REFLECTION

First of all, this was hard. But I love a good challenge that I may one day be able to master. I enjoyed doing this on the L platforms because I haven’t been on the L since the start of the pandemic. I either drive my cars (more on those later 💖🖤), walk, or take the occasional Uber/taxi. I also live in a really, really busy part of Chicago so it can be hard to focus on anything. Including moving objects. But I knew I wanted to try this on the L.

This is at the Quincy station, the oldest station in the Loop. It is dark, and grungy and absolutely beautiful, with dark maroon wrought iron everywhere and I fell in love with it as a teenager. I could have tried the shoot at a well-lit newer station, but I wanted to capture the mood of this Chicago Landmark that was opened in 1897.

The next day, I walked over to Buckingham Fountain, hoping to capture some speeding vehicles on Lake Shore Drive (LSD). However, with back-to-back traffic on LSD, this proved to be a challenge and instead, I was met with several professional bike riders on the bike path who whizzed right by and I captured those instead. Personally, I found the trains more intriguing, barring the pop of red on the bicyclist who brightened up otherwise grey Saturday afternoon. I did have trouble with overexposure here. The Buckingham was misting high and windy, creating this white wash the entire time and the light was ugh….sunny but cloudy but bright but….autumn. I was literally getting misted across the street. Not uncommon, but this was my shoot. So I had to keep changing settings, even adjusting the ISO.

The most difficult part of this is taking the photograph while moving. It is unnatural because we are so often told not to move while taking photos (think, tripods). But this, to me, is so much more exciting. I would sooner master motion than stillness.