Saturday Night Sax Never Hurts

Today's image is the Sax man from Saturday night's show.  You know the rest, more coming on who they are so just stay tuned to the blog. That's it for today.

Just Pulling Some Strings

Today's image is of the base player, yes, from Saturday night's show. Stay tuned, I'll share who they are  before it's all said and done.  That's it for today.

Can You Hear The Notes?

Today's image is the man with the horn, part of the band from Saturday night's show. Can you hear it?
Stay tuned to the blog this week for more info.  That's it for today.

It's All In The Hands

Today's image is from last nights jazz concert.  Keep watching the blog this week to fine out more about who these hands belong to and what they've done. That's it for today.

Saturday's Image 6 mins. Late - Before The Start Of Something Jazzy

Today's image comes from the start of a serious jazz concert I shot earlier tonight (Saturday).  Just getting home. Stay tuned all week for more images from it and also a little history about the leader. That's it for today.

House of Championship Banners

Today's image is a packed house to watch the Chicago Bulls basketball team.  I used to be a season ticket holder. We attended a game for the first time this year but had the misfortune of it being one of the games Derrick Rose was out with a bad back.  It was still a good time and the Bulls won.  That's it for the day.

On The Road Again

Today's image was actually taken just about an hour ago.  It's the 3 time defending state champions of Bolingbrook high school after winning the sectionals title. They are well on their way on the road to hopefully a record breaking 4th straight state title.  But first they must get past the team they beat for the title last year in the super sectionals on Monday.  That's it for today.

Pitchers And Catchers

Today's image if from one a studio shoot with a Cubs fan. Given pitchers and catchers reported to spring training this week, thought this was a good choice today.  That's it for today.

Tuesday Is Missing - The Price I Pay

Today's image is the price I have to pay for the beautiful images I get to send in the family Christmas card each year.  This means in order to get them to behave for a few serious shots I have to allow them to take at least one like this.  Normally we do this type of shot at the end but sometimes depending on how it's going or not going.  We have to do it in the middle of the session.  That's it for the Tuesday's missing image.

Familly Sessions

Today's image is a family shot from a fall session.  I've posted a few times on the different challenges of group shots to get everyone in sync.  This was one of the in sync shots form the session. That's it for today.

Something Went Wrong Part 2 - Sundays Missing Image

Today's missing Sunday image is the Wrigley building in Chicago on an early summer morning.  This is one of the oldest building in downtown Chicago on Michigan avenue. That's it for today.

Something Went Wrong - Saturdays Missing Image

Today's image is Saturdays missing image. It's an interior shot from Vegas.  Thought this was just something different then the everyday visitor's shot of the glitz and glamor. That's it for this post.

The Hard Part Is Done

Today's image is another wedding photo.  This is right after they have become the new Mr. and Mrs. X moment.  It's funny because the grooms at this point will finally relax after sweating through the service.  I see it all the time, most are uptight before it starts and up until this part.  Watch for this at the next wedding you attend.  That's it for today.

You Can Dress Them Up

Today's image is from a wedding. This is a beautiful image other then  the pose of the one young man. A common challenge when shooting groups is getting everyone in sync. You never know what you are going to  get when kids are involved. You have to be patient but at some point you may have to just go with it.  I've found when you bring attention to kids, it often gets worst rather then better.  That's it for today.

You Might Be Surprised What You Can See And Do Here

Today's image is another from the airport. It's the Blues Brothers, popular characters from Saturday Night Live, made famous from the movie of the same name filmed in Chicago. At some point airports changed from just a place you go to catch a plane. Now days you can shop, shower (yes shower), eat, sleep, discover art, play games, gamble, etc. etc..  As I mentioned in a previous post, a lot of it goes unnoticed by a lot of travelers.  So next time you travel by air, take a moment and look around, see what you discover. That's it for today.

Peaceful Thoughts

Today's image has all the elements I like photographing, beautiful sky, sand, water and rocks. Today is valentines day, so here's hoping you are thankful and at peace with your mate.  That's it for today.

Anybody Seen A WWII Dive Bomber Hanging Around?

Today's image is of a World War II dive bomber hanging in Midway airport in Chicago. What was more amazing to me then the plane hanging there was the thousands of people that pass under it everyday most of which, don't notice it.  I stood and watched for a while before I took the picture as people just went on their merry way.

