fourpointedstar

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 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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As the sun crests the hills, a photographer has a few minutes when the tips of trees and plants are radiating the sun’s fresh light, and the rest of the plant rests in the shadows … a solar spotlight of sorts.

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Someday I’ll learn my lesson, only go waterfall chasing after a nice healthy rain!  Rocky Glen in Peoria has a nice vertical hike over a hill and into the valley to reach the waterfall; in the second photo you can see the massive boulder that the water flows underneath after dropping down the cliff face – yes, the same boulder with the carvings & graffiti.

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Normally graffiti distracts from my nature photos; but in this case, the carvings were so pervasive on this rock that it became an artistic subject in itself. In order to capture “Winding Valley”, I had to stand on this rock, and interestingly there were no carvings on the other side of the boulder.

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One of the best parts of early spring is that there is enough greenery to add a nice pop of color, but there is not enough greenery to block a longer scenic photo. And I particularly love the fact that the stream reflects the light blue sky in this photo.

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Any time that I go on a photo walk, I start capturing photos before I find inspiration; generally, I’m visiting a specific event or location, so that means that I have a subject in mind.  On the photo walk to the Black Partridge Woods, I knew that I would be capturing early spring flowers, but there is always that first photo that kicks off the inspiration at a photo shoot (at least for me).  

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As I climbed up the hill, I found this fallen tree. I love that the branches appear to reach out into the forest. But as I stared at the downed tree, I realized that it may be a wonderful black & white image. I’ll let you decide.

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I’m always amazed at the people who can go on a nature hike and name most of the flowers, leaves, trees, or moss. My brain just doesn’t work that smoothly; do you want to know what generation of Mac laptop first had the G3 chip? I know that, but common names for flowers … well that’s never going to stick in my brain.

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The soft purple hue mixed with the greens in this image bring my mind to a peaceful familiar space.

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Don’t center the subject in your photo.
Well, what it I center it in the bottom third?
And what if there is a well lit leaf providing contrast and balance?
Sometimes, it’s ok to break the rules.

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There’s something magical about the beaded drops of fresh dew in the morning.  I was searching for a tiny scene where I could capture the dew on one of the early spring flowers, and this vignette seems so perfect.  

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Nearly every year, I take at least one trip down to Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to photograph the butterflies. The Nature Museum has a wonderful year-round habitat for the butterflies, and in the middle of winter with all of the dull colors of nature, it’s relaxing to photograph something with rich colors.

But a friend challenged me to photograph something unusual in black & white; so I chose the butterflies in my second trip to Peggy Notebaert. Can I create interesting images without depending on the vibrant colors of the plants and insects? I am very pleased with the results of my experiment.

The day of the most recent solar eclipse was very sunny in southern Indiana, and this little hoverfly was taking full advantage of the sun and the spring flowers.

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Whenever I attend car shows, I try to take some time to walk through the spectator’s parking lot. This Mustang was just sitting there, looking angry, waiting for someone to take a photo.
While I was taking the photo, another Mustang owner parked right next to this car and asked me if it was my car – sadly no.

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I alway enjoy finding new locations to photograph light trails, and I found this particular spot about 2 years before I finally got down to photograph it. Grand Avenue crosses I-90/94 with a perfect view of the Willis Tower, but there’s also a Metra track there too!
However, that Metra line is not used that often on the weekends, so I will have to go back to capture a better photo with the train light trails too. (Oh, and LED billboards are terrible…)

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Most folks from the Chicago area will recognize that darker building, but why is the light blue building taller? I didn’t notice this trick of angles and perspective when I photographed this scene, but now I love the photo even more.

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The concrete and glass exterior of the building on the south side of Wells becomes the perfect canvas for abstract architecture presented by the stepped exterior of the top of the building on the north side of Wells.

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This fantastic oddity was captured from street level, and I just love all of the distortion. I’ve photographed the curved fascade of the building on the corner of Wells & Hubbard a few times, but always from the 4th or 5th floor of the parking garage with light trails in mind.
(This photo was from a photo walk that I led back in April.)

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Just a little trickle of a falls that I captured on my way back from the eclipse earlier this year. This waterfall would probably not make it onto anyone’s map or highlights, but at 3 to 4 feet tall, it is just a fun little falls to enjoy.

