Mason and Summer
September 12th, 2007
Island Park, Adel
September 8th, 2007
We went camping somewhere other than the Saylorville area this time. Island Park in Adel Iowa was a great alternative and just as close to Des Moines. Not to mention it’s right beside Adel, providing easy access to necessities.
Bonnie and Josh’s combined children show their superhero strength.
Richard got the rest of us in trouble with our significant others.
In case anyone wonders, my camera takes some good pictures. Luckily there’s no human intervention needed, it does it’s job then lets me know when it’s done. Now if I can only teach it to cook for me. But then again, my pans cook some really tasty food anyway.
We met this assumably remotely rural lad while he walked through our camp to get to the Raccoon river. He stood at our camp for a little while, telling us stories about his pa, ma, and other family members. After we couldn’t stand to hear any more we had to tell him to “run along now.” Nice kid, if not tear jerkingly boring. They must not have any neighbors or schools in his area. The kid sure can hold a fishing pole for a 8-hour shift, let me tell ya.
Island Park Adel, Electric Sites
The gals played the game telephone with the kids. Amusing.
Attractions, Greatest Hits, Nature, Night, Outdoor, Parties, People
Being Candid
September 4th, 2007
More candid street photography from our trip to Chicago.
Hiking the concrete jungle.
Help a brother out.
Spare change, please?
All business…
It’s just my job.
Millenium Park
September 3rd, 2007
Millenium Park: What a great idea. An all in one park with attractions for people of all ages to do and see, and it’s free. This park gets utilized, what a concept. Ahem, attention parks and rec board. Empty green fields are great for throwing balls around, but why not build something for the rest of us? Any medium sized city should aspire to have parks this lively on their own scale. Free multifunctional lively outdoor meccas. Space, function, art, substance.
I know I could have gotten some killer shots with all the action here but I was trying to avoid conflict as I had no kids of my own there. I’m getting used to the photographers role as a terrorist, pervert, and invader of “public privacy.”
Yes, a horizontal column of water spitting from his mouth.
Cloudgate, aka The bean
The concert area (Pritzker Pavilion) is a little overkill, but Chicago is large enough to support it.
Elephant and Castle
September 3rd, 2007
We officially have a favorite bar in town. Within the loop area of Chicago there’s a English pub/restaurant called Elephant & Castle. They have a decent number of imports on tap. It’s a very relaxed place and with plenty hotels nearby there’s probably as many tourists as locals in here. We stopped in here to rest our feet a few times during our trip.
Chicago CTA
September 2nd, 2007
Some photos taken during our use of CTA L-Trains in Chicago.
There was a Hawkeyes game in town.
Fifteen minutes later we were in the lovely (heavy sarcasm) Englewood area of Chicago. What a moment to remember that was.
Navy Pier
September 2nd, 2007
Still in Chicago, we ventured down to the Navy Pier area. Of the hundreds of “must see” attractions in Chicago, Navy Pier is up there in the top 5 most popular.
Our seagull friend visited for a while, we shared some popcorn with him. I realize it’s no cold mushy worm, but that’s all we had for him. It turned out he loved the stuff.
Union Station
September 1st, 2007
Metra Train
September 1st, 2007
Each day we rode the Metra Milwaukee District West Line (Chicago Union Station to Elgin/Big Timber) from the suburb of Itasca into Chicago. We avoided traffic congestion, outrageous parking fees, and enjoyed the sights of Chicago more. On the other hand we had to wait for buses/trains, coordinate times for transfers from Metra to CTA L trains, and do tons of walking everywhere between. To me it’s a toss up as to if it’s better to drive or use mass transit for vacationing in Chicago. As the third largest city in the United States, getting around town isn’t the simplest of matters no matter what you choose. If you plan to use buses at all, choose bus stops carefully so you don’t end up waiting on the street in any of the roughest areas of Chicago, as we accidentally did in Englewood.
This guy struck up a conversation with me after noticing my camera. This photo was taken in stealth fashion before we even talked. He’s from Elgin and works as some form of internet consultant for up and coming businesses. I had a real hard time grasping the nature of his business, it sounded hard to explain. Real nice guy though. Mostly we discussed my photography habit and internet related topics.
Don’t worry about me, just taking pictures of the magazine.
These poor people have to go to work today.
