garage Shop floors, lifts and the people under the cars. 16 frames Taken SEP 26 2025 07:28Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 800Focal length 24MM
  4. A Gulf-liveried Porsche 917 with its lights on, on a city street 09Photo essaySince 2023 Cars Where it started. Car meets, garages and back roads. 21 frames
Liam Rieber, backlit at sunset

Taken MAR 3 2025 17:12Shutter 1/1000Aperture F2.8Focal length 70MM

About

Geneva, Chicago, New York

  1. Geneva, ILHomeCar photography and detailing, from 2023
  2. Chicago2025 to 2026Columbia College Chicago and the Chronicle
  3. New YorkFall 2026NYU, economics and journalism

I grew up in Geneva, Illinois, about forty miles west of Chicago. In 2023 I started two small businesses, ChiTown Motorsport for car photography and a detailing service whose clients I found by walking up to owners at Cars and Coffee.

Since 2024 I have worked on inventory data for Somerset Equipment Sales, a company in Batavia that buys, sells and rents used forklifts.

I spent the 2025 to 2026 school year studying journalism at Columbia College Chicago. That spring I reported for the Columbia Chronicle, eleven stories in one semester, including an interview with the Mayor of Chicago and the funeral of Rev. Jesse Jackson.

This fall I moved to New York for NYU, where I double major in economics and journalism. I am on the Special Situations Team at NYU SSIG, a program in restructuring and distressed debt, and I am teaching myself finance with a course I built for it.

What I do, and where

Photography

  • ChiTown MotorsportOwner, since August 2023
  • The Columbia ChronicleNews photographs, spring 2026

Reporting

  • The Columbia ChronicleReporter, January to May 2026
  • NYUEconomics and journalism, class of 2029

Data and research

  • Somerset Equipment SalesInventory data, since June 2024
  • NYU SSIGSpecial Situations Team, fall 2026

Building

  • 5th DraftFounder of a web studio, 2026
  • Tools for my own workBuilt with AI coding tools

Away from the desk

I go to Cars and Coffee, where I found my first detailing clients, and to charity car shows. I also like specialty coffee and bass fishing, and I have a real interest in used forklifts.

Recognition

  • First Place, Midwest Media Excellence Awards
  • Silver Medal, STN Broadcast Excellence Award
  • Crystal Pillar nominee, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

Index

Everything in one list

14 projects from 2023 to now. Photography, reporting, research, tools and one small business.

Showing all 14

  1. 01 Rev. Jesse Jackson Photo essay and reporting 2026 Published in the Columbia Chronicle
  2. 02 LiftValue Pricing model 2026 Private. Shown here, not usable
  3. 03 30 Over 30 Portrait project 2025 33 portraits
  4. 04 Momentum, pre-registered Systematic research 2026 Paper trading since Sep 3, 2026
  5. 05 Talk the Technicals Learning tool 2026 Private. In daily use
  6. 06 Chicago Photo essay 2025 to 2026 26 frames
  7. 07 Protest Photo essay 2025 8 frames
  8. 08 Garage Photo essay 2025 16 frames
  9. 09 Cars Photo essay Since 2023 21 frames
  10. 10 The Columbia Chronicle Reporting 2026 11 stories
  11. 11 Hyster-Yale, long Equity research 2026 PDF, 10 pages (opens PDF)
  12. 12 Measuring survivorship bias Data essay 2026 PDF (opens PDF)
  13. 13 Sayso Mac dictation app 2026 Personal use
  14. 14 5th Draft Web studio 2026 Live site (opens external site)

Contact

Send me a note.

I am looking for finance internships for summer 2027 and 2028, and I take photo assignments in New York. I am also happy to talk about used forklifts.