When I went out to shoot the “Bean” the first morning in Chicago I also went over to the Pritzker Pavilion to try and recreate some form of the wonderful shot made by Chris to the seats and the city scape.  Not copy it, but try to capture the wonderful lines and shapes he did.  Well, the light was already up and it was not working.  While I was standing there just starring around I noticed the light was just starting to play on the beautiful sculpted stainless steel panels that wrap around the stage area.  I found one shot, then another and 20 minutes later i was still seeing new ways the light was playing off various parts of the sculpture.  I have studied the website of Angie McMonigal (angiemcmonigal.com) and her incredible capturing of the architecture, patterns, and the sheer beauty of Chicago.  To say I see like Angie would be akin to saying I see color like Georgia O’Keeffe!!   No, I just love patterns and color and I find Angie’s work truly captivating.  Here are some of the shots that grabbed me that morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m really looking forward to spending time with the folks that are friend’s of Chris tonight at the University of Chicago.  From the look of Chris’s and Angie’s work, I’m not sure how much I can teach them, but I know Sherelene and will enjoy the photographic fellowship.  ……and thanks Angie for the inspiration!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

Chris suggested in his book, a couple of churches that I as able to get to today.  4th Presbyterian and Holy Name Catholic Cathedral.  Both were beautiful and lots of fun to worship in, and photograph!  Above is the sanctuary of 4th Presbyterian, below the alter area of Holy Name Cathedral.

 

 

A stained glass window portrait at Holy Name below.

 

 

The very beautiful organ from the 4th Presbyterian Church.

 

 

I also got to the Museum of Science and Industry this morning and will share some of those tomorrow.

 

I’m really enjoying photographing Chicago, a greater friendly town!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

Please remember that you can single click any image to see it much larger!

 

I was the only person at “the Bean” this morning!  Very chilly, but great light!  Really unique piece of art and a “photographers playground!”  Below are a few images from my first 20 minutes of sunlight.

 

 

It was a great morning watching the city wake up and go to work!

 

 

The street scene with the train was shot with the 55-200 and then processed with a heavy dose of NIK Color Efex 4.0, Tonal Contrast!  My favorite pseudo – One Shot – HDR trick!

 

On the walk back down Michigan Ave to the Hilton I saw lots of things to extract from the over-all street scenes, here are few of those!

 

 

The Carry System for this trip:

 

 

All of the images this morning were shot from my smaller CT214 series Induro tripod with the middle of the RRS heads.  Last night I had to shoot handheld, but with Fuji’s OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) I got away with 1/2 second exposures!!!  Above is the kit I’m using for most of what I’m doing in Chicago!   It consists of a Fuji X-T1 body with battery pack and RRS L Bracket (for the Nikon D600, fits great!) with 18-55 f 2.8-4 OIS mid range zoom, 55-200 F 3.5-4.8 OIS zoom (80-300 equiv.), and the new 10-24 f 4 OIS wide angle zoom (15-36 Equiv.)  All carried in a Think Tank Retrospective Model 5 bag in Pinestone.  I like it because it doesn’t scream “Camera Bag!”  It looks more like a college kids book bag, though admittedly I don’t look like a college student, maybe a very old professor!  * (Spare batteries, and cleaning supplies)  In a separate bag an extra, back up body (Fuji X-E2)  I also carry a Fuji X100s (used to shoot the image above)  In a Think Tank Airport Security 2.0 I carry all this and the 23mm f 1.4, 35mm f 1.4, 56mm f 1.2 and my laptop and cords on the plane.  The Think Tank Retrospective easily folds up in my big suitcase, ready to go into action when I land!!!

*Note: yes, those are Nikon lens caps on the lenses above, hey, I worked for that great company for 11 years, this way I still keep some of them with me!!!!!  ….and I like the Nikon lens caps better, better springs!!

 

A special thanks again to Chris Smith and his great scouting info.  I will be speaking to his friends at the University of Chicago Friday night!

 

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

Stay tuned, more to come!

 

 

 

If you want to know how good you are try shooting a scene that someone who knows it better than you do!!!  I really enjoyed shooting from the Hancock Tower tonight, but my images pale in comparison to Chris Smith’s!  Hey, but I learned a lot about shooting through glass!  I am looking forward to making images around Chicago with the help of his excellent book, “The Photographer’s Guide to Chicago!”  In this excellent book, Chris is kind enough to share all the most important details about how to shoot some of Chicago’s most famous landmarks!

 

God willing, and my alarm going off, and with some decent light, I will be back after it again tomorrow morning at O:Dark Thirty!

 

Here are a few of my near misses from tonight, hey Sherelene and I are having a blast, thanks Chris!!!

 

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim