If you are ever in Chicago and enjoy watching sunrises I highly suggest driving to Adler Planetarium. It is a great place to take cityscape shots. This one was taken just outside the planetarium entrance.
ISO 160 1/1500’s f.95 (ND filter) Leica 50mm noctilux
I’ve posted many landscape pics lately but have not forgotten about my beautiful baby girl (and wife). Here’s a shot I took while in the elevator heading back to our room after a long day of sightseeing.
ISO 1000 1/30’s f1.4 Leica 35mm summilux (Leica M9)
Believe it or not, it took me 20-30 shots before I got this just right. I wanted to make sure that the one light behind the post was centrally located or at least close. Rangefinder cameras currently don’t allow for live viewing and when looking through the viewfinder, you are not looking through the lens. Because of this, you have to move very slowly either left or right to get the image where you want it (I enjoy the challenge).
I used my Leica 50mm noctilux and neutral density filter for the shot. I then used Nik Color Efex to add the ambient colors. The depth of field is not artificially created (bokeh). You can thank the noctilux and it’s ability to shoot at f.95 for that.
ISO 160 1/4000’s f.95 50mm noctilux
I’m sure you are getting tired of Cloud Gate shots. This is my last in the series and also my favorite. This was taken with my Leica M9-P and 21mm super elmar. What I like about it is the amount of detail in the buildings (click on picture to see full-size). The 21mm super elmar was built for sharpness from corner to corner and this image is a perfect example of it.
ISO 1/125s f3.4 21mm super elmar (7 exposure HDR, edited with Photomatix, PS6, & Aperture)
I didn’t just take pics of the “The Bean” with my Olympus OM-D, I also shot with my Leica M9-P and 21mm super elmar.
This shot is not a HDR and was shot handheld. The shot is slightly cropped so that I could remove my self from the picture. I was attempting to get the original sky and the reflected sky to blend.
ISO160 1/60s f3.4 21mm super elmar
Re-post November 2011
Coming up with new photo ideas (compositions) can often times be a challenge. Probably my biggest recommendation is take as many pictures as you possibly can. By doing this, you will begin to understand your cameras mechanics and will get better at composing your shot.
I took this last fall. I found this old barn and really liked it’s architecture. I typically don’t take pictures of “No Parking” signs but I liked this one.
Over the next few weeks you will see a lot of pictures I took in Chicago. We always enjoy spending time there and is probably my favorite city to visit.
One morning, I drove to Alder’s Planetarium. The planetarium is a great place to capture pictures of the city. I shot a variety of pictures with my Olympus OM-D and Leica M9. I think I got every lens I had out of the bag. This one was taken with my Leica 50mm noctilux. Actually, this is 4-5 pictures stitched together to create a panoramic shot. I used Photoshop, Nik Software HDR Efex 2 (this is not a HDR), and Silver Efex 2.
ISO 160 1/1500’s 50mm noctilux
Note: click to see larger size (trust me it’s worth it)
July 4th we spent up in Chicago. Since we only live a few hours away it’s always a great place to vacation. I got up one morning at sunrise and headed out to Alder’s Planetarium to capture pictures of downtown. After shooting over 100 pics with my Leica 21mm super elmar and my Olympus OM-D with the Panasonic 7-14mm lens I decided to get the noctilux out to capture some great depth of field shots. Here is one them.
ISO 160 1/2000s 50mm noctilux ND filter
