20/365 Jan 20 2011

Dear friends-

I am held at the mercy of the internet devils.  Currently I am in Zihuataneho Mexico and the internet is not working very well. Yesterday we had no internet and today very poor quality. In fact, so bad that I cannot send my photo of the day from the blog.

So I decided to try to send yesterday and today from my email. 

This is a sand sculpture that I saw as I walked along the beach.

f4.3  1/125 sec  ISO 160  FL 96mm

20/365 Jan 20 2011

Dear friends-

I am held at the mercy of the internet devils.  Currently I am in Zihuataneho Mexico and the internet is not working very well. Yesterday we had no internet and today very poor quality. In fact, so bad that I cannot send my photo of the day from the blog.

So I decided to try to send yesterday and today from my email. 

This is a sand sculpture that I saw as I walked along the beach.

f4.3  1/125 sec  ISO 160  FL 96mm

20/365 Jan 20 2011

Dear friends-

I am held at the mercy of the internet devils.  Currently I am in Zihuataneho Mexico and the internet is not working very well. Yesterday we had no internet and today very poor quality. In fact, so bad that I cannot send my photo of the day from the blog.

So I decided to try to send yesterday and today from my email. 

This is a sand sculpture that I saw as I walked along the beach.

f4.3  1/125 sec  ISO 160  FL 96mm

22/365 Jan 22 2011

Sunsets. I have taken hundreds and will continue to take them.
Zihuatanejo has some of the most beautiful sunset I have taken.

f6.3  1/30sec  ISO  125  FL  25mm  (Lumix)

19/365 Jan 19 2010

Art nouveau. I worked for many years at a fine example of art nouveau mixed with classicism. Portions of this building were built during the depression by workers on some of the great work projects of the time.  This image is of a portion of the front facade of the Medical College building of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Wood Street entrance. I've taken photos of this facade sculpture at least 10 times. I never tire of it.

f2.8  1/230sec  ISO 80   (iPhone) HDR mode

19/365 Jan 19 2010

Art nouveau. I worked for many years at a fine example of art nouveau mixed with classicism. Portions of this building were built during the depression by workers on some of the great work projects of the time.  This image is of a portion of the front facade of the Medical College building of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Wood Street entrance. I've taken photos of this facade sculpture at least 10 times. I never tire of it.

18/365 January 18, 2011

This is the owner of WineStyles of Park Ridge. I work for her part-time. Her passion is wine. One of my passions is wine, too. 


I surprised her with my Lumix in hand. She can't relax, but I think I captured her character nicely.  She's a great person and it shows in these photos, which I took just as she was opening the store at 11:00 this morning. You can see she has just turned the "open/closed" sign in the first photo.

f3.3  1/60sec  ISO 250  Flash  FL 25mm

f3.3  1/60sec  ISO 400  Flash  FL 25mm

17/365 Jan 17, 2011 More Americana

Everywhere I look I see signs of a struggling US. Today I focused on so many companies and stores that are out of business. 


Here are two examples.  By the way, to continue my personal argument,  this is documentary photography. Documentary should not be equated with dry and uninteresting. I do try to set up and take the photo so that it looks good, too.  :)  In the first photo I tried to set up to get the balance that is shown here. I did it by increasing the focal length a little bit. I was actually standing back about 10 feet from where it appears in the photo that I am standing. I think it worked. Good balance from the light standards, to the pillars, the cars and the parking lines.  Also, in both these photos I did a bit of dry "darkroom" fixing. In this first photo, there was too much exposure in the snow and the sign.

f 3.9   1/80 sec  ISO 80  FL 55mm  (Lumix)

In this second photo I really wanted the "Available" sign to have major impact. Without it the story would have been less interesting. Also the sign brought color into what was an almost colorless shot. Because of all the snow, the white building and the grey sky, I had to increase the contrast somewhat. I had to be careful because I wanted observers to be able to read the sign in the store window.  By the way, if you click on these photos and view them at much larger size, you will see lots of white dots and flecks in both shots.  That is snow which was coming down fairly hard at the time I took these (c. 2:40pm).

f 3.9  1/400  ISO 80  FL 25mm (Lumix)

16/365 Jan 16, 2011 Empty Streets

Today was a big day in Chicago. The Bears played in the second playoff round. If they won today they would move to the semi-final and would play their nemesis the Greenbay Packers. During the game I ran outside and stood at the intersection of two streets by my home. There was as I predicted, no traffic. 


To take this photo, I stood on a manhole cover that was exactly in the middle of the intersection of the two streets, making the opportunity you see here.

Each photo f3.3  1/30sec  ISO 160  FL 25mm (Lumix)

15/365 Jan 15 2011 Night Photo of My Neighbor's Home

What I really wanted to do was to take a photo of the night sky. However I do not have a remote shutter release which makes it impossible for me to take such a picture as it requires at least a 30 minute exposure.


