It has been such a mild winter here in Northwest Illinois.  We haven't had much snow at all but when I woke up last week there was just enough snow to seem like a wonderland.  I had to grab my camera and capture the feeling.  It was like a lace on the trees.  This is directly across the street from my house.  I love the snow. 

I opened this photo and ran an action on it to give it the special look you see here.

Canon 40D sigma 27-40 f2.8@1/250

This is the sculpture at millenium park in the city of Chicago.  It is called Cloud Gate-better known as the bean by locals.

Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the United States.

The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives.

Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high. 

This photo was taken just as the lights came on in the city so as to retain the detail of the sculpture and also show the lights of the city.

Sometimes you just have to go with it.  We went to a waterfall to do some engagement photographs and unfortunately they were doing some work on the area around the falls due to storm damage.  The groom is a welder for John Deere working in their heavy equipment division.  Perfect, we used some of the equipment on the scene and a little special lighting and came up with some great shots. 

Wrigley Field

This is one of the first weddings I did.  The wedding was planned around a cubs baseball game but for some reason the game time was changed.  The traffic was so bad that there were only 3 people at the church when we arrived.  Being so happy to be marrying the man that she loved the bride did not even get upset for a minute.  She just delayed the wedding by about a half hour and everyone was able to arrive.  After the ceremony we went by the stadium to do a few photos.  I try to ride to all locations in the limo with my bride and groom so that I don't get separated from them.  The game had just ended and there were many drunk fans around that wanted to congratulate the bride and groom.  We managed to get some great photos anyway, some with fans included, some without.  I liked the original shot but I especially like the antique look.  I made the background a sepia tone and antiqued the couple.  This was done with the existing light.  No flash was added.

Don't forget the details.  Bride's struggle for days and weeks to get just the right look from their details.  One of the most important to cover are the wedding rings.  This is a very popular shot and not really difficult to do.  I carry a small led flashlight with me an use it for these shots.  Just place the ring in the spine of a book, preferably a bible opened to a page with meaning from the ceremony, (although I have used a guest book if no bible is available) shine the flashlight through the ring and you have the shot.  This can be done with both rings but it forms a double heart and can be difficult to get the rings to stand.  I use this flashlight to add a little light to shots when it is needed.

Canon 1Dmarkiii 50mm macro 1/60 f16

Tall Ships

We were in Chicago for the "Tall Ships"  and I got this picture.  I like the way the ship in the foreground melts into the dark and enhances the other ship.  After this photo was taken, I did some photoshop work on it.  Darkening the surrounds and adding some gaussian blur to it.

Canon 40D 70-200 lens

This wedding was in Mid-November.  In the afternoon.  It was raining when the bride arrived and I was worried that we would not be able to find a photogenic location for photos.  I shouldn't have worried.  The church was very pretty and we were able to get some great photos there but the best place was a simple doorway at the reception hall.  I love the spotlighting.  I added a little of my own and this is the result.

Canon 1Dmarkiii 24-105 lens iso 3200 1/60 f5.6