Men Working

I was in Chicago looking for interesting photo opportunities when I found this scene. The yellow "men" are to keep people off the wet sidewalk but to me they look like they are supervising the worker in the background.

The Great Stone Face

In middle school I remember reading a short story entitled "The Great Stone Face" by Hawthorne. While I remember the title, I don't remember anything about the story. I do remember thinking that my craggy-faced teacher, who was an old lady who rarely smiled, could aptly be called "stone face." How old was she? Maybe 40, which seems ancient when you are 13.Anyway, this is a carved limestone cornice on some building in Chicago. I wish I were more disciplined when it comes to my photos. I know that a "real" photographer would have recorded the precise location. I don't know when the structure this decorates was built, but it was clearly an era when there was time, talent and money to hand carve decorations for skyscrapers. It was probably during a time when Ayn Rand's capitalist utopia was going full bore. Who is John Gault?Canon 20D 1/100s f/7.1 ISO400 61mm

02-27-10 Distorted Reality

Though I have converted this photo to black and white, everything else about it is "real." Really! The twisted windows are reflections in one of the windows of the Art Institute of Chicago. In fact, I think it is this building, which was featured in another post on this blog.

07-15-09 Morning Sun on Stainless Steel

This morning I finally realized why paintings and sculptures get such lame titles sometimes - the artists spend all their creativity on the art and have nothing left when it comes time to name it. I doubt my photo is a work of art but I do know that the title is lame.

Anyway, I'm back in Chicago for my "Picture of the Day." This one is of part of an intriguing foot bridge in (or near) Centennial Park in downtown Chicago.

06-06-09 Vanishing Point

Yesterday's post asked a question about lines and so I thought I'd post another photo that is obviously linear. I rarely think of vanishing points when I take photos but this one clearly moves the eye to infinity. If you want to see an interest use of vanishing point, check out da Vinci's "The Last Supper." How does the artist use a vanishing point in this photo?

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

05-13-09 People Watching

I'm back inside the Art Institute of Chicago with this photo. I think I've admitted to a penchant for watching people look at art when I'm in art galleries. I was photographing this bronze sculpture (name? artist?) when I saw the gentleman in the background walk into the frame. I'm not the only voyeur in the room - the naked boy is watching, too.

Canon 1D 1/60s f/3.2 ISO800 35mm

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

04-27-09 Building Facade - Chicago

I guess it may be obvious that I like taking photos of Chicago. To be honest, I don't remember taking this one, but it is my photo. I guess I wasn't feeling "flow" when this one happened, though I did take it in 2003, which is a long time ago. :-(

I wish I knew the name of this building. But I don't. Anyone?

Canon 1D 1/640s f/14.0 ISO400 90mm Lens unknown.

04-13-09 Chicago Skyline

I wonder how many photographers using digital cameras wish they could re-photograph the same scenes once they get improved cameras? That's what I wished for as I was working on this photo the other day.

This shot was taken with my first high-end digital camera: a Canon 1D. It had a 4.4 megapixel sensor and wasn't all that great at high ISO. There is no question that I could have gotten a better photo with film that evening. But now, with my 21 megapixel Canon 5DII. . . Incidentally, the 1D was a revolutionary camera and set a very high standard for "affordable" professional digital cameras. "Affordable" meant around $5000 in 2003!

I did have the advantage of a great lens when I took this photo: the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS. Thus, I was able to get a pretty sharp photo hand held at 1/6 sec.

This picture was taken from the observation deck of the John Hancock Building and if you are planning on going, do so a half hour or so before the sun sets. It is a remarkable experience to watch the city light up. Kind of like Paris - but with skyscrapers.

Canon 1D 1/6s f/2.8 ISO1000 70mm (Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS)

03-29-09 A 20th Century Cathedral?

This is the Illinois State Office Building and I must say that while it's not quite as amazing as St. Peters, it is still somewhat overwhelming. The first time I was in the building, I was able to go to one of the upper floors and look down. Being mildly afraid of heights, I found it unsettling and wondered if any of the workers on upper floors had to deal with their own acrophobia. When I visited this time, I think that security concerns prohibited me from going past the ground floor.

Incidentally, my title is not intended to imply that working for government or in a government building is a religious experience. It isn't. Right?

Canon 20D 1/100s f/6.3 ISO800 10mm (Canon 10-22mm EFS)

03-27-09 Reflections of Chicago

I like the juxtaposition of lines and curves in this photo. I also like the warm, gold tones of the reflected buildings. What strikes me about this picture is how easily something as structured and perfect as a high rise building can be reduced to an abstraction by glass panels, which seem so flat and perfect themselves.

I am also struck by the myriad of interesting things that I see when I go to a city like Chicago. What I find interesting, though, the natives seem to ignore. But I'm guessing that if someone from Chicago visited my small town for the first time, they would see interesting things that I pass by every day.

That is one of the virtues of photography - it has the ability to open our eyes to all the interesting things that surround us.

Canon 5D f/9.0 1/250 Canon 24-105mm 4.0L (80mm) ISO 400

03-01-09 Art Institute of Chicago - "Paris Street; Rainy Day"

By Scott Shephard

As you can tell, this painting by Gustave Caillebotte dominates the gallery it is housed in. What I enjoy about candid art gallery shots is that there is a bit of irony of looking at a picture (as you are) of people looking at pictures. Photos like this seem convey quite and calm. I also enjoy seeing how people are grouped and wondering what they are seeing.