But I have always liked taking extremely low light images. I took this from my backyard deck. Temperature was 18F at the time of the image, 9:23pm. 

f4.5  1.6 sec  ISO 800  FL 48mm  Tripod  (D200)

14/365 Jan 14 2011 -- More of winter

For the past several years I have had a love affair with the stark quality of rural fields during winter. I have taken hundreds of photos of these fierce, lowering,  yet lovely scenes.  Over time I realized that taking single shot photos of these severe scenes could not do justice to their breadth. So I decided to begin taking multiple shots which I stitched together to make a single panoramic image.


Today while traveling from Chicago to Iowa, a trip that goes through the heart of northern Illinois farmland, I stopped the car to capture a scene that is shown here.  The image is composed of four images and represents at least 3/4 km or half a mile in width.


I suggest you click on the image to release its beauty.

f22   1/40 sec   ISO 100   FL 36mm Color Photo (D200)

Day 13 13/365 What is art?

I had some interesting discussions with a photographer friend today. We were at a couple of photography exhibits here in Chicago. The question, a rather obvious one, came up: is this photograph documentary or is it art?  Well this is a huge question. At times we know the intention of the photographer and in some of the cases that we observed, it was clearly documentary, and in one photographer's mind, archeological. Still, that does not remove the possibility that a photograph purposely taken for documentary or archeological purposes, cannot also be considered art. Does the fact that a photographer decides to create an HDR photo from several single frames make that resulting photo art? What if the photographer decides that post production will result in a better image if it is cast in B&W?  Is that a documentary or an artistic decision?


Here are a couple of photos taken today.  There are hundreds of thousands of photos like this one on Flickr. Does this qualify as art?  Or is it documentary?  I'll tell you one thing: my eye caught the balance and I grabbed the opportunity. 

f7.1   1/20sec  ISO 400  no flash  WB Auto  FL  36mm

The next two photos are HDR photos.  The first was taken through a window inside the Art Institute. Looking carefully you can see a reflection of the portrait image seen at the north end of the photo. I doubt this reflection would have been seen without HDR.  Is it art?  The second photo was taken as I was hurrying to catch the train home.  But as I passed the alley the color of the doors above at the end caught my eye.  I was just interested in what was there. A bit of me thought: art. But mostly I was just taking the shot.

HDR image   ISO 400   FL 24mm

HDR image   ISO 400   FL 24mm

Day 12/365 Wednesday January 12, 2011

When winter really comes to Chicago, people who are in the know, know how to stay warm. They are prepared for the onslaughts of Chicago's harsh winds, incredibly blinding snow, and difficult navigation on foot or by car.


These two photos were taken downtown this morning. I approached each party by saying that I was taking photos of people who are prepared for the cold.  This guy in response said to me, "Do I look cold?"  Well that wasn't the question, but in fact he did not look cold...and why was that?  Just look at his layers and his hat.

f3.3 1/80sec ISO 200 (Lumix)

The same for this couple I met in the subway. The were with some visitors from Russia, who were perfectly. suitably attired and seemed quite comfortable. But so did these two...especially the woman, with her ear-covering fur hat and fur-lined coat. By the way, they were going to O'hare Airport for their 3rd attempt to fly to South Carolina. If they get there, they might still need this warm clothing. 

f6.3 1/4sec  ISO 400 (Lumix)

11/365 January 11, 2011 Snow Storm

We have had snow from sometime overnight and it is still snowing (5:20PM).  Roads are quite slick. However as in all negative things, there is opportunity. Here the opportunity was to take some forest pictures.  


This spot features forest and the Des Plaines river. The river in this vicinity is not pretty during the spring and summer. But fall colors make it interesting and with the snow and ice forming on it during the winter, it can be lovely, as you can see here.  This is not a black and white photo. This is the color of the day and the composite of snow and hibernating trees. 

f16 1/50 ISO 800 WB Shade 24mm (Nikon D200)

10-365 January 10, 2011 My mailman braves the cold

Don't know his name. He's new on the route. But he very willingly allowed me to take two quick shots.
While Mr. Postman may look like he is in the toughest of cold weather, actually it was a near balmy 31F (-2C) around the time I took this picture.

f6.3 1/80  ISO 320 50mm  Daylight WB (Nikon D200)

9/365 Signs of the Times

Yesterday I introduced a theme I will be following over the year: portraits. Today I introduce another: Americana. These are photos which represent our everyday life. Things we see, but don't often think about. Today two photos from ordinary places: a filling station and the parking lot of a mega-store, in this case Target. 

f4.5 1/320  ISO 80  Daylight White Balance (Lumix)

We live in these intersecting areas of cars and shopping carts. I liked this shot because it exemplifies just that. I also noticed the winter morning shadows. This parking lot shot was taken at 11:09 AM, but the shadows were still quite long.

f4.5 1/400  ISO 80  Daylight White Balance (Lumix)

Day 8/365 B&W Portrait

I know Andy from the wine store. He has a good palate and is very interested in trying new wines. Here he is holding a wine that he was considering, one which he had never had. 


