Chitown

wxwax

I was in Chicago for work last week. Didn't have too much time to make piccies.

I wanted to give the new-to-me Sigma 12-24 a run. I'm still undecided about it. I see a lot of smearing in the corners, even at f8. And I think I ended up correcting/cropping every shot I saved. I need to play with it more, but I'm edging towards a thumbs down.

I like the L (as long as I don't have to live near it!) so I tried a few images. As usual, my post skills leave a lot to be desired.





On a gray day, I wanted to get the L against a more gritty, run down urban environment and practive panning as well. The 12-24 was the wrong lens. I was a large parking lot away from the track - not easy to time the pan right, plus lots of cropping afterwards.








Millennium Park is a must-see next time you visit Chicago. They've done a terrific job there. The Bean was covered up, but it didn't matter, there was lots to shoot. Again, this was grabbed as I was working. And again, lots of perspective fixing.

semmel

2nd one is great!
For me, the second one represents the style of pictures of america that I like most. Just beautiful!

Phil

wxwax wrote:

I was in Chicago for work last week. Didn't have too much time to make piccies.

I wanted to give the new-to-me Sigma 12-24 a run. I'm still undecided about it. I see a lot of smearing in the corners, even at f8. And I think I ended up correcting/cropping every shot I saved. I need to play with it more, but I'm edging towards a thumbs down.

I like the L (as long as I don't have to live near it!) so I tried a few images. As usual, my post skills leave a lot to be desired.





On a gray day, I wanted to get the L against a more gritty, run down urban environment and practive panning as well. The 12-24 was the wrong lens. I was a large parking lot away from the track - not easy to time the pan right, plus lots of cropping afterwards.








Millennium Park is a must-see next time you visit Chicago. They've done a terrific job there. The Bean was covered up, but it didn't matter, there was lots to shoot. Again, this was grabbed as I was working. And again, lots of perspective fixing.

Angelo

Really nice series Sid!

Nir

Pretty cool shots Sid! The perspective in the first is fantastic!

Once apon a time I lived near Chicago - definetely remember the L - your shots bring back childhood memories. But there was no
Millennium Park back then. Did you get a chance to visit Wrigley Field? I loved the Cubs a few decades ago.

wxwax

Nir wrote:

Pretty cool shots Sid! The perspective in the first is fantastic!

Once apon a time I lived near Chicago - definetely remember the L - your shots bring back childhood memories. But there was no
Millennium Park back then. Did you get a chance to visit Wrigley Field? I loved the Cubs a few decades ago.

Thanks Nir. No, I simply didn't have time to get to Wrigley. It's one of the places that is on my 'must see' list, though.

wxwax

Angelo wrote:

Really nice series Sid!

Thanks Angelo! I appreciate it. As usual, I'm more or less unhappy with all of them, but not good enough to figure out how to make 'em better!

Higgmeister

Hi Sid,
I like #'s 1 and 2 the best. I like the perspective of #1, gives a big city feel. #2 gives it a big city feel also, just not the best of neighborhoods (grungier). #2 is an effective shot.

Thanks for sharing the series,
Chris

wxwax

semmel wrote:

For me, the second one represents the style of pictures of america that I like most. Just beautiful!

Phil

Thanks Phil! Sort of a French Connection look, I guess. I like the tension of urban grit.

wxwax

Higgmeister wrote:

I like #'s 1 and 2 the best. I like the perspective of #1, gives a big city feel. #2 gives it a big city feel also, just not the best of neighborhoods (grungier). #2 is an effective shot.

Thanks for sharing the series,
Chris

Thanks Chris, glad what I was going for came across.

wxwax

OK, here are a couple more. They all have even bigger issues, I'm afraid.

This fellow just happened to do this at the street corner in front of the city's really cool looking public library. Dull gray day, so I struggled to make anything out of it. Lots of artifice. Shot with the 12-24 wide open at 5.6, and cropped.



I still can't figure out how to make this one work. I shot it six ways from Sunday. Maybe it's a bad idea, I dunno. But I really like the idea of the metal fire escape stairs and the color change in the buildings. The fire escape has some light on it, and will stand out against the background. I resisted making the buildings darker, but perhaps I should, in order to make the stairs stand out more. As with the trains, what I'd really like is a gritty, urban feel.



