Author Archives: Rob

Winter Zoo Time

A sunny winter weekend is often a good chance to check out the zoo. Since a lot of the animals are not fond of winter weather, there are only a few that will be outside at this time of year. Consequently, the zoo doesn’t charge for entry so it is good for those after a cheap day out. We are members anyway so it doesn’t make a difference to us but it is good to go anyway.

During our previous visit the Snow Leopards had been pretty active. We were hoping to see them again – they aren’t too bothered by the cold – but we also wanted to see what else was about. Since you aren’t paying, you can make a short visit without feeling like you should make a full day out of the admission price. As it happened, the Snow Leopards were soundly asleep while we were there but there were other things to see.

The Tiger was showing more action that is normally the case. This is one cat that likes to sleep. However, we timed our arrival well and saw a fair bit of movement. Tigers are also fine with the cold of course. Bears are similar. Both Polar Bears were about and one of the Brown Bears was wandering around its enclosure.

We also saw a few birds wandering around the place. The Pelicans were out near one of the ponds and another group of birds (I am thinking Guinea Fowl but you can correct me if I am wrong) were also strutting around. The light was very nice so not a bad afternoon.

Camera Bag Review

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I was a lucky boy and got a new camera bag for my birthday. Since getting my first piece of Think Tank equipment, I have been taken by how well their products are designed. I have had (and continue to have) many camera bags and usually they come with some shortcoming or other that leaves me still searching for the right product. My first Think Tank bag has never left me feeling that.

This time I was after a smaller bag that would be good around town. The one I wanted is also designed to be inconspicuous since it doesn’t look like a camera bag at all. It is called the Retrospective 30. This is a great looking bag on its own. The fact it is well designed as a camera bag too is a bonus. Some nice little features include Velcro closures that can be doubled over to make the flap silent in use (obviously without being secured in the same way) if you are keen to be inconspicuous when accessing the bag.

It can carry a surprisingly large amount. On its first trip out I ended up with as much in it as I sometimes get in a Computrekker backpack from Lowepro. I had two bodies and three lenses plus some straps and a spare card holder and it did fine. One thing to note, though. It is a sturdy shoulder strap that carries all this and putting all that weight on one shoulder can be a bit tiring after a while. The bag is fine – I’m more of a wimp!

Night Skating

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As has been the case a few times recently, I was down in Millennium Park recently at night. I was there to see something else but, while I was there, I took some time to watch the ice skaters. There is an ice rink beside Millennium Park that is free to the public to use. If you don’t have skates, they are available for hire. However, if you come equipped, you are free to skate!

The rink stays open relatively late each evening and I spent some time from above watching everyone having fun. Of course, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to take some pictures (and also some video – I figure that all of these clips will one day be part of a larger montage of Chicago footage). Since it is dark, it is time to try other techniques.

I was surprised how well lit the rink was. I could get some quite fast shutter speeds if I wanted to. However, that wasn’t really the point. I can come during the day if that is what I want. Instead, the slow shutter speeds were actually what I was looking for. The question then becomes how slow.

I was mounting the camera to the railings with a flexible arm and clamp so my motion wasn’t a problem. If the shutter speeds got too long, the blur of the skaters became so vague, it was hard to see whether they were there or not. A slightly faster speed meant they became a bit more distinct. This was what I was after. You still needed to get the larger groups of skaters to make it show up noticeably though. The perfect combination was when someone would stay totally still (or close to it) during the shot. Then you had the juxtaposition of the movement and the lack of movement. That was my favorite.

Some O’Hare Arrivals

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A bit more time stuck indoors than I would ideally have liked had meant that I was beginning to climb the walls a bit. Some good weather had been about but I had been unable to get outside to enjoy it. However, I did get a Sunday when I was able to get out and the weather showed signs of clearing up. (It had been pretty murky early in the day but the forecast said it would get better and it wasn’t wrong!)

I decided to head to O’Hare to watch some European arrivals. A strong westerly wind meant the arrival direction would be reliable as far as sun angle was concerned and the low temperatures should hopefully avoid too much heat distortion. Apart from that, an afternoon out shooting the arrivals is better than plenty of other options even if it isn’t something new and unique.

As it was, there were a fair few interesting aircraft coming in along with the regular O’Hare types of traffic. I was able to keep close to the car which meant I could hop back out of the chilly wind between interesting targets and listen out on LiveATC’s app on my phone to know when something was coming my way. Flightaware also allows a bit of planning ahead.

It was a fun afternoon and some good results showed up. Some new bits to add to the catalog along with some of the familiar stuff and some that will soon no longer be familiar and need to be remembered before they are gone. Here is a small selection of the day.

Thornton Quarry Part 2

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I mentioned before what the lift at the quarry involved. However, I thought it was worth talking a little bit more about the work of the guys on the ground. There was a good team spirit needed for this job and the guys worked hard throughout the day to get everything done. With the many rolls of netting to put in place, there was plenty to do! These were long rolls. The later rolls were over 300′ long and they were hanging from 150′ of lifting line! Also, it could be breezy and keeping the net under control was interesting!

There was one group of guys at the top of the quarry who were responsible for hooking up the nets. They would put the roll into place and unroll it along the roadway. When the helicopter came in, it had a special fixture on the end of the line. This was a spreader bar with hooks for the net. The bar was attached at the bottom but a ring was placed into a hook to turn it up the other way. This meant that the hooks would be the right way up to hold the net. When the release was triggered on the hook, the spreader bar would flip over and the net would fall free. Then the whole thing could be repeated.

