fourpointedstar

Doesn’t everyone lay down in the lawn of a random business’s lawn because their flag is waving in the correct direction for the image that you’d like to create? This is 5 exposures merged so that each images partly shows through, and I quite like it; if you look closely, you can see where the stars bleed through in some spots too.

Since we’re celebrating the July 4th holiday this week, I chose our flag as my subject for this week’s photos. While normally my photos are taken in the past and then I choose 7 images for the week from an event or along a theme, I’ve decided that this week’s photos should be taken daily and be relatively unique compositions.

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A few years back, I attended a camera club meeting about street photography. One of the attendees asked about the privacy of those that you photograph, and the speaker responded “as long as they are in public, there should be no expectation of privacy.” A drone blurs this line even further; while a photo taken 300 feet away will to show fantastic resolution, you can easily see my neighbors back yards in this photo. Anyway, as much as I enjoyed trying to create an interesting composition with my own neighborhood, I won’t fly the drone over residential property any longer.

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Now this is exactly why I wanted a drone. I hovered over this particular creek as it enters the Fox River for at least 5 minutes, flying the drone to different compositions and then taking a photo. I love the colors, textures, and the winding creek at it flows through the center of the image.

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It can often be difficult to convey a sense of scale, and while I love the pattern of this image, you can’t really tell the scale … until you notice the canoe in the lower right. And once you see the canoe, you can feel the power of a river that carried those logs downstream.

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You can easily create a strong image by composing in a way that highlights a strong central focus, and when I thought of this image, my intent was to capture the unique roof of the Elgin Transportation Center. However, once overhead, the tilt of Chicago and Highland became the obvious centers of the image; I simply love how the railroad tracks, row buildings, and the transportation center give the basis for the roads to “lean” against.

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I’m new to this – drone photography; but I already love it, I can make shapes and abstracts out of our surroundings. Since I have a small drone, there are limitations to height, so my original vision of a photo of all of Walton Island taken from directly overhead didn’t work out, but that’s part of photography; adapting to your limitations to capture a new scene.

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I may have noticed some of the smaller elements on previous visits, but I had not previously noticed how prevalent the aquatic decorations are throughout the Shedd Aquarium. Even these ceiling tiles have at least 3 different designs.

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First of all, this hotel’s footprint is very odd, very random; almost as if the architect was moonlighting as a cubism artist.
But then the midday sunlight reflecting and refracting across the brick facade?

Absolutely delightful!

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My favorite images tend to be the images that I consider well balanced; to me, no element feels too weighty. This image genuinely confuses me though; I spent probably too much time cropping, re-cropping, and then un-cropping the frame to get it to feel “right”. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy the image; but I was very indecisive about it; and just now, I re-wrote, deleted, and then edited this text a dozen times.

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Of course there is a joke about the Golden Arches on the River Point building, but honestly, this construction was a wonderful addition to the Chicago River split.  In 2008 and 2009, I visited this exact spot, but there was no building, only traintracks.  Now, there’s a beautiful park, wonderful art, and the space has been utilized.

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I absolutely love the powerful yellow mixed with the soft blue, but try as hard I could, there was no way to align the axis or center of the dome with the yellow backlit wave.  I still love the contrast and bold colors in the image.

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I love a photo that doesn’t have a lot of visual clutter, and I love a photo that has a strong point of focus.  For this photo, I love that the subtle colors work so well together, and that the lines are so strong throughout.

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There is a welcoming blue glow inside the main vestibule of the Shedd Aquarium, and I love the contrasting yellow colors in that area. Many of the motifs in the area are also sea themed like the shells in this photo.

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Oh my goodness, this car’s plate made me laugh out loud at the show. And I think what made it funnier is the juxtaposition of the meme-worthy license plate and the 1930’s classic Ford Coupe. But, even without the plate, this car deserved to be captured as a monochrome.

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Speaking of cars at auto shows … it feels like the most common car at most community autoshows is the Ford Mustang. So in keeping with my theme of “the most common car show color is red”, here is a very red steering wheel and dash on a Ford Mustang.

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Well, I did mention that there are so many red cars at car shows, but there are also so many mid-50’s Chevy coupes. And while I love their style and beauty, it is definitely harder and harder to find that original and create photo.

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It’s the little details. This shimmering mirror’s tiny logo and the shimmering sun created wonderful shadows, accents, and reflections onto this white Chevy.

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My goodness, there are so many red cars at car shows, so this Purple Plymouth stood out from the crowd. In my ongoing effort to capture unique views at auto shows, I love this off balance scowling headlight, grill, and bumper.

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