You won't see my Sears Building shots, as they're even less special than this stuff. But a block past the Sears Building is the Chicago River, where boats ply with tourists. Again, this one's cropped. The only place I don't have much room to expand is along the top. I made it tight to fill the frame with the boats, but I'm not sure it was the right decision.

4labs

Once again Sid you are way too hard on yourself.. Your first and last in the first set are great shots I think the fire escape pic would look cool if you tilted the camera so it wasn't as straight(learned that from Michiel)

ginger_55

I have an opinion, Sid. I like a couple of the shots. In this batch I do like the fire escape shot.

In the first batch, it was the first or second one.

Other than that, I don't like these much. I have the feeling you are not used to a wide angle lens, but that cannot be? Can it? You have shot the city so much, I would expect you to be practically a relative of wide angle.

In most, like in the L, I have the feeling there is not "one" subject. Say with the L, it is the L and the background, at least two subjects there, instead of one setting up or framing the other.

Maybe you just were not expecting what you did see in Chicago. It can take awhile to settle into a place.

Geez, Sid, I just don't think you like the lens. I would not propose and start dating again.

Just my most humble opinion. Could be wrong, you are one of the best, and most demanding of yourself, photographers around this group. That would not mean you could dance with every lens, though.

ginger

wxwax

4labs wrote:

Once again Sid you are way too hard on yourself.. Your first and last in the first set are great shots I think the fire escape pic would look cool if you tilted the camera so it wasn't as straight(learned that from Michiel)

Thanks Eric, I appreciate it. I probably have one of the fire escape where the lens is slightly tilted, lord knows I took enough shots! I'll take a look at it.

wxwax

ginger_55 wrote:

Maybe you just were not expecting what you did see in Chicago. It can take awhile to settle into a place.

Geez, Sid, I just don't think you like the lens. I would not propose and start dating again.

You're a sweetheart, Ginger. You may be right, this lens just isn't for me. But I love wide angle so much, I reckon I'll invest more time in it.

wxwax

BTW, a large number of these shots were saved to a Lexar 2GB 80X compact flash card and shot with a canon 1DmkII.

You know, the combo that's given photogs lots of problems. :bluduh

Working with these images has not been easy. First, a large chunk of images, perhaps 20 or so, went completely missing. Secondly, I couldn't view them with canon's Digital Photographer Pro. It just locked up and shut down. In Photoshop, if I single-click on an image and wait for the tiny preview thumbnail to come up.... it won't, and I'll have to reboot the computer before I can fully open any of the images.

A royal pain in the a**s.

I've updated my camera's firmware and am sending the card in to Lexar. They more or less say not to expect your own card back. So I'll likely be getting a refurb card with the new firmware. No telling how often or how hard the card I get was used/abused by its previous owner.

All in all, an excellent advertisement for Sandisk. I hope Lexar suffers a serious sales hit for this rubbish. The premium pricing they put on their CF cards means they should treat their customers better.... not to mention put out a better product.

Nikolai

Nice series, Sid!
I like the park shot very much. Sky reflection in the bldg on the right is tres cool, and whole compo and execution is awesome!
Cheers!

WaterfallRich

great captures, Sid!
I think #2 is outstanding! I like the closer in version compared with #3. #4 is really good also - I like the variety of shapes, the sky, and especially the reflection of the sky in that building.

USAIR

Sid
Awesome set
Love the old buildings in the L shots ..the motion is great

2nd set ...city hall cool building bad sky
I like the fire escapes and love to photograph them here too
Last one my son likes ...his name ...Adam


Thanks
Fred

Higgmeister

Hi Sid,
I like these, my least favorite being #3. I was going to mention the wonderful building in #1, but I've changed my mind. To view these in edit mode, it doesn't show the whole picture. Take a look at cropping the building off just above the first floor. The man then takes center stage and is a really intriguing shot. I know you were trying to show the building, but the man stole the shot IMHO.
#2 is an interesting shot. I don't feel the urban decay because the nice windows along the right side. When I blocked them out, the stairs became more central to the photo.
#3, I think you are right in that the crop is too tight on top. I feel like the world is coming down on the people on the bridge and is distracting. This crop doesn't work for me, nice boats though. I was in this area in '90 for an Amiga (remember those) show and liked that area. Glad I don't live there, but tall buildings are really cool:cool.