The other guys were on the top of the rock face ready to attach the net. A wire line was rigged across the top of the rocks. When the net came in, they guys had to grab the net, bring it into place and start wiring it to the line. Two guys would be in harnesses and they would head over the edge as the net was lowered to ensure that it was aligned correctly and were it needed to be. Joining each net down the rock face would follow another day.

The guys worked well together handling the nets into place and making sure they weren’t aligned incorrectly. If the wind twisted the net, they had some good techniques for getting them back around the right way. The was vital since the release would not work if it was facing the wrong way! Jim was flying during all of this with a very long load so he did a great job to stay focused.

Thornton Quarry Part 1

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The main job of the day was at a quarry. This was a more unusual job than the ones I have normally seen with Midwest. For a start, it was a long job. This was actually the second day of this job and a third would be required before it was finished. The task is to place wire netting on rock faces to stop and falling rocks from flying freely at anything below. The nets hold any debris against the rock face.

You will have seen things like this before. However, if you are like me, you hadn’t really given any thought to how they are put there. Today I am going to focus on the flying aspect of the job. The work of the guys on the ground was a separate issue and I am going to give them their own posting to follow this one.

The rolls of net are laid out on the ground and picked up by the helicopter. Then Jim had to fly this very long roll across to where it was supposed to be placed. The guys on the ground would attach it and then Jim would lower the net down so the bottom became the top and the top ended up at the bottom. There are over a hundred of these rolls and each one takes several minutes to place. Consequently, it was necessary to land several times during the day. One need was for fuel but another was for a break. This is a long time to be hovering a helicopter!

The weather was really nice for the majority of the day and I was able to get around the site and see the work from many different locations. I also got to have a break during the day which most people didn’t so it was easier for me. Even so, I was bushed at the end of it all. At least I got to fly back to base and not deal with the traffic!

McCook Lift

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As I hinted previously, my day with Midwest involved a couple of lifts. The first was a relatively straightforward job. In common with a lot of jobs it was cooling systems for the roof of a building that was being constructed. The equipment was laid out on the ground near the building and the guys were ready to roll when we landed.

The location is quite close to Midway airport. We talked to them as we came in and the traffic from the airport was close to where we were operating. A couple of times, a low flying Boeing 737 from Southwest could sneak into my shot. They were obviously well clear of us and there was no problem but it was quite fun to see something different in the background.

The job went off without too many issues and soon the aircraft was back on the ground and we could hop on to head to the next job.

Frosty Start

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The good team at Midwest Helicopter called me up recently to see if I wanted to go out on a job they had scheduled. There were two jobs on the one day, one of which was going to be a long one. Anyway, I need to get there first thing to be ready to head on out with the team. I was going to ride in the aircraft so no messing around in Chicago traffic for me during the day. Just sail across.

It had been a cold night so there was ice on the ground and frost on the aircraft. I am not much use to the guys while they are getting ready. Telling me what to do would probably take longer than doing it themselves and they would probably want to check whatever I had done anyway. Therefore, I took the chance to get some shots on the ground of them getting ready and of the aircraft.

Normally I see the aircraft when it arrives at the job so getting it at rest was a nice change. Also, the weather was great with lovely soft morning light so it was a great opportunity. Here are some shots of the morning. The jobs themselves will follow in the days to come.

Illuminating the Bean

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It is easy to get complacent when you have so much going on around you all of the time. I saw something in the paper about an installation in Millennium Park where there was a light field set up around Cloud Gate (or The Bean to everyone except the artist who created it!). The lights were illuminating the ground and also reflecting from the surface of the Bean itself. Sounded worth a look.

I mention it to Nancy and the following day she says the paper mentions the exhibit ends the following day. It is Sunday so I figure I had better get down there that night to see it before it goes. Of course, I am not alone in thinking this. I head down there and it is absolutely packed. There are plenty of photographers around and one of them tells me how quiet it had been the previous Tuesday. Great! I am doing well recently with people telling me how it was better sometime before but they never give me a time machine to make this information truly useful!

Anyway, the presence of all of the people has some good effects. I set up a time lapse when I first get there since it is busy and the people add something to the time lapse. Besides, having a lot of people around makes it feel more exciting. The other benefit is that, while the people obscure the light projections on the ground, they become a screen of their own so seeing the shapes play out on them can be just as good.

I hang around for a while since I figure people will drift off home at some point. It is Sunday after all. Sure enough, the numbers do reduce over time but the exhibit ends at 9pm and there are still plenty of people around at that time. The patterns of light are different on each side of the Bean. Projectors are mounted on scaffold frames and beam constantly changing patterns down. There is also musical accompaniment (although I ruin that effect by staying in my own world with my own music – philistine!).

It was certainly worth it. Someone asked me recently why to live in a city. After you had seen everything once, what else is left to do. A fair question if you don’t live in a city. However, this was one of those things that says to me why it is fun to live in a city. Something like this was happening and it was less than 15 minutes for me to walk there.

Some Fishy Video

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As you might have noticed, there is a bit of theme developing with some of the stuff I post. Photos are the main focus of what I do but I am also dabbling more with the video side of things. There are some things that video can show that stills do not represent as well. Since the 1D MkIV arrived in my hands with the ability to shoot HD video, I have been surprised how many times I have taken some video along with the stills.

Anyway, all of that is a roundabout way of saying that I have got some video from the Shedd Aquarium here in Chicago that goes along with the previous posts on the swimmy things. It is shot through glass (of course) in the public areas so I know that the reflections are sometimes there but even so, I hope you like it.