While speaking with him, I was struck by the light flooding one side of his face. Later I realized that this might be a nice B&W photo. 

f4.2 1/6sec  ISO 320  (Nikon D200)

Day 7/365

Make no mistake about it, this is difficult, this being finding something to shoot every day. I mean, what photographer doesn't think about a shot all the time? But let's be real, I'm just a rank amateur and at times I am already thinking "You are over your head, fellow."  Still I am only a week into this. I can only imagine what my feeling will be like on day 221 or 297 or 346. You get the point.
OK so today it was looking bad...not the picture ideas, but the weather. I knew from the time I stepped outside that this would be a weather photo.
The first photo is sort of humorous, but also intended to focus on the weather theme. I passed this bicycle parked among others at the train station. Some intrepid riders. But one clearly knew what my knees knew: this was going to be a snow day.  This was not a difficult photo to take from a technical perspective. Anyone could take it. The difficulty was making it seem different. I don't think I was successful.

f 6.3  1/40sec ISO 80  (Lumix)

The sky confirmed what I and the bicyclist new to be true. Just look at this sky. I took several shots of this sky. First on auto and then using aperture priority. The problem was the buildings. They sucked up all the light. Finally I got this one, which really reflects what I did see at 2:05 in the afternoon.

f 5  1/320  ISO 80 Aperture Priority (Lumix)

Tomorrow....who knows. I am working at the wine store all day: perhaps some customer profiles. 

6/365

When I first began this daily photo undertaking I commented that many photos would be "pedestrian". By that I meant that not all photos would be of artistic caliber nor anything but a "shot".  Today is a great example. Caught with nothing to photograph, I noticed my two cats doing what they do: sleep.

Seeta (left) and Kali  f3.3  1/30sec  (flash)  ISO 320 (Lumix)

Then I considered a self portrait with Seeta, as she was sleeping with her head on the sofa side. But I did not anticipate a photo of a cat kiss.  Not a great photo, but certainly fun. Let's see what tomorrow brings. This is going to be no easy task!

"The Kiss" (with apologies to Gustav Klimpt)  f3.3  1/30sec (flash) ISO 160 (Lumix)

6/365

When I first began this daily photo undertaking I commented that many photos would be "pedestrian". By that I meant that not all photos would be of artistic caliber nor anything but a "shot".  Today is a great example. Caught with nothing to photograph, I noticed my two cats doing what they do: sleep.

Seeta (left) and Kali  f3.3  1/30sec  (flash)  ISO 320 (Lumix)

Then I considered a self portrait with Seeta, as she was sleeping with her head on the sofa side. But I did not anticipate a photo of a cat kiss.  Not a great photo, but certainly fun. Let's see what tomorrow brings. This is going to be no easy task!

"The Kiss" (with apologies to Gustav Klimpt)  f3.3  1/30sec (flash) ISO 160 (Lumix)

Day 5/365

Here is a couple who will have been married 50 years in July. They were in the midst of a fairly long studio photo-shoot which I participated in with several other people, including this couple who are also photographers. 

It's wonderful to see how happy they clearly are. After all 50 years is a long time and they were calm and secure individually and as a couple during the time they were in front of the camera.

 errrr...perhaps not so. 

Studio lighting. No flash. (Nikon D200)

f5  1/25sec  ISO 200  Focal length 97mm 

Day 4/365

My brother-in-law Bill...a gamer. Stays up all night playing "Worlds of Warcraft" and "Startrek."  He's also a big "Trekkie" and has been to many Star Trek conventions where he has acquired a host of autographed photos of all of the stars. Quite a interesting guy.  I took this photo this morning in his apartment. I was about to leave, turned around to say so-long, and there he was with his head-set on already. A true portrait of Bill.

f 3.8  1/60sec  ISO 400 Fill Flash

Day 3: At the athletic club

Athletic clubs are busiest just after the holidays. This place is no exception.

f4  1/20sec  ISO 400 (Lumix)

Day 2: January 2 2011

A beautiful blue sky on this 16 degree F morning. Stopped at the light and noticed how little traffic there was at this normally very busy intersection.

Panorama photo stitched from 3 photos taken at the intersection of Elston and Irving Park Road. (Lumix)
f4.0 @ 1/250, 1/320, 1/400. ISO 200

Day 1: New Years Day -- January 1, 2011

This is my personal photo challenge. A photo taken every day for 2011. 365 photos. Rules: there must be at least one photo taken every day. The photo taken must be posted on that day (i.e., by 23:59). I may post more than one photo. Photos can be of any topic. Photos can be taken with my DSLR (Nikon D200), my point and shoot (Panasonic Lumix) or my iPhone. If you choose to join this challenge, please share your url with me. 
Happy New Year!  -Mark


New Year day glow at 7:31AM in Chicago. (iPhone)

This is a day of relaxation. Watching football. Warming by the fire. (Lumix)