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“Double Doors” – boring E.C.C.
February 18th, 2026
mono ECC
Tagged: December
The first few weeks that my daughter had classes at Elgin Community College, I wandered all over the campus taking photos. ECC has some very interesting and varied architecture, but it’s easy to photograph beautiful designs.
What about the boring stuff? What about mirrors, bathrooms, or chairs? Could I make interesting photos of the regular items?
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I believe that Kristen has attended three of our Elgin photo walks; she has a great eye and great ideas. She originally lined this photo up and spent her time capturing the scene with the Water Tower centered – and during that time, a dozen vehicles passed by interrupting her photos. Then when I took my turn with the same location, I had to wait for several minutes to get my first car for the light trails that I wanted to capture. I finally did capture an ambulance on Michigan Avenue (in the back), and three vehicles on Tower Court in the foreground.
I wonder if the Allerton Hotel felt the eerie presence of the observation deck on that cold and foggy night. The top of the John Hancock Tower almost disappears into the fog and mist leaving the blue and white lights as the only reminder of the dark obelisk.
I enjoy the rotating art displays in the courtyard between the Tribune Tower and the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue. Seeing “hope” in such a central point of the city is a wonderful reminder of something that we have to work at, to hope for a better future.
And of course, I had to shoot some light trails on any walk through Chicago!
On a previous photo walk (which was also rainy), Arnaldo took a few photos of reflections in the water; and as I waited for the December photo walk to begin, I noticed this perfect reflection. I considered asking someone to step in the puddle, but decided that the Wrigley and InterContinental buildings were a great composition.
The day was rainy, but the soldiers still stood guard. With the rainy concrete and the interior lights providing a warm glow, the entrance to The Wrigley Building looked perfectly festive and the marble facade added to the grandeur.
When I attended the Lincoln Park Zoo Holiday Lights exhibit, I wanted to create something more than a record of someone else’s artwork. In the past, I have captured images that combined the lights with camera motion, and I wanted to take what I have learned in the past and apply it to this year’s visit. This abstracted tree gave me the opportunity to see the image as something more than “a tree wrapped in green lights”.
There’s something magical about the hustle and bustle of early December. The busyness but excitement for the celebrations to come; spending time with family, fewer work obligations, and parties. Watching the joy of the people skating in Millennium Park still brings a smile over a month later.
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For this abstracted image, I tried a new technique. In the past, I have used a 50mm lens and swung my camera around, or I have adjusted the zoom or focus while the shutter was open. But I had the idea to hold the lens still using the zoom ring, and then rotate the camera body. I tried this a few times with an all white lights Christmas display, and then a few days later I found this solitary Christmas Tree to photograph. This technique has the potential to be one of my favorite abstract processes.
