fourpointedstar

Back in November 2023, Side Street Studio Arts hosted a photo walk; each participant was supposed to pick a “challenge” for the day, so I took every photo at 200mm. I’ve already posted several of my photos, so make sure to check those photos out too.

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It’s no secret that I LOVE photographing light trails. I will visit the same spot OVER (January 2022) and OVER (January 2022) and OVER (April 2022) and OVER (November 2023) to see if I can get a NEW (November 2020), FRESH (January 2023), or INTERESTING (November 2023) photo.

But consistently I wonder, how can I create an image that challenges me this time – that presents a new challenge. At its core, capturing a light trail is just understanding how the light is moving and the exposure that’s need to not under or over-expose your image. So, how can I create an interesting composition with each visit?

What do you do when the light trails are from trains, when the pattern will only repeat over and over? The backdrop, scenery, and angle can change as seen in the two contrasting images: January 2021 & November 2023

How about if the space is tight and you’re below the action? Maybe you can lean on the really strong angles (November 2023) or depend on the architectural elements and allow the light trails to be an accent instead of the star of the show (also November 2023)? As it turns out, “Laser Bridge Light” (above) is one of my favorite compositions not just from that recent trip downtown, but also of light trails along the river.

And lastly, there are the images that challenge us compositionally and technically; here the balance of a very wide flat scene combined with the oncoming lights from traffic is more than I can conquer right now. I like this image better than my last attempt (November 2020); and I’ll be honest, previously, I have would have just not attempted to capture the image; but there is a much better image in that scene – I just have to find it.

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Each time that I explore a new area of Chicago, new details come to life. I’ve noticed that many of the historic buildings around Chicago have these bay windows often similar in style to the “Chicago Window” on them; but as I walked between the Fisher and Monadnock Buildings and then looked down the street, I noticed that this small area had many different examples of these historic bay windows on tall, early skyscrapers.

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Equally interesting are the exterior fire escapes on many of the older buildings. I know that there fire escapes will lend themselves to great photos, but I’m still searching for those images.

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Parking garages offer unique views of Chicago, so anytime that I park in a garage, I walk down the staircase. On my way to visit a client, I saw spotted this puddle’s reflection and in my mind, I wandered off to what I could create with just a boring staircase.
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There are certain architectural elements that lend themselves to odd, abstract photographs, but in some instances, you must create the abstract image. As I walked around ECC some images just made sense – the concrete ceiling under the elevated walkway and the outdoor metal staircase. But the staircase’s metal railing and marbled look, I knew there was a photo; but as long as it was right side up, it just looked like stairs…

One of my photographer friends has taken images that are similar to this concept; what happens if you photograph while the crossing guards close? But at the Metra crossing at National Street, you have additional options – what if you merge traffic, train, casino boat, and crossing guard?

I’ve long wanted to capture an aircraft that is traversing the moon, but have not taken the time (or patience) to plan for that photo.  But the other night when I was walking into the house, I watched an aircraft nearly pass in front of the moon.  The resulting photo is not my best image of an airplane or of the moon, but I find the motion blur to add to the image.

As this biker rolled up, the chorus from Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” blasted from his bluetooth speaker; I’m not certain that you could be more cool that this dude.  I crossed the street in front of him, and I gave him a sleight nod of my head to let him know that I felt his aura, and as I lifted my camera up to capture the image, he gave me just the edge of a smile to let me know that he knows that he’s worth of being photographed.

I ended up taking more than a handful of photos of the derelict (and possibly being refurbished?) Congress Theater, but of all of the images, I love this one the most.  The old run down theater locked behind a pad lock and gate, held back from the public and waiting for someone to find the right key.

About 10 minutes earlier, another bus passed by and as it passed I noticed the reflection of the brickwork and the trees.  I understand why this happens, but it kinda hurts my brain to realize that the bus has a bit of motion blur, but the reflection does not – making it a fantastic canvas.

