Through a Window:
Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago_Skyline

Chicago Skyline – Shakespeare Theater Mono

Look what I found!  Judy and I were at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Wednesday night.  I looked out the window before the outstanding play (“Sense and Sensibility”) and saw this dramatic scene right before my eyes.  I try to have one of my cameras with me as much as possible and this time it paid off.  The funny thing is, I didn’t even see anyone else looking out the window from the lobby!  Unusual perspective of the famous Skyline.  I felt it “worked” with part of the sign in the scene because the letters kind of  imply the name…but the name doesn’t really matter, does it?  It’s more part of the atmosphere of the scene, I felt.
So, you may be wondering how I got that little starburst in the right hand side.  Easy tip!  If you want to try to make one of these, find a source of specular light in your scene (in this case, it was the sun peaking between two buildings) and then set your camera to use a small aperture…between f16 and f22.  Voilà!  That’s all there is to it.  I added a green/yellow tint to the monochromatic image….more on that later.
If you’re interested in finding and shooting scenes of architecture, etc. in Chicago, I highly recommend contacting Chris Smith at “Out of Chicago” (and sign up for the”Out of Chicago” upcoming photo conference from June 26-28) and also follow Angie McMonigal, an architectural photographer in Chicago.  They’re both worth checking out if you’re interested in that type of photography.

Chicago_Skyline

Chicago Skyline – Shakespeare Theater Color

Here’s the color version of that same scene.  It’s actually the same frame.  That’s what I saw.  But, I have my camera setup (sometimes) in a mode that creates a B&W jpeg image of the scene along with the color file.  That can create a dilemma…which one do I like?  I must admit that my first inclination is usually black and white (or monochrome), but I couldn’t decide with this one.  I posted them both on various social media sites and they both seemed to get a nice response (including from Chicago Shakespeare Theater who saw them on Twitter).
So, you decide which one you like.  And let me know in the comments below.

I’m just taking a short break from posting Ireland photos…more of those to come soon!

-Stephen M. Levin
“Life Scapes”
www.stephenmlevinphotos.com

 

SML Photography