Loop
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
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Flamingo, created by noted American artist Alexander Calder, is a 53-foot (16 m)[2] tall stabile located in the Federal Plaza in Chicago, Illinois. Flamingo, créé par le célèbre artiste américain Alexander Calder, est une structure stable de 16 m (2 m) située sur la Federal Plaza de Chicago, dans l’Illinois.
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- Richard Jefferies.
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My wife and I have been traveling together for eight years now, and we sometimes sit together and look back at the pictures we have on our trips. There are some trips where we don’t much, and then there are trips that are etched vividly in our memories. I think after eight years, we have finally cracked the secret. Trips that go perfectly according to the plan are the ones which we don’t remember very well as opposed to trips where nothing went according to plan. We started noticing this on our first trip together, and after eight years and countless trips together, I can confidently say there is some merit to this theory.
Our first trip together was to visit the beautiful Acadia National Park. There was not much planning involved, and we struggled during this trip. One of the spots I had in mind for this trip was the pinnacle of Cadillac Mountain, as it's touted as the first place to see the morning sun anywhere in the United States. We thought the hard part of this would be waking up at 5 am as you can drive straight up the top of the mountain. It was stunning to see the view from the top, and the light was magnificent but what took us off guard was the cold. The top of the mountain was bitterly cold, and the strong winds coming off the Atlantic didn’t help either. We were unprepared for the wind in our wool coats and beat a hasty retreat after just a few shots. We ended up in a small and cozy breakfast spot that served nice hot coffee and blueberry pancakes made with fresh blueberries from their backyard. We still remember this trip so clearly that we compare the bone-chilling cold we experienced here whenever we are getting ready for a sunrise shot.
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How often do you use long exposures in your photography? Since recently I discovered a new passion for minimalistic, abstract photography and incorporating movement in that style of work is very important for me. So I find myself using long exposures quite often in one way or the other. I love to use them to break the symmetry in the frame and as a strong point of interest. What do you think?
I revisited this location during this summer to see if I can get something different out of it each time. I tried different times of the day and I recently tried it shooting with infrared. Loved the outcome. Some great shadow textures are revealed in this version and the BW was a way to go in my opinion. What do you think?
Do you have better luck with it? I was really looking forward to this short work break. The holiday was great and spending some quality time with my family and friends is alway a bonus and I’m grateful for it. The weather on the other side sucks, it’s bad for all four days and that is a bummer. But, hey, we will not let that stop us from getting out and hanging together and try to salvage what we can. This is one was shot back in September on one of the similar gloomy days. What do you think?
Flamingo, created by noted American artist Alexander Calder, is a 53-foot (16 m)[2] tall stabile located in the Federal Plaza in Chicago, Illinois. Flamingo, créé par le célèbre artiste américain Alexander Calder, est une structure stable de 16 m (2 m) située sur la Federal Plaza de Chicago, dans l’Illinois.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Premiers flocons de neige sur Chicago...
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122
- Lao Tzu.
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It's been a crazy few days with an unexpected job change and my sister suddenly dropping in for a visit that I didn’t get much time to spend on photos. We have managed quite a few trips in the last couple of months, and I am already behind processing them. However, I finally managed to take some time and sort through the photos from White Sands National Park. I hope to post more images from that stunning destination in the next couple of days.
Today’s subject is again the lone tree of White Sands that I managed to find in one of my hikes. I was unhappy with the first day’s image of the tree and returned to it repeatedly, hoping for better light. It turns out that’s the best thing I did during the trip. I managed to capture images of the tree in dramatically different settings. While I have returned to locations before, it was the first time I did so within days, and it surprised me how different the area looked each time I went there. It seems like it would be a practice I will be adding to my travel photography techniques.
Was anyone shooting cityscapes recently :) This is the view from Navy Pier and the iconic 12 high-rises from a slightly different perspective. The night I captured this frame I was out with one of the friends I met at “Out of Chicago” photography group and due to the circumstances we were almost late to catch the sunset that evening. Night ended up being great and I was able to capture what I really wanted. The color was actually the best after the sunset. The idea was to capture the cityscape at sunset, blue hour and the night time so I can blend those different moments in time and get something a little more unique. Time blend benefits are ability to extend the dynamic range, get better color, detail and having the full control of all the elements while manually blending your exposures. What do you think?
It’s all about fun, right? This and image shot form Wyndham’s hotel in downtown Chicago. It was a night well spent and I really wanted to capture this frame from this perspective. Shooting from this location was highly anticipated and I was prepared to wait as much as it takes to get this frame. My OCD was never really fully satisfied with the obstructed views from London House :) What do you think?
How cool are these views? I’m pretty excited to share with you this perspective of the beautiful Wrigley’s Clock Tower. Big shout-out to Erica for being such a great host. Looking forward to exploring some more cool spots in the future! What do you think?
Is it always about fun? If you ask me, the answer is always YES! Playing with textures, looks and a different perspectives to capture this city never gets old. It keeps my mind in shape and I think it really inspires my creative process in general. This shot takes us back to the Chicago’s River Walk and a few good moments spent with some friendly faces. What do you think?
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Are we done or not? God only knows how excited I get just thinking about catching the good sunset over Chicago sometimes soon! But until that happens I’m just gonna have to be happy with what I have! I know it’s a classic shot but I had to have it redone and what better time to do it than while this crazy fog was covering downtown. What do you think?
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Aqua Tower à Chicago: Architecte Jeanne Gang. Prix "Emporis Skyscraper Award 2009"
- William Shakespeare.
