On the streets of Chicago
Evening starts to arrive in Chicago and I am out capturing some street scenes…
I love wandering the streets when I visit a city, and places like Chicago give you a lot of interesting things to photograph. Although my trip there was fairly short - and thus I did not have a lot of time to shoot - I still made the most of it and came home with some shots that I really liked. After getting rained on over at the Bean, I was in search of a meal. As I walked, I really liked the look of this English pub, and the color of the sky. I just had to wait a moment for someone to walk into the frame.
Chicago nights
A lovely night, post rain, in equally lovely Chicago…
After a long night of shooting - and getting rained on - I wandered over here for my last couple of shots. This is looking over the Chicago River and I just couldn’t help myself. There were so many lights and so much color, it just drew me in!
The streets of Chicago
Blue hour in Chicago and I am wandering the streets…
Nothing I love more than wandering around the streets of a city, camera in hand. On my recent trip to Chicago, I had a few hours one evening to do just that, and came away with a few images that I really like. Despite a little rain here and there, I still got it done. :-)
Face in the fountain
Blue hour descends on Crown Fountain in downtown Chicago, IL…
On my recent trip to Chicago, I made a point of getting over to Crown Fountain, which sits on the edge of Millennium Park. It has these awesome big video screens with fountains that flow out of it, even from the mouths of the faces. It’s pretty fun, interesting and definitely unique. These kids were splashing all around in the water and having fun, so I couldn’t resist capturing them as they strolled around in the inch deep water.
Chicago nights
A rainy night in Chicago, and I was downtown grabbing some shots of their iconic theater…
I was in Chicago recently, and one evening after a little rain, I wandered over to the Chicago Theater to capture a shot of that iconic spot. I have seen plenty of pics of this over the years, and always wanted to get some. I was traveling light, with just a prime lens, but what I lacked in versatility I gained in mobility. I took quite a few shots while I was standing there, and loved every minute of it!
So I took my Lensbaby to Chicago...
A little article about taking my Lensbaby Trio 29 to Chicago and firing away all over town with it...plus some thoughts on why I like it so much. Enjoy!
Some thoughts on using my Lensbaby Trio 28 in Chicago, with a bunch of sample photos too
(Click any photo to enlarge and view in a lightbox)
If you read my last write-up about using the Lensbaby Trio 28 on my travels (which was used on a trip to London in that article), then you will know that I absolutely adore this tiny little thing. It’s perfect for my shooting style and usual subject matter. To clarify, I love to shoot in cities after sunset (either at blue hour or after dark), using the ambient city light to illuminate my photos (though of course I take daytime photos, too). And I LOVE shooting street scenes and cityscapes - in fact, those are my favorite subjects.
So when we decided to take a family trip to Chicago, I knew this lens was going to get another workout. And boy did it - I never took it off my camera! As a family trip, I did not bring all my usual trappings - wide angle lens, zoom lens, tripod and all that stuff that usually fills up my bag.
Instead I just brought a small shoulder bag with my camera, the Lensbaby and my other small prime lens, the Sony 28mm f/2. And while I adore that Sony lens, I never even used it. It sat in the hotel room the entire trip. I just walked around all week with the Lensbaby and fired away blissfully. It was wonderful.
Even though I have never actually photographed Chicago (though I have been many times), I didn't feel like I missed out on anything because of my exclusive use of the Lensbaby (as you may know, there is a specific look this lens creates, where there is a lot of bokeh on the image edges, so everything is not in focus). Instead, I feel like I captured images that I would otherwise miss.
I also like that the images are much different than my usual fare, and (hopefully, at least) much different than anything else that thousands of other people have captured there. Because let’s face it - like any large city, Chicago has been photographed and photographed and photographed. Without a significant investment of time (which I didn't have), as well as a healthy dose of luck in terms of the sunsets/weather (which is always questionable in Chicago - it snowed on us one day...see what I mean?), how could I expect to really capture some amazing shots there? I had to try something different in order to get some shots that would really make me happy.
And that’s exactly what happened. I find that what I captured with my Lensbaby Trio on that trip really does make me happy. Obviously I love the look this lens creates, but I also find that I am looking at things a bit differently, with a more creative eye, and that helps quite a bit, too.
In short, the Lensbaby is giving me a creative outlet that I can tap into without having to wait until I get home and start editing the photos. They feel and look fresh and creative right out of the camera, and I love that about the Lensbaby. In fact my usual processing for them is much simpler and the quicker than what I would normally do for my traditional shots. I just do some minor adjustments in Lightroom and I’m done.