fourpointedstar

What makes a waterfall a “waterfall”? Jelkes Creek doesn’t have enough elevation change to create a falls through its meandering path in Sleepy Hollow and Dundee Township to create much besides bogs and marshes. I would guess that this damn & spillway were created as a control point for Jelkes Creek as it flows under Hwy 31. What I find most interesting is that I’ve driven by Lake Beatrice for over 15 years and missed that this spillway existed the entire time.

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As I waited for the sun to rise, a few photographers arrived with the same idea – Chicago Henge under the Bean.  As we waited, we all came to the same realization, that this photo was not going to materialize.  There were quite a few tourists wandering around by 7am, so when I saw these three younger girls come by, I asked them if they would pose for us for a few photos; they happily obliged.

They were all 3 college students from France who were spending a month in New York for school and took a trip to Chicago for the weekend.

There are three or four days in the spring and fall when the sunrise aligns with the Bean in downtown Chicago.  Back in 2023, I drove downtown twice to capture “Chicago Henge” and ended up with this delightful photo.

This spring, Chicago Henge was on a weekend, so I got up at 4am to head downtown to capture the sunrise; sadly this glow was the most that Mother Nature cooperated.  When I arrived downtown, it was pretty obvious that the sky would remain overcast, so I created other images instead and ended up with 3 pairs of photos that I like.

All in All, a successful trip.

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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…

For the past 10 years, I’ve wanted to take this trip with Keith; Sarah and I have also talked about taking a vacation down to Southern Illinois to see the natural beauty. For many years, the trip would conflict with work or kids activities, so we we’d say “next year, we’ll go on Keith’s workshop”.

We started the trip off with this fantastic image, and by the time the two and a half days were complete, Sarah and I had hundreds of fantastic images, and we’d made great new friends too.

This image may be my favorite image that I captured on our Blue Line Photo Walk; I love the fact that you can wander around this image and see so many scenes, each one partially obscured by another scene. For me, the perfect detail is the two men chatting at the counter at the back of the repair shop.

Back in 2023, I wanted to photograph the 4th of July fireworks, but not from the normal location on Chicago Street. So I found this little hole in the trees along the river. I nearly dropped my camera and tripod into the water because the hill was steep, but I really like the uniqueness of the photos.

There are two easy rules to follow when you start photographing the world around you: always have your camera ready and always look for a great photo. As I was driving home from the girl’s high school, I spotted the sliver of the moon with the dusk colors; the water in the pond offered a wonderful blue hue as well, so I turned on my hazard lights and hopped out of my car to capture the scene.

I love these types of photos; photos where you can’t quite tell what elements are part of the foreground, background, or reflection.

I love photographic reflections because they lead the viewer to look more than once, hopefully to investigate what caused the distortion, the odd lines, or the extra shapes. This image makes me take second and third glances each time … and I took the photo!

I absolutely love that the St. Regis is reflecting the buildings across the river almost as if you were viewing a painting.

p.s. After posting this image a few places, two people chimed in: “what if you edited this to be a square and removed the trees?” and “that looks like you could give it a pop of color!”. Now we all know people who offer their opinions a bit too much, but differing opinions can add value to our lives, and in this image’s editing, I think ultimately the image benefits from their opinions.