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The moment we entered the White Sands National Park, I knew I wanted an image with the delicate patterns in the sand. It turned out harder than expected. The park, known for wind, was serene during our visit. So footmarks stayed on overnight, and it also meant I had to hike quite deep into the dunes to get decent unbroken patterns. While hunting for a composition, I had the idea to make the composition a bit more interesting by adding some more familiar items from the landscape.
The mountain to the west of the park is a dominant feature that immediately caught my eye, and I decided to use it as my background. With their elongated stems, these Yucca plants were the other elements of the park that I wanted to add to my image. As mentioned earlier, this made the search a bit trickier, but my perseverance paid off. The final image is a simple 16:9 aspect ratio composition with the tripod placed low.
La tour Willis à droite, tour la plus haute de Chicago: 442 m...
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122 B&W: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157635275056980
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Flamingo, created by noted American artist Alexander Calder, is a 53-foot (16 m)[2] tall stabile located in the Federal Plaza in Chicago, Illinois. Flamingo, créé par le célèbre artiste américain Alexander Calder, est une structure stable de 16 m (2 m) située sur la Federal Plaza de Chicago, dans l’Illinois.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122
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“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” - Buddha
So how did the weekend go? I didn’t have much luck photography wise to be honest. I made an attempt to capture some images but it did not work out so I got lazy and spend some time recharging my mental batteries. This is the river shot taken from the Wyndham Hotel. What do you think?
I usually don’t post two photos in a row with the same subject but this event was very interesting and rare so I had to find a different location and get one more shot. The colors cast from the peer lights was to harsh and the color did’t work as on the previous shot so I decided to go BW in this case. What do you think?
Are you ready for a change? Fall is almost here and we can’t wait to dive in. If you are interested in spending some time with us at the Richard Stromberg’s Photography school please sign up for one of the exiting new workshops. I’ll be teaching Infrared, Mornings and Nights in the city workshops alongside my friend @nz.bfphoto. If interested you can hit me up here or on my webpage nenografia.com for one of the private one on one custom learning experiences. This is the IR image shot in the Grant Park. What do you think?
Long or not? When shooting cityscapes I often like to include some movement in to my work and mix in a long exposure with the static subject. Having the long exposure in two dimensional medium adds a sense of depth and breaks up the monotony. Depth can be added to your composition in many other ways but we will touch up on that in some future posts. What do you think?
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122
I’m not sure what is going on? We seem to get a glimpse of spring every third day and the rest of the week just feels like winter. Tulips were out for a few days and I thought I should board the tulip train and capture the frame that feels like spring while I can. That sure didn’t last long. What do you think?
Are you going out? People often think that I’m crazy when I spend all day out on this subzero temperatures while the snow storm is in full force or when I’m happy to see a frozen lake :) I always find myself struggling to explain that feeling to someone who doesn’t have the same passion in life. What usually helps is when I show the final result of that effort but seeing how my passion ignites the passion of that someone is by far the most rewarding thing of all. What do you think?
La Cloud Gate (littéralement « Porte des nuages ») est une sculpture urbaine de l'artiste britannique Anish Kapoor située dans le Millennium Park à Chicago...
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122
Flamingo, created by noted American artist Alexander Calder, is a 53-foot (16 m)[2] tall stabile located in the Federal Plaza in Chicago, Illinois.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 B&W: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157635275056980 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122
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Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122
Are you ready? The time frame for IR photography is slowly closing for this season so If you are interested in learning some more please sign up for the next IR workshops here at Richard Stromberg’s Photography school. You can also always hit me up here or on my website nenografia.com for one of the private one on one custom learning experiences. This is the of the beautiful Aqua building. The project was the largest ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman architect Jeanne Gang. What do you think?
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122
Les "vagues" de l'Aqua Tower à Chicago: Architecte Jeanne Gang. Prix "Emporis Skyscraper Award 2009".
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122 B&W: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157635275056980 Abstract: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157689504332434
Nuit étoilée sur la tour Willis à Chicago... Starry night on the Willis Tower in Chicago ...
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jl.dumas 500Px: 500px.com/jldum
Chicago: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157706071866535 Architecture: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157669768177122 B&W: www.flickr.com/photos/jldum/albums/72157635275056980
Good morning/day to you, hope your week is going well? Here in Chicago we are anticipating Spring Equinox. Shooting in the city all the days coming up to it, and after it really gets fun. Deep defined shadows, strong pronounced highlights and sharp angles, it’s a dream for architecture photography. What do you think?
How did it go? Yesterday was not that chaotic, surprisingly, so on the brighter note I will go back to the last weeks supermoon rise. I strongly feel that events like this one should actually draw our full attention. Not that often, if ever, some of us get to see sun rushing down on one side of the river and supermoon soaring up on the other, while both equally cast their light on the city! So for those of you who might never experience something like this, take a moment and enjoy. What do you think?
LONDON HOUSE How did you kick off the start of this week? I’m still hoping and waiting to see some fall color in the city! But until that happens I’m back and shooting cityscapes. I’m contemplating for a long time how to shoot the views from a London House terrace. For those who don’t know, that is a luxury hotel at the riverfront in Chicago. Since it’s accessible for anybody who is willing to pay for a drink at the rooftop bar it was a challenge to find a different perspective from that spot. Besides waiting for the right weather conditions the bar is always crowded. Since it’s getting colder there is not much people there so this was the perfect time for me to explore the terrace and enjoy that drink in peace and all while happy hour is on ( every Monday and Tuesday :) What do you think?
Thanks to all Phoide contributors to Loop!
Most notably Nenad Spasojevic, Jean-Louis Dumas, Joao Eduardo Figueiredo, Andrey Sulitskiy and Sandeep Thomas.