Many cites live and depend on rivers and none more so than Chicago which went as far as to reverse the flow of the Chicago River! Wikipedia has more of course.
The observant visitor will notice the twin towers of Marina City in the photo above, and possibly recognise the distinctive bridge from the latest Batman movies.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
Marina City in Chicago is made up of two 65 storey towers with a distinctive circular shape. I just love the look of them actually. They’re right on the river but this shot is taken from the L, probably on the Brown line after leaving Kimball which will be tomorrow’s photo!
As usual the Wikipedia page has a lot more info about Marina City including this bit about Steve McQueen:
In the movie The Hunter, “Papa” Thorson (Steve McQueen) pursues a suspect in a car chase through the Marina City parking garage. His quarry eventually loses control of his car and drives it off of a high floor of the garage into the Chicago River. This scene was later recreated for an Allstate commercial in 2006/2007.
PS. If I find the time, I’ll be taking part in Pink for October. Will has more info!
| Aperture | ƒ/9 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
La Salle Street in Chicago ends abruptly in the Chicago Board of Trade at the far end of the street. It’s an unusual street because all the streets in Chicago just go on and on, mostly in parallel, through the city. This one just stops!
La Salle Bank which is barely visible at the left of this image is also in the background of The Dark Knight Batman movie.
| Aperture | ƒ/11 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/400s |
An old sign reflect in the windows of a new building, somewhere in Chicago.
| Aperture | ƒ/7.1 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 55mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
The L is the elevated train system in Chicago and many films have been filmed underneath it’s tracks, including some scenes in Batman, The Dark Knight. Here’s the L under Kimball on the brown line. I worked close by a few years ago!
| Aperture | ƒ/4.5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/50s |
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) is the world’s oldest futures and options exchange. It was established in 1848 and since 1930 has operated out of this building on 141 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago according to this Wikipedia page.
Possible Batman “The Dark Knight” spoilers ahead. Don’t read on if you’re going to watch the movie!
| Aperture | ƒ/13 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 41mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
Many moons ago I posted the infamous Thieving Duck that went viral when someone robbed it, added a funny story and emailed it around. Apparently it’s been seen all over the world which is kinda cool. It even made it to snopes.com too!
Anyway, I can finally reveal a few more shots from that photoshoot in Chicago. All the talk about the new Batman movie got me digging into my old Chicago photos and I found these shots I took on State Street way back in 2005.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/80s |
The toilets in Connolly Hall, Cork. This is that ugly ass black building across the river from the City Hall. It looks so out of place where it is, although developers are quickly changing the face of the city to match ..
| Aperture | ƒ/4.5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
Aboard one of the trains of the Chicago L, the elevated and underground train network in Chicago. I think this was taken near the south end of the Loop, possibly around the corner from the library.
The last time I was in Chicago I took the L for nostalgic reasons and because it’s not a half-bad way for a tourist to see the town. The stations of the Loop are all elevated above street level and some afford a good view down the main streets of downtown Chicago! Maps and schedules are posted in each station, on the trains and online too making it very easy to find your way around.
Here’s a tour of the Loop with pictures if you’d like to know more.
I like this: Real Esteli played its best match ever – couple of great football shots!
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
This is the sky bridge between the two sections of the Wrigley Building in Chicago. We were walking through when I looked up and immediately noticed the leading lines of the buildings and the walkway.
Way back in 2003 I photographed the Wrigley Building a few times and I’m pretty sure it featured in the film Batman Begins too.
Wrigley.com has a page dedicated to the history of the building and it makes for interesting reading.
While searching ocaoimh.ie for those pictures, I came across this little nugget about Bill Gates from 2002. 🙂
Something else from the archives for you street shooters – A face in the crowd, tips from the Street Photography List on capturing the elusive face in the maddening crowd.
I like this: Cow & Gate, never mind the baby food.
| Aperture | ƒ/9 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