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I’m drawn to reflections; the warbling that a window provides adds so much more interest to the scene. In this photo, you are actually looking at 3 different buildings, can you see each one?

Not all buildings are architecturally interesting. But every building has aspects that can lead to an interesting photo – like this stairwell in a parking gararge! And yes, I know that these doors are not in the correct stoplight order.

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Maybe it’s just me, but seeing the Sears/Willis Tower poking out from a scene was THE Chicago moment growing up. For a few years, my family lived on the south side, and it was a contest among the siblings to see who could see the skyline, specifically the Sears Tower, first when we would drive into the city.

On a recent photo walk, I found this little “window” created by the L tracks, the incredible rusty exterior contrasting with the sky, the Willis Tower, and the Merchandise Mart. I had to hop in between traffic on 2 different occasions to get this exposure correct; the afternoon sky was quite the contrast compared with the shadowed steel. This photo is one of my Top 3 favorite recent Chicago photos.

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The simplicity of this photo is what allows the three distinct shades of blue to stand out.

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Sometimes photos just work better in monochrome, but this photo was nearly monochrome all by itself. This Corvette was pristine white and all of the dark accents were DARK – including the windows. Normally I’ll give a nod to the driver of a nice, well kept car like this one, but I don’t know if there was even a human driving it because the window tint was so dark.

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At nearly every car show or meet, it’s difficult to get a great photo of a “cool” car. However, capturing an iconic detail is often a matter of patience.

Everyone has seen a photograph of a Lamborghini which makes photographing a Lamborghini in a unique way an interesting challenge.  How can I photograph this famous supercar in a way that is familiar but also new and interesting?  The direct sunlight helped so much in this photo, bringing out the shine in the rim and the paint job, but I am also fond of the double point in the nose of the car.

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As I headed north from Cataract Falls to Turkey Run, I mostly meandered through the back roads. On one road there was a sign “Cagles Mill Dam” pointing to a side road. The road ended right before it crossed the top of the dam wall; honestly, it was a pretty impressive view. But I noticed that the downstream area appeared to be a rocky canyon, and as I drove down to the bottom of the damn, I was rewarded with this tiny waterfall – maybe a total of 4 or 5 feet tall.

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When I arrived at Cataract Falls in Indiana, I asked one of the park rangers if she knew of other waterfalls in the area. She pointed out that if you walk AWAY from Mill Creek (and Lower Cataract Falls), you’ll encounter Little Sister Falls. Little Sister Falls ended up being 2 distinct small cascades about 60 feet apart; the perfectly intimate waterfalls that I love being near.

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Upper Cataract Falls is listed as the largest waterfall in Indiana (by volume); it wasn’t easy to photograph due to the vegetation, but it would likely be even harder to photograph when the vegetation has filled in.

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Why yes, of course, I did visit several waterfalls while I was in southern Indiana for the eclipse. I am legally obligated to visit waterfalls anytime that I travel farther than 45 miles from home.

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I told my boss after the 2017 eclipse “slap me if I choose not to travel for the eclipse in 2024.” I chose Spenser, Indiana because it was a small town along the path of totality, and I wanted to avoid the crowds. I ended up shooting the eclipse from a grassy field outside of town along with maybe 50 other folks. The group shared Oreos and stories, and we generally enjoyed the warm, sunny weather.

As totality approached it was a very odd feeling; it was almost like dusk, but the colors in the sky were all wrong – an unnatural hue. Totality was more like a nice moonlit scene; the frogs in the pond didn’t understand what was going on and were discussing their confusion very loudly. But the humans were in awe of the scene; it’s an incredible experience.

Photographically, I had prepared myself to be content and happy no matter what – weather, camera malfunctions, etc. So, I am thrilled to have gotten this image during totality (and many other great images).

Anytime that I attend an event, there is always the question – “how many of my photos do OTHERS want to see from this event?” After all, I take way too many photos and seeing 38 images of the exact same car/plane/waterfall isn’t how most people want to spend their time.

So, as I was driving home after the Eclipse (confident that some of my photos were good), I wondered how I could share the Eclipse without 38 photos of a smaller and smaller wedges of yellow. How about a video? Just 2 minutes long.

Anyway, you should watch it. In fullscreen. On the biggest screen you can find. Obviously.

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