Autumn on the Chicago River

Today, I ventured back onto the North Branch Trail to document the newly 

changed leaves and their reflections in the Chicago River. Desperate to improve 

upon last year's collection of photos of motion blurred water reflecting trees, I spent 

more time framing each shot (especially utilizing the rule of thirds), took risks to get a

 better angle, and made sure to include a stable subject. Also, the dash of red leaves 

helped make the mostly green scenes less monotonous. 

With the bottom photo, I walked into the middle of the river. I've seen professional 

photographers do it, and if I had brought waterproof pants and a longer tripod it would

 seem like the most practical way to get a good picture. Instead I just had boots and 

a mini-tripod, so I got wet but it was a good experience. Also, the North Branch of the

 Chicago River is much cleaner and shallower than any other part of the river.

Glenview

Taken in September 2012

Autumn in Harms Woods

I discovered that it was autumn today, so at sunset I rushed to the spot where a year

 ago I had taken pictures of leaves and the River in Harms Woods. The path

 was cleared of any overgrown shrubbery and the leaves were green, yellow, red,

 and orange. I hiked along the inner-forest trail and photographed the canopy with 

a long shutter speed and wide aperture to exaggerate color.

I was browsing through some of Peter Lik's photos earlier today and they reminded 

me of how difficult it is to create a meaningful aesthetic out of bright colors in 

nature photography. Sometimes brightly colored nature photos can have a postcard

 quality to them. Whether or not that's true with these, I like the veininess of the tree 

branches and their contrast with the leaves.

Glenview

Taken in September 2012

Fish at the Grove

   The idea of a zoo of wildlife from the North Shore is pretty cool. A lodge 

in the middle of the Grove has exactly that: birds, fish, bugs, and reptiles from the 

forests of suburban Chicagoland. The most impressive animal is the snapping turtle, 

which is an extremely ugly and giant rock monster. I remember going there when I 

was very young (and I especially remember the snapping turtle), so I have a nostalgic 

and sentimental connection with the Grove's zoo.

This is the first time that I've been able to successfully photograph fish. In the past I 

would've used a flash or a point-and-shoot camera, so I suppose that any attempt to 

photograph fish would be more successful than beforehand. Nevertheless, using a large

 aperture and fast shutter speed singles out each fish and creates an aquatic aesthetic.

Glenview

Taken in September 2012

Path in the Grove

While at the Grove the other day I hiked along a path that led past the Native 

American structures and through the forest. A squirrel perched on a clumsy wood

 fence and eyed me suspiciously, and moments later it scampered up a tree as fellow

 hikers scared it away. In the forest, the path was surrounded by twisting branches and 

brightly colored wildflowers.

I really like abusing shallow depths of field. I think other photographers should too.

 It aesthetically makes the scene more dreamlike and singles out a subject that the viewer

 is forced to focus on. Large apertures also saturate colors.

Glenview

Taken in September 2012

Prairie Grass at the Grove

Near the entrance to the Grove is a short boardwalk that leads through a field, 

half wildflowers and half dried prairie grass. The prairie grass is pretty unique, 

and even though it's emblematic of Illinois I've only seen it in small patches at 

nature preserves.

A nature photography trick usually creates pretty interesting results is shooting 

into dense tall grass with a large aperture. The shallow depth of field singles out a 

few stalks and warps perspective to evoke a feeling of isolation. Grass in general is

 an extremely boring subject, but in small quantities it can manipulated artistically.

Glenview

Taken in September 2012

Native American Artifacts at the Grove

One place that I felt nostalgic about while in St. Louis was the Grove for some 
reason. I'd gone there when I was younger, but I hadn't been there in nearly a 
decade; perhaps I remembered the Grove because it sparked a sense of curiosity about Illinois 
wildlife and history. Yesterday I biked to the Grove and toured the trails and museum. 
Although the main attraction was the zoo of Illinois wildlife, they also had a trove of
 artifacts from early settlers and Native Americans.

In junior-high I went on a field trip to the Mitchell Museum in Evanston, which 

has a nice collection of Native American artifacts, and on the drive to St. Louis

 I saw a few Indian Mounds next to the highway. The disconnect between 

modernity and Illinois' pre-Colombian past is sort of bizarre. Admittedly 

it's less relevant than the history of Eastern/Southern European immigrants

in Chicago, especially when taking into consideration the modern demographic 

make up of the North Shore. I've always found Native American art to have an 

authentic and almost meditatively sentimental quality to it, especially when I 

recently discovered Edward Curtis' "The North American Indian" portfolio. Maybe 

my impression is based on this modern disconnect between the 

history of the land and the history of the people.

Glenview

Taken in September 2012

A Beach Town in Michigan

A couple years ago my family and I went to a small beach town in Michigan for 

spring break. We had been to another beach town, Saugatuck, several times and 

for a change of location we found a dog-friendly house nearby in New Buffalo.

 I was still taking a freshman photography course so I brought my film camera with 

me and used two rolls of film, one color and one black & white.

