I am mystified. Is there some kind of force field around this land? How do they decide what gets snow, what gets ice, and what remains untouched? It’s the kind of sight you see from your plane window and linger on for it bit, before realizing that yes, this sight belongs in your photo collection.
January 20, 2019. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/2,000, ISO 50.
Today’s photo, taken six months before yesterday’s from almost the same spot above the lakefront, is zoomed out more to capture more of the lakefront on a clear Spring day. The Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum are in the lower right this time, with the Adler Planetarium in the lower left now; that’s Soldier Field just above the Field, and the McCormick convention complex is past that. A few more blocks beyond the McCormick, that’s my friend Alvin’s apartment.
June 3, 2018. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/1,400, ISO 50.
Gosh, hey, hasn’t it been a minute since the last aerial photo? Remember when I published two nearly identical photos, but taken six months apart, from almost exactly the same spot in three-dimensional space over Chicago’s North Side? This and tomorrow’s pictures aren’t that precise, but cover much of the same territory; thanks to Winter, those pesky clouds obscure Soldier Field and part of the lakefront and harbor. But the Shedd Aquarium in the center, and the Field Museum to its right, are nice and clear, along with the former Meigs Field, an airstrip used by hospitals until the then-mayor illegally converted it to a private concert venue and a little park land, in the upper left corner. I really like that stretch of the frozen lake front with the shadow of a nearby residential tower bringing an extra bit of texture.
January 20, 2019. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/1,350, ISO 50.
That pond isn’t perfectly placid, but the decision to get lower and closer to the its surface brought out all those Fall colors with a little extra texture and dimension.
October 9, 2011. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 70mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm), f/16, 1/200, ISO 800.
I have to admit that, while I like photographing birds and insects and flowers and whatever else passes through the local nature preserve, it gets redundant. A couple of months after moving to a new neighborhood here in Chicago, one in which I’d spent very little time over my 25 years here, I discovered that zebras roam Kedzie Ave., and I knew I’d found my new home.
July 1, 2022. Samsung S24+ cell phone, 5.9mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 28mm), f/2, 1/160, ISO 25.
I had a long and unhappy day at work that resulted in my leaving for home quite late. I realized that, even if I were leaving on time, I wasn’t in the mood to cook, and as late as it was, a little kindness at a nearby bar would do a lot to improve my mood. Spotting this composition and tweaking it over a number of photos helped me forget the day, the very rare burger and cold beer were also comforting, and I left feeling better than when I’d arrived, with a good mood lighting photo.
November 6, 2017. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/120, ISO 320.
A porch with shiplap walls, a landing with a broom, a door for the long-gone iceman to put the frozen block in the icebox, and an expanse of yellow brick lit by the glare of a single light deep into the night. Maximum Chicago.
August 15, 2017. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/10, ISO 250.
Leaning my camera into a buttonbush whose anthers are bulging with pollen, I loved the effect my close-up lens gave me as the focus gently receded, with the stamens not as organized as those that swirl around the center of a sunflower but long and ready for any pollinating passersby.
July 12, 2015. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 105mm Nikon macro lens (35mm equivalent: 155mm), f/5.6, 1/4,000, ISO 200.
Flying from one buttonbush to the next, a swallowtail butterfly dangles not only its legs but also its long proboscis in anticipation of the nectar on its destination.
July 7, 2018. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/5.6, 1/2,00, ISO 560.
Among the rubble on a mulched and groomed park path, a chipmunk manages to find an afternoon treat.
June 16, 2019. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/8, 1/45, ISO 400.
After a long winter, color finally started to make the world a livelier place in early May. In our cold, raw city, we are impatient but grateful for what we finally get, whenever it may push through the browns and the grays.
May 2, 2021. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 100mm (35mm equivalent: 150mm), f/11, 1/180, ISO 560.
On a breezy day, choppy water on a pond surface covered with lily pads lends texture to the golden hour behind a chaotic patch of reeds
September 26, 2014. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 170mm (35mm equivalent: 255mm), f/11, 1/500, ISO 1,250.
Well, OK, it isn’t a circle, but how do you describe the shape dragonflies make when they are, shall we say, doin’ it? I’m not really up on the whole procedure, because the sex life of anyone or anything but my own is not something I really read up on or talk about. So I don’t know how those little red eggs ended up on the green one’s belly, even if I’d hazard a guess on which one put them there. Both of them look like they’re smiling, so I hope they have both had a good time, and I hope that among the many photos of dragonflies I took the next year, some of them might have been their kids.
August 2, 2014. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/5.6, 1/1,500, ISO 400.
Chicago has lots of underpasses, overpasses, bridges, and other road features that let pedestrians cross busy streets and highways without dying (ideally). If you’re at street level on a sunny day under an overpass, you may be lucky enough to get a view like this.
July 15, 2012. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 105mm (35mm equivalent: 200mm), f/16, 1/30, ISO 200.
I loved the decor of this jazz club on Chicago’s Far North Side as much as I loved the music. A friend and I used to go there often before the pandemic, but she’s less interested in it now, sadly.
Anyway, I also loved the cocktails there. I’m an old-fashioned drinker, maybe literally, but if they think theirs is good enough to put on the menu, it will be my first choice. This one was not just good but strong, which may have encouraged me to take this photo so I’d remember it later. I made sure to include a little bit of that decor.
April 26, 2019. Samsung S10+ cell phone, 4.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/2.2, 1/30, ISO 640.