Chicago - My Kind of (windy) Town

Kathy and I concluded our passage on Amtrak's Empire Builder train in Chicago. After emerging from the beautiful Union Station (once our phones had acquired enough satellites to provide GPS navigation) we walked to our nearby hotel on Franklin street. We were only going to be in town for a single day, so after getting something to eat, we walked around for a bit, taking some photos of the dramatic architecture this city has to offer. Kathy wanted to visit the Chicago Institute of Art but we found it was closed during our visit, so the next morning we walked to Millennium Park and took some photos there. Apparently the park only recently opened to the public but we found some parts open, while others remained closed. In the case of Cloud's Gate also irreverently referred to as "The Bean", visitors were able to view it only from a distance with barricades having been put up to prevent crowds from gathering beneath it. This didn't bother me too much. I was able to obtain some photos of it without a ton of people in the shot. 

The view of Chicago's skyline from Cloud's Gate is truly spectacular. The day was cold and windy but the sky was mostly clear. Any clouds that appeared were quickly carried on the wind to destinations unknown.

A word about Chicago: I know all major cities have issues with homelessness, blight, trash, noise, crime, etc. but my initial impressions on this visit to what was admittedly a very small area in downtown Chicago were these: The streets, sidewalks, buildings, and bridges were for the most part clean. By comparison, the streets and sidewalks in downtown Los Angeles in my experience are filthy and no government agency seems to be charged with more than an occasional street sweeping. After a street sweeping, the ground is still black with dirt, gum, and who knows what else. The people we met were polite and friendly. There seems to be an emphasis on culture and preserving the city's history and finally the city's architecture is beautiful.

I'd love to return in the near future for an extended visit. There is so much I want to see.

While taking photos in the city, I made sure to create several panoramas but the Affinity Photo software which I am using on my iPad Pro does not seem to be able to successfully stitch them. I may have to just post individual HDR merges and stitch the panoramas when I return home. 

We are currently back on an Amtrak train crossing West Virginia. Looking forward to being in Washington DC tonight.

Walk on water

Walk on water, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

It had been raining really hard for about an hour in Chicago's Millennium Park. Me, my backpack, tripod and camera were huddled under the umbrella I decided to bring with me on a whim. As the rain tapered off to nothing, I saw this little boy go running through what had been a very still giant puddle that had accumulated between the two lighted towers of the Crown Fountain. I thought the reflections were particularly interesting. It took some strategic maneuvering by his dad to recapture and return the kid to dry land. Walk on the water whenever you have a chance. That's my advice.

One Mean Bean

One Mean Bean, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I've often said that HDR was designed with reflective objects in mind. Reflective materials just seem to soak up HDR goodness. Cloud Gate or "The Bean" as it is more commonly known, is no exception.

Chicago Blues

Chicago Blues, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Located in Millennium Park, the Crown Fountain's glass block towers pour an amazing amount of water down their sides while projecting video of the faces of common Chicago citizens. If it's windy, like it was when I took this HDR sequence, the water tends to fly around everywhere and seems especially attracted to expensive DSLR's!

Cloud Gate and Chicago Skyline

Public sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor. It is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park 

Cloud Gate and Chicago Skyline, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.