This is the  the Douglas SBD Dauntless, a WW2 naval dive bomber made by Northrop BT.  It saw it's first action during the Pearl Harbor attack. There were 5,936 planes built and were the main bomber used by the U.S. Navy from mid-1940 until late 1943. Some of these planes were also supplied to Mexico. They were in operational use there until retirement in 1959. You can learn more here: 
http://www.military-aircraft.org.uk/bombers/douglas-sdb-dauntless.htm
That's it for today.

Don't Wear Out Your Welcome

Today's image was taken a few weeks ago when were were finally hit with a big snow storm. I'm happy
it didn't wear out it's welcome.  The snow on the ground melted pretty quickly due to the unusually warm winter we've been having.  I'm not complaining, I figure it's the make up for the cool summer we had two years ago.  That's it for today.

Not Just A Hotel Room - Part 2

Today's image is another of the hotel room form my business trip. As you can see it's from a different view point and some camera settings have been changed.  The lighting is the exact same as the post from yesterday, yet the room looks brighter.  The reason is the ISO setting was increased to 400 from 160, all other settings are the same (f2.8 and shutter speed is still 1/30th of a sec., no flash).  That's it for today.

Not Just A Hotel Room

Today's image is from a recent business trip. This is not just a hotel room to me, but I realize it is to most people.  When I walked into the room I saw an opportunity to experiment with the ambient light.  I saw light patterns, shadows, shapes, texture and 3D. The only lights on in the room are the two table lamps.  This image was shot with my G11.  Settings were ISO 160, f2.8, 1/30th sec. shutter speed. I'll be sharing a few more of these over the next few days so stay tuned. That's it for today

A Man And His Toy

Today's image is of a friend of mine and his spring, summer and fall toy. Because of the area we live in we have to skip this current season.  That's the price we pay for living here. That's it for today.

A Reminder That LIfe Is Short

Today's image was taken today. This billboard is located at an airport. I won't say which one but the message is  clear.  The very need for it also lets you know how many people are affected by the many different cancers each day.  Almost everyone knows someone or has a family member with some form of this disease.  Let's all keep these people in prayer and pray that a cure will be found some day soon.  That's it for today

Light, Light and More Light.

Today's image is an on location business portrait for a client. Sometimes these are tough because you never know what kind of light you will have to work with.  The challenge with this shot is the lighting is mixed. There are three kinds of lights available in this shot, window light, room light and flash.  I eliminated one by turning off the room lights. By doing that, I could light her with flash for the main light and use the window light as a back light.  There is one other big challenge going in this room that made this not so easy a task.  The room light is provided by the large window which prevents me from locating the main flash where I normally would because of reflections. Also, due to the time of day and the location of the sun the inside lights were reflecting in that window.  By turning them off it also  solved this problem, but I had to place the main light off wide to camera right  and add a second light off to camera left at a lower power to just accent that side.  Without it, the right side of her face would be in shadow.  I know I went a little technical today but I may expand on that in future posts so stay tuned.  That's it for today.

Playing With Lighting

Today's image was shot in the studio.  This was a testing and rental session.  Sometimes you have to break all the rules and just shoot what you like.  You'd never see lighting like this at the cattle call mall studio's. That's it for Today

Getting Ready For The Big Game?

Today's image is in honor of the Superbowl.  Maybe one day this young man will get to play in one.
This is a local high school player that has moved on to a college program.  That's it for today.

City of Champions

Today's image is of the local high school girls basketball team after winning their third state championship in a row last year.  As of today they are 18 and 1 for this year hoping to 4-peat. That's it for today.

Who Needs A Yellow Brick Road?

Today's image was shot just across the street from yesterdays image. There are also cameras covering this area.  I was entranced by the texture created by the lighting of this building. The details in the shadows and the contrast are what I enjoy about this shot.  I also like the way the lines lead you down the street.  That's it for today.

Somebody Is Always Watching

 

Today's image is also on the movie street. As I was walking around framing different compositions I looked up and noticed the camera.  My first thoughts were who's watching who? In case you don't know it already most large cities have cameras all over the place which can and do track your every move, in the name of security, thanks to 911. I'm not tying to make you paranoid but you should assume you are always being watched.  That's it for today.

Beautiful Light At NIght

Today's image is another of my favorite night shots in black & white. This is another in the series I've taken on the street where many movies are shot in Chicago.  That's it for today.