Tag Archives: winter

Trump Tower

wpid5552-AU0E5496-Edit.jpgWalking back from Navy Pier, I came back along the river towards home. Since it was getting late in the afternoon, I was effectively heading into the sun. Not ideal for taking pictures but the reflective nature of the Trump Tower ahead of me seemed to be picking up light from all sorts of directions. It seemed like a good shot to take. Shooting the Trump is something that requires some thought. It is rather tall and fitting it in the frame without making it distort too much means being quite far away. I also played with a little HDR to see if that helped and it turns out it did!

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Navy Pier

wpid5549-AU0E5426.jpgOne of the nice things about winter in Chicago is enjoying the days when it is cold but clear and sunny. The combination of clear skies and the gentle light of winter is very attractive and when it happens during the weekend, it is a good idea to get out and have a walk around. Navy Pier is a very popular tourist destination so it is a place I rarely go. Winter, though, is a quieter time and it is worth wandering out since you won’t be fighting the crowds. You can also see how much ice has built up in the lake.

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The pier has a lot of touristy stuff to attract people. This isn’t really my thing. However, the Ferris wheel is something that makes me look for a little longer. Also, the end of the pier is the location for a large hall. I’m not sure what the hall is used for. It was locked up while I was there. However, it is a nice looking structure. It is also a nice spot to look out into the lake. The water culverts our outside the harbor wall and there is a lighthouse on the wall itself. A few things to take a look at while enjoying a good stroll.wpid5554-AU0E5436-Edit.jpg

 

Snowy Trees

wpid5449-IMG_1422.jpgUnlike last winter, this one has been a bit colder in the Chicago area. It hasn’t been consistently cold but there have been some cold times and we have had a bit of snow. We don’t tend to get too much snow in the city itself. It does happen but usually the areas around the city get hit a lot more than we do. It is easy to forget this but, when we head out to other places, we get a reminder.

wpid5453-IMG_1427.jpgA recent trip out to Barrington was one of those times. As we drove along the roads through the country, there was plenty of snow about. Lots of it was attached to the trees and it had clumped together in quite an interesting way. It looked like large cotton balls attached to the branches. Sadly, when you are driving along a road with nowhere to pull off, you can’t easily get a picture.

wpid5451-IMG_1424.jpgOnce we got to Barrington, though, I saw some trees near the parking lot that looked similar. Nancy headed inside (it was cold so she was no fool) while I wandered across the lot. Just a phone to take the pictures with but you use what you have. The location wasn’t quite as pretty as the roads we had come along but you get an idea of what it was like. The sun was out and the temperature was rising so some of the snow was already melting off the branches so I think I was quite lucky to get what I did.

Ducks in Flight

wpid5335-AU0E3191.jpgThe eagle trip to the Mississippi provided plenty of times when the big birds were either elsewhere or just sitting in the trees wondering what to do next.  This meant either doing nothing ourselves of having a practice on the other wildlife passing by.  There were a few ducks in flight.  Since these are small targets, they have to be reasonably close to make a shot even worth trying.  However, a couple of times they came close so why not?

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Wintery Suburbs

wpid5349-IMG_1396.jpgComing home to Chicago recently, we were landing just after some snow had blown through the area.  We made a slightly unusual approach to Midway and did some maneuvering pretty low over the suburbs near the airport.  I love this sort of thing since I find the rows of houses really fascinating from above.  I managed to snap a few shots out of the window as we came in.  These were grabbed with the camera on my phone so the control was a little limited but it was better than missing it altogether.

wpid5351-IMG_1400.jpgwpid5353-IMG_1405.jpgSome of the industrial buildings in the area also look cool from the air.  This part of town has a bunch of rail yards and the geometry of them is impressive from above.wpid5355-IMG_1410.jpg

 

 

Bald Eagles

wpid5333-AU0E3122.jpgIt has been a couple of years since I last made a trip out to the Mississippi to take pictures of the bald eagles that fish out there.  Last winter it was pretty warm and my schedule was a bit busy.  Warm weather means the river doesn’t freeze up and the birds can fish anywhere they like.  When it gets cold, the ice means fishing is harder to do and they tend to gather at the dams along the river since they will usually have some open water just downstream.

wpid5327-AU0E3171.jpgThis winter hasn’t been consistently cold either but it has been a while and I don’t know whether I will still be here next year so, with a good looking weather forecast, I decided to go.  I was not alone in this with the number of people at Lock and Dam 14 in Iowa far larger than I have ever seen before.  Combined with the relatively open river, this meant the people were healthily outnumbering the eagles.

wpid5329-AU0E3773.jpgHowever, there were a few birds in the air at various times.  Sadly, with a lot of open water, they could choose where to fish.  Also, the wind was coming from across the river so they tended to make their fishing runs away from us.  Consequently, there were lots of eagle butt shots to be had but not many front views.  Even so, I was with some friends so it was a good day to be out and there were a few shots that made the trip a success, even if I didn’t get anything as good as I have managed in previous years.