The Sky before a Storm

It's been raining a lot lately, and a week ago there were violent 

thunderstorms and the sky turned yellow and then everything outdoors

 had a yellow tint to it. I've only seen this happen once before and it's 

sort of eerie.

 I tried to go for a more simplified landscape composition by 

just showing the tops of the trees.

Winnetka

Taken in May 2012

Great Blue Heron

There was an unprecedented number of herons on the Skokie Lagoons 

yesterday, and one bold great blue heron perched itself by the canoe 

launch and allowed me to go up to the shore and take a few pictures. 

There was also a black-crowned night-heron, which I have never seen

 before, and another great blue that plucked a giant fish out of the water.

I spotted some other photographers nearby and walked over to ask what 

they saw birdwise--since that's a habit I'm trying to get into--but then they

 told me that they were just there for a class. Talking to fellow photographers

 is a great way to acquire more knowledge about the craft and how 

to go about certain situations.

Winnetka

Taken in May 2012

The Rural Midwest: Minnesota

My family and I went on a road trip to visit colleges and family, 
and on the way back I took photos of agricultural stuff as we drove 
down the highway. Compared to Wisconsin, Minnesota had more 
industrial farming structures and fields, and since there are only two 
major cities much more of the state is rural.

There are a lot of really interesting sights along I-90. In Minnesota,
 since farming is more prioritized than in the other states I've driven 
through, unique farming equipment and rolling fields line the highway. 

Minnesota

Taken in May 2012

The Rural Midwest: Wisconsin

I've been going on road trips with my family to colleges in the Midwest, 

and while driving down I-90 I photographed interesting agricultural

structures and fields. We drove through Wisconsin on our way back from

 Minnesota, and it was interesting to see Wisconsin get less rural and more

 urban as we got closer to Illinois. Near Minnesota though there are a

 lot of dairy farms and traditional barns.

While driving around Amherst, Massachusetts a couple months ago 

I discovered that by using a low aperture and keeping the foreground

 in the frame, taking pictures while driving can create an almost 

tilt-shift effect. When it works, the results are really cool looking 

(as with these photos of barns), but a lot of the time the photos

 turn out indistinct and blurry. Nevertheless, it's a

 fun way to spend a seven hour car trip. 

Wisconsin

Taken in May 2012

The North Branch

A week ago I discovered an overgrown path through Watersmeet

 Woods which had close access to the North Branch of the Chicago River,

 and I had an idea that it would be great for landscape shots of the water so

 I came back the following day but it was overrun with spiders and after

 losing it when I brushed my hand against a wet fern I decided to seek 

another view of the River. I found a few inner-forest paths along the bike

 trail which gave way to a view of the water. There weren't nearly as 

many spiders but it was still pretty rough terrain.

I wanted to get a landscape shot with water blur, and the lens I was 

using (18-50mm f/2.8) had an optical stabilizer so the rest of the scene

 wouldn't turn out too motion-blurred. I tried to get these shots to make

 the forest have a jungle-like feel to it.

Northfield

Taken in May 2012

Wood Ducks in Perkins Woods

After doing some research online, I discovered another popular 

birding-watching site within comfortable biking distance that I 

haven't been to: Perkins Woods in the middle of the suburbs in Evanston.

 I wandered around fruitlessly for about ten minutes until I discovered 

three wood ducks resting in a pond. Although they're considered pretty

 boring by the birding community because of how common they are, I 

think wood ducks look awesome and they're my favorite birds to photograph.

Again I had to put up with harsh terrain to get the photos I wanted. 

The pond was surrounded by mud and overhanging branches, and 

misquotes were buzzing in my ears, but I'd been looking for these birds

 for a while so it was definitely worth it.

Evanston

Taken in May 2012

Wildflowers in Crow Island Woods

For some reason I felt motivated to create this "Illinois Wildflower" 

series, so I spent my Sunday walking around some areas with 

wildflowers in Winnetka . The Crow Island Woods--a small forest 

next to the elementary school--by far had the most variety of 

wildflowers. Many of the more unusually ones, like the flower in the 

bottom photo, numbered very few and were hidden under large ferns.

