Category: WEEKS

Week 10, March 10-16, 2019 – Colorful Nature

March 16th, 2019

Tagged 18.07.28, 18.11.03, 18.11.09, 18.11.18, 19.01.27, 2018, 2019, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, 70-300mm f3.5-5.6, autumn, beak, bird, blossom, bulbs, bush, Chicago IL, Christmas Cactus, colors, D600, dusting, Elgin IL, eye, fall, fall colors, flower, flowers, green, greens, hummingbird, IL, Jan19, January, Jul18, July, leaf, leaves, Lincoln Park Conservatory, macro, Nikon, Nov18, November, Oakbrook Terrace IL, orange, perch, pine cone, pine tree, pink, purple, red, Shawano WI, shrub, snow, stalk, sunlight, sunlit, Week 10 2019, WEEKS, WEEKS 2019, white, yellow

Week 9, March 3-9, 2019 – CTA Long Exposure

March 9th, 2019

Week 8, February 24 – March 2, 2019 – Chicago Architecture

March 2nd, 2019

Tagged 18.04.22, 18.07.08, 18.08.23, 18.09.18, 19.01.29, 2018, 2019, 235 Van Buren, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, 311 South Wacker, 333 W. Wacker Dr., 80-200mm f2.8, Apr18, April, architecture, Arlington Heights IL, Aug18, August, balconies, balcony, black, black & white, Black & White February, bridge, Chicago at night, Chicago IL, Chicago River, Chicago River Walk, clouds, concrete, CTA, D600, glass, grass, green, Jan19, January, Jul18, July, ledges, light trails, lights, lines, long exposure, Marina City, Marina Towers, moon, night photo, nighttime, Nikon, Northwest Community Hospital, Ping Tom Memorial Park, point, red, reflection, river, road, Sears Tower, Sept18, September, sky, train, Trump International Hotel & Tower, Wabash Ave, Wabash Ave Bridge, walkway, water, Week 8 2019, WEEKS, WEEKS 2019, Westin, Whirlpool Building, Willis Tower, windows, Wolf Point

Week 7, February 17-23, 2019 – Black & White Lincoln Park Conservatory

February 23rd, 2019

Tagged 19.01.27, 2019, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, Art Institute of Chicago, black & white, Black & White February, blossom, budding, buds, cactus, Chicago IL, D600, flower, flowers, growing, Jan19, January, leaf, leaves, Lincoln Park Conservatory, lines, macro, Nikon, orchid, petals, plants, stalk, strands, sunlight, texture, veins, vines, water, Week 7 2019, WEEKS, WEEKS 2019

Black & White Week 3

As part of my black & white month, I wanted to feature some photos of cactus. I’ve visited several botanic gardens and conservatories, but hadn’t ever spent the time and focus needed to properly capture cactus. So, on a cold Sunday in January, I drove down to Lincoln Park, and upon arriving, realized that I’d left my Nikon at home. After driving home and back, I walked into the Lincoln Park Conservatory, only to discover that they don’t have a cactus room – some days just don’t work out how you plan.

So, instead of cactus, I took photos of plants that I thought would work great in black & white…and someday, I’ll actually take a trip to photograph cactus.

Week 6, February 10-16, 2019 – Black & White Downtown Elgin

February 16th, 2019

Black & White Week 2

For the second full week of Black & White February, I decided to follow up on an idea that I’d had for a few months – to shoot light trails in Elgin. I enjoy capturing long exposures, but the added challenge of capturing light trails in downtown Elgin instead of Chicago (where there’s more traffic) seemed challenging.

While we were out in the bitter cold for the January Lunar Eclipse, I realized that Elgin’s parking garages would make a great vantage point for some light trail images. I’d taken images from the top of the Spring Street garage, in fact, I’ve led photo walks in downtown Elgin and used the Spring Street garage as a vantage point.