There may only be a couple of weeks each year when the sun lines up perfectly with the doors on this building to create this photo.  If the sun is any lower, then the trees just outside the doors will block the rays too.  Opportunities like this abound everyday, we just have to pay attention … and bring a camera. 

A few months back, a photography mentor challenged me to find the photos in everyday life. I tend to capture many beautiful images on photo walks, but them rarely take photos outside of those “events”, so I began photographing the normal scenes in normal life. While this was taken while I wandered around ECC looking for photos, I would’ve likely ignored it without the challenge of looking for normal scenes.

The Baháʼí House of Worship is one of the most beautiful buildings in the Chicagoland area. Since the exterior is almost entirely white, it’s a great candidate for a monochrome series of images.

When I began paying attention to cars, the Lotus Esprit was maybe my second automotive love after the 80’s Monte Carlo SS. While the 80’s Monte Carlo was a familiar sight, I only saw the Lotus in magazine photos – that is, until I began attending car shows.

I’ve always loved these kinds of architectural elements; the abstract corners jutting out from a building. ECC seems to have a few of these; staircases that are not in the core of the building, but on the outside hanging onto the building, and in this case the blue pillar makes this element even more impactful.

These were the stairs that first drew me in at ECC; they’re on the outside of Building J and perched precariously on the side of the brickwork.  The angles, the straights, the bricks, the shadows all combined to create great imagery.

It gets harder and harder to capture different or unique angles of cars at car shows.  I have hundreds of photos of antique car details and thousands of photos of cars; so at each show that I attend now, I am looking for something different, a new sight – like photographing a classic through a hood.

I first saw this car at the Elgin History Museum Classic Car Show; it wasn’t in a great spot to capture a photo of the entire car, but I captured a very minimalist photo of the hood ornament (“Sleek Lines”, July 26, 2025).  The owner was sitting directly behind the car at the South Elgin show and explained that the “hood ornament” is also the hood handle.  This was such a cool car to photograph. 🙂

This is the “classic car” – the 55 to 57 Chevy Belair, a true work of art.  Its very interesting to see the style and design change each year; a 1955 Belair shows what the new style will be, but the details are more reserved, and by the time the “57 Chevy” came out, “reserved” was not the word you would use for the car at all.

I tried this photo a week before with a tree in the background, and it just didn’t work.  I posted the photo simple because it was unique, but now that I have this image?  I like that other photo even less! LOL. I love the balance of color and detail and the overall saturation as well! 

Maybe it’s that my eye is drawn to the red cars, or perhaps it’s that red is a favorite color for collector cars, but I have so many photos of red cars at car shows!  This classic Corvette at the monthly downtown Bartlett Car Show was is near perfect condition and absolutely gorgeous.

Leaving at the end of a trip is always sad and happy; I’m typically glad to head back to my home and my routine, but sad to leave the destination and certain that I would love to spend a day or two more there!  The photo walk in Chinatown was hot and humid, but I was sad the day was over and that we were headed home.

Pardon me if I’ve photographed this structure before, but I’m obligated to capture an image each time that I visit Chinatown! I do need to remember to bring a wider lens next time that I visit though; I would love to capture the staircase as the border of the photo.

My friend and I took a nice slow walk around one of Elgin’s historic neighborhoods. Our meandering path matched our meandering conversation as we talked about life and pressed our shutter buttons. I remarked to him “I’m just not really feeling it”, but I continued to capture interesting images. As I tried to pick 7 images to post for this week, they all seemed to be missing something; but as pairs of photos?

The strong red-ish light of the sun played strongly across each scene, but was most evident on the brick buildings leading to the wonderful hues in these photos.

These cars harken back to a simpler time, and it’s always fascinating to see an older generation stare into an older car. I often wonder, does he remember his dad working on a Model A? Did he learn to drive on a similar car in the late 50’s or early 60’s? Or is he just admiring a 100 year old vehicle?

I’m not sure that I like this photo; one of my primary motivations for liking nearly any photo is that it feels balanced. And for some reason, this image does not feel balanced to me, but I’m not even sure that I could even define why I don’t feel that it’s balanced.