Museum of Science and Industry
September 1st, 2007
Now we’re at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I didn’t take many photos here, it’s a museum you know. I was amazed at how my perception has changed since the few times I went here as a child. This place used to seem at least 5 times bigger than it was this visit. Surprisingly it hasn’t changed as drastically as I thought it would in all these years.
Many kids will recognize mom and dad, the TV set.
There are 10 people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don’t. Yes, a room where 1’s and 0’s fly all over the floor and walls. Geeky, but I can’t say I wouldn’t do this to a room if I had the time.
I’ve always been fond of these simulated old main street exhibits.
Welcome to Chicago
September 1st, 2007
The next few posts will show photos taken from our half week trip to Chi-town. This post focuses on what we saw when we first arrived and between other sights in the Chicago area.
Nice hotels in decent parts of Chicago are extremely expensive. We instead stayed out in the Suburb of Itasca and commuted via Metra trains to Chicago each day to avoid outrageous parking costs. You get to experience the city a little more that way also. After exiting Union Station in Chicago, this is the great view you’re greeted with.
Our cab ride back from the Museum of Science and Industry, taking the safe route around the ghetto. On our way down there, having not prepared a route, we took the L train to Englewood where we waited on the street for 25 long minutes to transfer to a bus. I wouldn’t quite suggest it. The bus stop probably isn’t the most dangerous part of this Chicago neighborhood, but that wasn’t reassuring either. You know you’re in a poverty stricken area when a street vendor exclusively sells used couch cushions and socks, and the citizens congregate on milk crates in the median of the road. Needless to say, the camera was well hidden in my bag. Come to find out, this is one of the worst crime areas in Illinois, with approximately 70 murders a year. See the link above for statistics about lovely Englewood.
So the cab driver speaks English that is less than distinguishable, and we have to pay $40 to avoid waiting in the ghetto at sundown. That’ll be just fine I guess. Hopefully his night will be as safe as ours, driving cab here is Russian roulette.
This mans’ job is to monitor the printer on the stool, on the sidewalk. Whatever you say boss.
Tons of Navy types running around the city, they must be docked nearby. Chicks dig uniforms I’ve heard. Remember this if absolutely everything else fails.
All the tall buildings reflect light onto each other throughout the day.
Why yes I am taking pictures of the back of your head.
Being the rebels we are, we crossed the street while the no crossing symbol was lit… after checking around for any signs of the FBI or CIA.
These two got on our Metra train at Itasca and got off at Union Station as we did. Yes he tucked his long sleeve shirt into his shorts. He can go straight from a meeting at the office to a walk on the beach with his lady.
The Berghoff
DSM Skateboarding
August 22nd, 2007
I met Gabe of www.dsmskateboarding.com at Skate South where they gather once a week or so.
This being my first time shooting any indoor low light sports, I didn’t do horrible but I didn’t do as well as I wanted to either. The poor and sparse lighting (rollerskating rinks usually only use their mood and disco lighting) didn’t help me capture action very well. I had to use compact strobe flashes to illuminate and freeze the action. I should have used more variety in lighting setups for better results. It was definitely more challenging than any shooting I’ve done before, a learning experience no doubt.
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Gabe of DSM Skateboarding on the rainbow box
Long Glass
August 20th, 2007
My NAS (Nikon Acquisition Syndrom) continues. I decided I have to have a medium long-range lens to add range. The economy Nikkor 55-200mm VR fit the bill for this use.
Not only does it give me better reach for when I can’t get up close, but also it adds the ability to compose images differently because your angle changes.
I can better capture people without them knowing or being anywhere near them, great for street photography when I don’t feel like getting caught.
Nice bokeh. Notice how the background is soft and out of focus. Using a wide aperture with a longer lens will result in this narrow depth of field which can be placed at your preferred distance to add bokeh where you want it.
Grand Piano Bistro
August 17th, 2007
We went with the mother and Ken to the Grand Piano Bistro in the East Village area of Des Moines. The bistro is an interesting place to go for something different. They will play almost any request within reason that you throw at them, along with humerous games with on-stage volunteers. Also I’d place them in the local top 10 for the best variety of beers.
Bars, Des Moines, Music, Night, People
Monkeying Around
August 15th, 2007
This really should have went with the Product Shots post I made not long ago. I was just testing out different lighting methods for various smaller objects.
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Fashion shot. I thought it was funny.
Sorry for the boredom but I took them, so might as well post them.