All in Urban Landscapes
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At this time of year, it is unusual to see much boat traffic on the Chicago River, but today is an unusual day. When I woke, the temperature was in the mid-30s. When I left the house this afternoon, it was 62 degrees.
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This is a photograph that proves it is worth waiting for the right sunset, which could be tomorrow, next week, or in a month. I am reminded of the series of photographs that Richard Misrach made of the Golden Gate Bridge over the course of one year, if I recall correctly.
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Before last night's performance at the Logan Center by Fred Hersch, we walked over to Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the University of Chicago campus with technical camera and 23mm Rodenstock lens in hand. Would have liked some snow on the ground, but you take what you can get. Turns out, I guessed correctly.
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I headed out to photograph the Board of Trade at the end of LaSalle, but the photograph failed. Too much light pollution from the traffic jam at rush hour. I needed to get the cars blurred, which required a longer exposure, but that meant that the Board of Trade was overexposed. I need to comeback on a Sunday.
Meanwhile, as I was standing on the traffic island, I looked to my right, seeing the lovely blue sky.
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No point in watching all the pre-game nonsense, particularly when it is 32F or thereabouts in February. Out I went. Managed to get down to the Art Institute to see a terrific exhibit of Japanese photography from the Sixties entitled "Provoke"
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One thing I learned long ago: Don't start watching the Super Bowl until very late in the day. This young man apparently agrees. He was at the Millennium Park skating rink early today taking a spin around the ice. Looks cold, but the temperature was probably 32F or thereabouts. And the sky was blue.
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It was cold Friday afternoon in Chicago, but the light made it worth braving the elements. The weather assured that no one disturbed me while I was working.
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The day started out rather temperate, but by 4:00PM, a cold front had moved in, sending temperatures plummeting. Good light often accompanies a change in temperature, as it did today.
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I gave some thought to reducing the amount of water in the foreground--and I could have because I shifted several times as I made multiple exposures--but the reflected colors were so lovely, particularly as doom descends upon us tomorrow.
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I was interested in the fog, so I headed north, took the underpass to North Avenue Beach, and then headed south. From that vantage point, Chicago was socked in. A great day for two friends to take a walk, discussing whatever was on their minds.
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The Year 2016 is now resolved, with 2017 totally unresolved. Lots of New Year's resolutions remain unresolved.
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The Arctic Vortex has arrived as the holiday shopping season shifts into high gear. Last Friday night, Jane Byrne Park was a little more crowded, but Michigan Avenue was still hopping last night--with an eight second or so exposure, that is hard to tell--lots of ghosts--but folks are walking by with shopping bags full.
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Before attending Jules Masenet's Don Quichotte opera at the Lyric Opera this afternoon, I took my camera over to Belmont Harbor to commemorate the arrival of Chicago's first snow fall of the 2016-2017 winter. It didn't take the form of flurries. Instead it came down as wet snow that stuck to the grass, leaves, and bricks, but not the sidewalks or streets. When I left the opera at 4:30PM, it was still coming down. It had begun to accumulate on the streets and sidewalks. Mostly slush.
When I left the house today, I was headed to LaSalle Street, just north of the Chicago River, to get make a photograph of the Board of Trade on the south end of LaSalle. Much to my dismay, it isn't lit on Sundays, at least when I was in position. I had to settle for a classic river shot looking east.
Looking south from the Wolf's Point at the fork in the Chicago River. It's November 17th. The water taxis and the tour boats are still cruising. Temperatures hit 75F today, but light snow is forecast for Sunday.
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On the right, sits the vacant hi-rise office building locate at 150 North Riverside, just south of Lake Street on the west bank of the Chicago River. No lights yet, but I expect we will see some shortly in this Goettsch Partners designed project. It sits above the Amtrak railroad tracks leading to Union Station.
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It's never to early to celebrate Christmas and the holidays, unless, of course, you are Victoria Boros Liccione, who becomes distressed when merchants begin to display their holiday wares in November before Thanksgiving.
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This photograph was made from the north end of the Franklin Street bridge, which is just west of the Merchandise Mart at about 5:00PM. It depicts a classic view of the Chicago River, looking east. Visible are Marina City,
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Gone are the boats. Gone are the leaves. Gone are the late sunsets. Today Day Light Savings Time began. In 48 hours we may know the results of an election that has gone on too long.
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The new Apple store under construction on Michigan Avenue just south of the Tribune Tower. The early morning serenity is deceiving. As this photograph was being made, some 5,000,000 people were descending on downtown for the Chicago Cubs' victory celebration.
