Starting to catchup after the holidays ended, so after 11 days of Scotland landscapes I am continuing to publish photos from last years trip to the USA. Here is the information desk on the main hall of Chicago's Symphony Center, a huge violin in the middle of the room is always a show piece.
inside the Chicago Symphony Center
-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone and final crop.
Macphun AuroraHDR: HDR photomerge and toning
Another great example of residential architecture just outside the centre of Chicago. This building was on my way back to the hotel, and each day I tried to to get a clean photo of the whole facade without any cars parked in front. And I got lucky. This building is comprised of 9 homes with a rather high price tag, it seems to be part of a time when this was a nicer part of town.
-- Gear Fujifilm X-PRO1 Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye -- Post Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction.
The Chicago L is the rapid transit system serving the city and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois, with L being short for elevated. It is the fourth largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length (at 165.4 km), and the third busiest rail mass transit system in the United States after the New York City Subway and Washington Metro. Chicago's "L" provides 24-hour service on some portions of its network, which came in very handy when returning from the United Center after seeing the home team beat the New York Knicks. Like most metro stations in the U.S. it has utilitarian style and suffer from varying degrees of decay, which seems a bit alien to me, but I'm sure it makes sense when dealing with a massive network and a shortage of funds. Thankfully there are a few exceptions which I will cover soon.
-- Gear Fujifilm X-PRO1 Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye -- Post Lightroom : Initial tone and final crop. Photoshop: Clean up and sharpening. NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction.
As you walk a few blocks from the center of Chicago, the architecture changes dramatically. Whereas in Manhattan most of the have at least a few scattered skyscrapers, or at least the majority of the buildings is around the 10 stories high, in Chicago the change is more abrupt. All of a sudden the comercial buildings are only one or two stories high, and the residential hardly reach 5.
-- Gear Fujifilm X-T1 Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR -- Post Lightroom : Initial tone and final crop. Photoshop: Clean up and sharpening. NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction.
Chicago is known world wide for it's architecture, sometimes being referred to as a living architectural museum. he Willoughby Tower stands tall and proud over the Michigan Avenue cliff, presiding over the parade of unique architecture at its sides. It is also a victim of early 20th century urban planning. The reason for the tall tower is to comply with a former city ordinance which stated that the portion of a building above a certain height could only occupy 25% of its footprint. Thus, the tall tower to maximize revenue and prestige while staying in line with setback laws. It helps distinguish this tower from the majority of buildings in the "cliff" which are all around 280 feet tall. Built in 1929 and designed by Samuel N. Crowen & Associates, its 38 stories reach a height of 134 meters, it sits where, in 1846 the Sisters of Mercy founded Chicago's first convent.
-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone and final crop.
Photoshop: Perspective correction, clean up and sharpening.
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction.
Chicago, the windy city, gave us a sunny and chilli welcome. The clear blue sky, and the strong sun makes it look like a summer day, but the freezing air temperature, coupled with the ever present wind, made it clear that the city had just survived one of the worst Winters in recent memory. For the first few hours in the city I was just trying to get a feel for this town, that looks so different than New York where I spent the previous week. This was taken on the North side of Michigan Ave. Probably one of the busiest streets of the center, right on the Magnificent Mile. On the other side of the road, dwarfed by the skyscrapers, stands the Fourth Presbyterian Church. Built in 1912 in the Gothic Revival style and designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram.
This marks the start of me showing the great images taken from this great city in the three days I had the pleasure to spend there. This series will probably run into the fifth month of my project.
-- Gear Fujifilm X-PRO1 Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye -- Post Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up Macphun AuroraHDR: HDR toning
Leaving the cold and sunny Big Apple behind, my first US adventure reaches the second stage. Soon we will be landing on the still frozen Windy City. Home of some of the most interesting Art Deco architecture, and to me home of the greatest basketball team in history.The 90's era Chicago Bulls and the House that Michael built. The great thing of my downsized travel kit and bag, and US sized plane seats, is that I get to carry my camera at my feet through the flight. And the frozen landscape below is too inviting not to snap a few images.
-- Gear Fujifilm X-PRO1 Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye -- Post Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extracti
From the great collection of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art I picked out these two beautiful sculptures by French "Romantic" artist Antoine-Augustin Préault. They depict Jupiter on the left and Venus on the right siting on top of two unusual looking sphinxes. Completed in 1868, they are plaster working models for monumental stone sculptures completed in 1870 and still sit in the garden of the palace at Fontainebleau. Like Venus, the companion sculpture, Jupiter has no precedent in antique iconography and is apparently the original product of Préault's deeply Romantic imagination. You can find more of his work at the Musee du Louvre and the beautiful Musee d'Orsay, and also at the iconic Pere Lachaise Cemetery.
-- Gear Fujifilm X-T1 Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR -- Post Lightroom : Initial tone and final crop. Photoshop: Compositing, clean up and sharpening. NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction.
This is a detail shot of the domed ceiling on one of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building's stairwells. It depicts a glorious ornate Beaux-Arts architecture that can be found all over the main building of the New York Public Library. And although in day 84 that it would be my last image from this building, I couldn't resist adding this one to the project.
-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : HDR photomerge, initial tone and final crop.
Photoshop: Perspective correction, clean up and sharpening.
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction.
Roaming the streets of the big apple.