However, I decided to add one more aspect to the week’s photos: I would attempt to shoot 7 images and capture 7 photos that I was proud of…I didn’t quite make it. Capturing light trails of traffic when there’s very little traffic turned out to be a bit more challenging than I expected. But I took 14 images, from 6 vantage points, and captured 7 images that I’m proud of.

Week 5, February 3-9, 2019 – Black & White Indiana Dunes

February 9th, 2019

Black & White Week 1

In mid-December, I drove past the Indiana Dunes and stopped and took the first image; around this time, I’d decided that February would be all black & white images – more on that at the end of the month. I invited a photographer friend to come along on a dedicated trip back to the dunes and took photos with the intention of creating a week’s worth of black & white images.

We had a fantastic day of photography and conversation, and I ended up with quite a few more than 7 images and some images with fantastic texture and composition.

Week 4, January 27 – February 2, 2019 – Lighthouses

February 2nd, 2019

Tagged 18.03.27, 18.09.01, 18.10.13, 18.12.25, 1963 Chevrolet Impala, 2018, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, 80-200mm f2.8, auto, beach, bird, birds, black & white, Black & White February, blue, breakwater, brick, car, Chevrolet Impala, Chevy, D600, Dec18, December, dunes, fence, fog, green, grey, harbor, house, ice, Impala, Kenosha Lighthouse, Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse, Kenosha WI, lake, Lake Michigan, light pole, lighthouse, Little Sable Point Lighthouse, Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse, Manitowoc WI, Mar18, March, Mears MI, Nikon, Oct18, October, overcast, pier, puddle, Racine Breakwater Lighthouse, Racine WI, red, reeds, reflection, river, road, sailboat, sailboats, sand, sand dunes, sandy, seagull, seagulls, Sept18, September, shore, shoreline, shrubs, sky clouds, South Haven MI, South Haven South Pier Lighthouse, St Joseph MI, St Joseph Pier Lighthouse, St Joseph River, stone, tree, trees, water, waves, Week 4 2019, WEEKS, WEEKS 2019, white

Week 3, January 20-26, 2019 – Car Shows

January 26th, 2019

Tagged 18.06.17, 18.07.15, 18.09.09, 1935 Morgan Super Sport, 1957 Chevy Sedan Delivery, 1958 Chevrolet Impala, 1960 Ford Sunliner, 1965 Shelby Cobra, 2018, 2018 British Car Festival, 2018 Elgin Antique Car Show, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, 57 Chevy, 80-200mm f2.8, auto, black & white, blue, boat, British Car Festival, bumper, car, car show, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Impala, Chevy, chrome, Cobra, D600, door handle, Duesenburg, Duesenburg Dual Cowl Phaeton, Elgin Antique Car Show, Elgin History Museum, Elgin IL, engine, exhaust, fender, Ford, Ford Sunliner, gold, grass, Harper College, headlight, hood, Jul18, July, Jun18, June, maroon, Morgan, Morgan Super Sport, Nikon, orange, Palatine IL, red, reflected, reflection, Sept18, September, Shelby, Shelby Cobra replica, silver, sparkle, stripes, turn signal, Volo Auto Museum, Volo IL, Week 3 2019, WEEKS, WEEKS 2019, white, white walls, wood

Week 2, January 13-19, 2019 – Warren Dunes Textures

January 19th, 2019

Tagged 18.10.13, 18.10.14, 2018, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, beach, black & white, cliffs, crisscross, D600, dune, dunes, feather, fence, Lake Michigan, leaf, lines, mountains, Nikon, Oct18, October, red, rocks, sand, sand dune, sand dunes, shadow, shadows, shore, shoreline, slats, sticks, stones, sunlight, Warren Dunes State Park, water, waves, Week 2 2019, WEEKS, WEEKS 2019, wet, wind, wire