Thanks for sharing some more,
Chris

wxwax

Higgmeister wrote:

I like these, my least favorite being #3. I was going to mention the wonderful building in #1, but I've changed my mind. To view these in edit mode, it doesn't show the whole picture. Take a look at cropping the building off just above the first floor. The man then takes center stage and is a really intriguing shot. I know you were trying to show the building, but the man stole the shot IMHO.
#2 is an interesting shot. I don't feel the urban decay because the nice windows along the right side. When I blocked them out, the stairs became more central to the photo.
#3, I think you are right in that the crop is too tight on top. I feel like the world is coming down on the people on the bridge and is distracting. This crop doesn't work for me, nice boats though. I was in this area in '90 for an Amiga (remember those) show and liked that area. Glad I don't live there, but tall buildings are really cool:cool.

Thanks for sharing some more,
Chris

Good stuff, Chris, thanks. A fresh way of looking at 'em, it's very helpful.

wxwax

Nikolai wrote:

I like the park shot very much. Sky reflection in the bldg on the right is tres cool, and whole compo and execution is awesome!
Cheers!

Hi Nikolai, thanks for the kind words. I like the reflection too. BTW, you've inspired me to get into model lighting more. We're doing a third shoot with our actress tomorrow, this time full body shots. Should be interesting.

wxwax

USAIR wrote:

Awesome set
Love the old buildings in the L shots ..the motion is great

2nd set ...city hall cool building bad sky
I like the fire escapes and love to photograph them here too
Last one my son likes ...his name ...Adam


Thanks
Fred

Hi Fred! If you have any suggestions about how to deal with the sky, I'm all ears. Me, I have no idea. I tried tinting it, but it doesn't look very good.

I did try a Dan Margolis LAB adjustment thingie from the latest Photoshop User magazine, to put more pop in the colors. After going thru the internet/smugmug conversion, it seems to have lost its zing, unfortunately. I also played with Transform, to get a better perspective and crop. Struggling to save a bad shot, but I do that a lot.

David_S85

Sid, it looks like you had some fun in our big city. The Millenium Park / skyline pic is super. That reflected sky makes the shot. I haven't seen the Bean yet, even though I live so close. One of these days...

USAIR

wxwax wrote:

Hi Fred! If you have any suggestions about how to deal with the sky, I'm all ears. Me, I have no idea. I tried tinting it, but it doesn't look very good.

I did try a Dan Margolis LAB adjustment thingie from the latest Photoshop User magazine, to put more pop in the colors. After going thru the internet/smugmug conversion, it seems to have lost its zing, unfortunately. I also played with Transform, to get a better perspective and crop. Struggling to save a bad shot, but I do that a lot.

Well first you guys are better at this stuff then me ...I'm just a lonely grasshopper:D

But I been slowly converting over to the Cokin P filters been fooling around with the Hitech Graduated Neutral Density filters
This seems to help in my photos ..the jury is still out on these
I had the Cokin A filters for 35mm and some Sony cameras
The Cokin system is a little klunky to use.I think I just need to get used to it

I liked the way you treated the photo looks great love the colors

I have the April/May Photoshop User mag free issue ..lots of good stuff in there
I need to join

Thanks
Fred

wxwax

USAIR wrote:

Well first you guys are better at this stuff then me ...I'm just a lonely grasshopper:D

But I been slowly converting over to the Cokin P filters been fooling around with the Hitech Graduated Neutral Density filters
This seems to help in my photos ..the jury is still out on these
I had the Cokin A filters for 35mm and some Sony cameras
The Cokin system is a little klunky to use.I think I just need to get used to it

I liked the way you treated the photo looks great love the colors

I have the April/May Photoshop User mag free issue ..lots of good stuff in there
I need to join

Thanks
Fred

Good call, a graduated ND filter would have been perfect. Tricky on a 12-24 lens, and calling for far more preparation that I appear to be capable of!

Photoshop User is great, packed with tips every month. And for your membership, you also get discounts at PCMall/MacMall.

wxwax

David_S85 wrote:

Sid, it looks like you had some fun in our big city. The Millenium Park / skyline pic is super. That reflected sky makes the shot. I haven't seen the Bean yet, even though I live so close. One of these days...

I really enjoyed my visit, David, it's a wonderful city. Even the traffic wasn't as bad as I remembered. And the weather was hot and sunny everyday save one, which was perfect, since we were doing stuff on the 1995 heatwave.

wxwax

Since we're here, a couple of shots of our photographer in Millennium Park.