Dare to Stand Out!

- The Ledge is the latest Chicago attraction. Four all glass skyboxes extend out from 103 floor of the Willis Tower, formerly named the Sears Tower into the Chicago sky. You can walk out onto the ledge which is made up of three 1/2 inch glass panels laminated together leaving you standing 1,353 feet up from Wacker Drive directly below. You have to admit it is both scary and cool. This photo was taken from far below on the Chicago River. Canon 7D, 1/320 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Lions

- An image from today's Landscape Photography class at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. I learned about hyperfocal distance and its use in landscape photography. Canon 7D, 1/2 sec @ f/32.0, ISO 100, 100mm focal length.

Liquid Buildings

- The buildings reflected in this picture look almost liquid. From left to right, the Chicago Apparel Center, Riverbend Condos, and Left Bank at K Station all reflected in the great blue-green curve of glass that is the northwest wall of 333 Wacker Drive. The 333 building is one of my favorites in Chicago as it truly embraces the unique site where the Chicago River splits into its Northern and Southern Branches. Canon 7D, 1/100 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Long Shadow

This window cleaner casts a long shadow against the side of a Chicago skyscraper in the late morning sun. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 200, 200mm focal length.

Donald's Glow

- Two Chicago architectural landmarks, the London Guarantee Building, 360 North Michigan and the Mather Tower, 75 East Wacker are dappled in morning sunlight reflected by the new Trump Tower just across the river. The Beaux-Arts 360 North Michigan is topped with a small Greco-Roman temple, while the Neo-Gothic Mather Tower at only 65 feet wide is Chicago's thinest skyscraper. Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f/9.0, ISO 100, 28mm focal length.

Coyote Tower

The Northwest Tower, popularly known as the Coyote Building, is a 12-story art deco building in the Bucktown neighborhood in Chicago. It was completed 1929 and is considered the first art deco skyscraper in Chicago. In the 1980's it became home to the Tower Coyote Gallery, reportedly named because artists thought the building resembled a howling coyote. The picture was taken at the Damen stop on the Chicago 'L' Blue Line. Canon G11, 1/500 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Stuffed Pizza

Today we took the Near North Food Tour in Chicago. We visited the Gold Coast, Old Town and Lincoln Park neighborhoods and had a great time. This is Ariana our cultural tour guide from Chicago Food Planet dishing up a spinach and cheese stuffed pizza at out last stop, Bacino's Pizza on North Lincoln Ave. Check out more pictures from our great walking tour. Tomorrow, another food tour at Bucktown and Wicker Park - yum! Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, pop-up flash used for fill.