Week 1, January 6-12, 2019 – Beautiful Nature

January 12th, 2019

Week 52, December 30, 2018 – January 5, 2019 – Lighthouses

January 5th, 2019

Week 51, December 23-29, 2018 – Playing with Lights II

December 29th, 2018

Week 50, December 16-22, 2018 – Warren Dunes State Park

December 22nd, 2018

Tagged 18.10.13, 18.10.14, 2018, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, bark, beach, black & white, branches, bush, D600, dune, dunes, forest, hill, horizon, lake, Lake Michigan, Nikon, Oct18, October, roots, sand, shrub, sky, sunset, tree, Warren Dunes State Park, water, Week 50 2018, WEEKS

Week 49, December 9-15, 2018 – Garfield Conservatory – “Art is Life”

December 15th, 2018

Tagged 18.11.21, 2018, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, 70-300mm f3.5-5.6, 80-200mm f2.8, art, black & white, blossom, branch, Chicago IL, D600, drawing, Elsie K. G. Smith, fern, flower, Garfield Conservatory, green, leaves, Molly E. C. Smith, Nikon, Nov18, November, orange, pink, purple, seeds, Week 49 2018, WEEKS, yellow

Conservatories

One of our favorite father-daughter adventures is traveling to gardens and conservatories. Visiting the indoor gardens (like Nicholas Conservatory in Rockford and Garfield and Lincoln Park Conservatories) and seeing the colorful plants when it’s monochrome outside has become a highlight in the colder months. The girls bring paper, pens, and colored pencils and draw the flowers, ferns and greenery (and I sometimes draw a bit too) while I wander around and take photos.

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Week 48, December 2-8, 2018 – Changing Seasons

December 8th, 2018

Tagged 18.11.03, 18.11.09, 18.11.26, 2018, 70-300mm f3.5-5.6, autumn, autumn colors, Cynthia E. R. Smith, D600, Elgin IL, fall, fall colors, green, ice, leaves, Nikon, Nov18, November, orange, red, snow, Week 48 2018, WEEKS, winter, yellow

Week 47, November 25 – December 1, 2018 – Frank Lloyd Wright Oak Park Tour

December 1st, 2018

Week 46, November 18-24, 2018 – Hawthorne Hills in Autumn

November 24th, 2018

Tagged 18.10.25, 2018, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, 35-80mm f4-5.6, 70-300mm f3.5-5.6, autumn, berries, bird, branches, color, D600, dry, Elgin IL, eye, Great Blue Heron, green, Hawthorne Hills Park, heron, leaf, leaves, moss, Nikon, Oct18, October, orange, pond, red, stream, tree, trees, water, Week 46 2018, yellow

Week 45, November 11-17, 2018 – Playing with Lights

November 17th, 2018

Light Painting Workshop

In October, I led a workshop on “Night photography & Light Painting” at Elgin Area Camera Club. The only problem was the weeks leading up to my workshop; they were rainy, overcast, and generally not friendly to those kinds of photography. Instead, Sarah and I purchased several different kinds of glow sticks and LED lights, and over the next week, we tried all sorts of photo experiments with the new toys.

We enjoyed this so much that even after the workshop night, Sarah and I continued playing with the lights and having fun.

For those that are intesterested, we used regular white Christmas lights, Super Z Outlet Upgraded Light up Foam Sticks (link), Lumistick 12” Jumbo Glow Light Sticks (link), and SurLight 4 Piece Car 72 LED Strip Lights (Amazon no longer lists the items that we bought, but here’s a very similar link).

Week 44, November 4-10, 2018 – Matthiessen in the Fall

November 10th, 2018

October birthday walk

Cynthia, my oldest daughter, and I took a day trip down to Matthiessen State Park for our October birthdays. The weather was perfect, and the colors were just starting to turn, so we enjoyed some yellow and just the hints of red that were just beginning. In the fall it’s very unusual for there to be much water flowing, but when we walked north, toward Matthiessen Lake, there was some water flowing near the Giant’s Bathtub and then a small amount off of the Lake Falls.