To get closer than I usually could with my typical lens, I used macro extensions.

 As long as there was a lot of light, they didn't create much of a problem. 

I watched a video last night about flower photography so I tried to use the 

tips it gave with these flowers: keep the flower in focus, crop out negative 

space, and make sure the flower contrasts the background.

Winnetka

Taken in May 2012

Yellow Irises

Among the many wildflowers blooming along the Chicago River 

are yellow irises. A small swamp located near the Northfield campus 

of New Trier (in Watersmeet Woods) is filled with hundreds of them, and 

is home to a unique array of other wetland wildlife as well, including

 otters and green herons.

It was drizzling, so I set out with some macro extensions to capture 

raindrops on wildflowers which would probably be out of season in 

a few weeks. Wildflowers usually dot the forest in colorful patches, 

so it was very out of the ordinary to come across a small grove 

of the same flower. It was a really interesting sight.

Northfield

Taken in May 2012

Wildflowers on the Skokie Lagoon

Illinois has unique colorful wild flowers that grow in plains and

 swamps, and since I guess the Skokie Lagoon is a wetlandish 

area there are wild flowers there. They're spaced out sort of like 

weeds where they grow in isolated patches. 

The pink flowers in the bottom photo required me to walk into a 

small field of tall grass to take the picture, and when I went back 

onto the trail I discovered about ten wood ticks on my pants. So I 

suppose because of the nice weather outside, bugs are now 

something I'll have to put up with.

Winnetka

Taken in May 2012

Spring and the Chicago River

It's neat how the clean and quiet forest around the Chicago 

River contrasts the noisy and urban western suburbs. Unlike the 

northern half of the trail, patches of colorful wild flowers manage

 to bloom and the River isn't surrounded by a wall of shrubs so 

its bank can be easily accessed.

Since there wasn't anything specific that stood out, I tried to capture

 the serene and springlike scene in one frame. A narrow focal length

 helped me single out a particular section and a slow shutter speed 

highlighted the vibrant colors. 

Morton Grove

Taken in April 2012

Deer in Niles

The western suburbs of Chicago are pretty ugly and urban, but along the

 Chicago River is a pristine open forest with all sorts of Illinois fauna and wildlife.

I happened upon a large group of deer in the Niles portion of the Chicago

 River trail, and since a few deers assumed the role of keeping a wary 

eye on me, others relaxed and continued to look for food or groom themselves. 

The limited depth of field that the telephoto effect gives the deer in these

 photos almost has a tilt-shift effect.

Niles

Taken in April 2012

Birds in Elm Park

A yellow-rumped warbler leaps through dandelions and grass to find food, 

and a goldfinch perches on a thin branch. It's nice knowing that this sort 

of wildlife lives in your backyard. 

I just walked across the street to a small park and looked for birds to 

photograph. Once I found a bird that wasn't a robin, I crouched in 

the grass by a tree and waited patiently for the bird to take off or turn 

its head. It's adequate practice for photographing sports. 

Winnetka

Taken in May 2012

More Waterfowl on the Skokie Lagoon in Spring

Two interesting birds that I saw at the Skokie Lagoons today were a caspian tern 

and a wood duck (respectively top and bottom photo). The tern looked very

 similar to a seagull except for the black spot on its head and its large orange

 beak, and it spent about fifteen minutes circling the water and diving in to 

grab fish. The wood duck was very shy, and departed with a siren-like 

squawking as soon as it saw me.

It's been raining, but sunlight managed to break through the clouds and

 diffuse through the mist to give everything a soft glow. I wanted a more 

'stop-motion' effect with the birds, so I increased the ISO speed to 1600--

which is something that I usually don't like doing because it makes the image 

a little fuzzy-- and took the photos with a shutter speed of around 1/2000.

Winnetka

Taken in May 2012