I recently downloaded the photos from disks that Walgreens burned 

them onto. Most of the photos turned out either poorly exposed or developed, 

and with nearly all of them it was clear that I had put next to no thought into their 

perspective or composition. At any rate, I vividly remember trying to document the 

colorful residential buildings from the train tracks and the sunset from a hill next to the 

beach, and it's nice to finally see the results of that.

New Buffalo

Taken in April 2010

Insects in a Field by the Skokie Lagoons

There's a small field of wildflowers and bees next to the Skokie Lagoons that--

because of the high density of plants and wildlife--is perfect for macro-photography.

 On my way to the Botanic Gardens I stopped by the field and walked along

 the edge to see if there was anything unique. One interesting bug that I found 

was a locust. The field was full of honeybees and wasps, and I managed to get 

a good shot of one of the bees (although it ended up chasing me away).

Bug photography can be fun if you have the right equipment, but I've been 

hesitant to photograph bugs on the Skokie Lagoons mostly because during the spring 

I would emerge from a field with my leg covered with ticks. I didn't have that 
problem this time, but it's autumn so it was windy and the narrow framing of 
macro-lenses caused the vast majority of my photos to be motion-blurred.

Winnetka

Taken in September 2012

Yellow Wildflower Landscape at the Botanic Gardens

Dixon Prairie in the Botanic Gardens is a small prairie preserve situated on a hill 

densely colored with yellow and purple wildflowers. I hadn't been there in a while, 

so two days ago during sunset I biked there and took macro photographs of the 

bugs and wildflowers.

I specifically tried to capture individual flowers, but the field of yellow wildflowers 

was very unique so I took the macro-filters off my lens so that I could get a 

deeper depth of field and composed a shot that utilized a few landscape conventions, 

such as a line leading the viewer's eye, some prominent object in the foreground, 

and even balance between land and sky. It was also very windy, so the flowers were 
usually swaying when I took these shots.

Glencoe

Taken in September 2012

Bugs on the North Branch Bike Trail in Glencoe

After getting my camera at the end of freshman year, I brought it with me 

on bike rides around the Skokie Lagoon. I had previously gotten some neat 

shots of bugs with my film camera and now that I had a digital camera was

 intent on getting neat bug shots that were in color and that I could view 

instantaneously. Since I didn't know how to use "manual mode" yet, 

many of the photos turned out blurry, but after rediscovering my old photos 

I found a few that are pretty detailed and well composed.

A lot of my old photos were of the heads of flowers and individual bugs, 

whereas my photos nowadays usually incorporate abstract angles and 

landscapes to make the composition more interesting. I think that's because

 I started photography as more of an objective recorder whereas now I'm 

more creative and keeping in mind what sort of visual argument I want to convey.

Glencoe

Taken in July 2010

Snow by the Skokie Lagoons

The first winter with my Rebel T1i was the one with the giant snowstorm. 

I wandered around Winnetka before it got dark, and everything had

 a layer of snow that gave it a picturesque, untouched look--especially 

in the forest next to the Skokie Lagoons. I trudged through the pathless 

tundra for around an hour taking pictures of deer and icy snow on plants.

I took these pictures two years ago, and I'm surprised both by how nice they 

look and by how my style has changed since then. Back then I didn't 

even know how to use "manual mode", and yet I was still able to achieve 

a visual language of nature in isolation. It's odd that although I remember

 taking these photos, I don't remember looking at them until now. 

I like rediscovering my old nature photographs.

Winnetka

Taken in December 2010

The Rural Midwest: Wisconsin 2

After attending a cousin's bat mitzvah in Minnesota, my family and I drove 

from Minneapolis to Macalester in St. Paul then to Carleton in Northfield--two 

very nice schools (a topic that has consumed my attention for the past 

several months, and will continue to for several more)--and then turned around,

 crossed the Mississippi River, and descended through Wisconsin.

There were more forest preserves and hills in Wisconsin than anywhere else
 in the Midwest, and although the sun began to set as soon as we crossed 
the state border, I was able to snap a few nice pictures of rural scenes and 
birch trees glowing from orange light.

Wisconsin

Taken in May 2012

Shore of the Skokie Lagoons

While at the Skokie Lagoons a few days ago, I took landscape 

shots of the line of trees along Forest Way. The fallen tree and the

 flowers looked like they would make a nice addition to the scene,

 and since it was sunset everything had a nice glow.

I have a bunch of photographs of this landscape. I started photographing

 it a year ago, so this year I'm going to try to be more creative.

Winnetka

Taken in August 2012

Waterfowl perched by the Skokie Lagoons

After taking pictures of the construction at New Trier, I went over

 to the kayak launch at the Skokie Lagoons to get a few landscape 

shots of the trees at sunset. A green heron and a flock of cormorants 

caught my attention, and I tried to creatively capture the birds with 

the wider lens that I had brought with me.

I really like the chaotic stability that tree branches have. With the way

 I framed these photos, it looks as though the branches are 

bursting out of somewhere while simultaneously remaining still

 because of the calmness of the birds that are perched on them. The 

orange light also added a nice tint to the scene.

Winnetka

Taken in August 2012