A cardinal shows off a pretty sweet goatee on a Spring afternoon.

May 26, 2023. Nikon D850 (FX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm at 220mm, f/6.7, 1/60, ISO 100.

I’ve published other photos of herons not giving a damn about wandering into other critters’ territory, and the conflict with this blackbird in 2019 was the first time I got to enjoy the action in person. Both bees and butterflies seem to get along with whatever is nearby, but dragonflies and birds are more territorial, I guess.

May 4, 2019. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/9.5, 1/180, ISO 280.

As she arrives at the American senna she had her eye on, a carpenter bee discreetly hides her face from the paparazzi nearby. I always enjoy getting a nice clear photo of insects in flight.

August 19, 2017. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Nikon 70–300mm lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/5.6, 1/3,000, ISO 560.

Of late, I’ve been interested in panoramic photography, to the point of buying a couple of film cameras in that format, one quite specialized and one medium format. While it will take some time for any photos to come from them, bringing this cell phone shot to a panoramic view gave me the composition I knew would make it a keeper.

I am fortunate to live on the second floor of a two-flat, with my dining room windows looking out on this view. It means both that the light is very bright and even and that I have a lot of privacy. After Chicago’s first snow of the season, a very smooth and calm coating landed on both of the roofs, giving me some nice broken symmetry.

November 10, 2025. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 6mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 23mm), f/1.6, 1/30, ISO 2,500.

It’s a nice warm Spring day, and it feels like everyone is out and in a good mood — including these swallowtail butterflies who just fluttered with each other, more or less in place around that spot, for a good long time. I took a few photos, and then I put my camera aside and enjoyed the show.

May 30, 2016. Cropped from a larger image. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Nikon 70–300mm lens at 165mm (35mm equivalent: 250mm), f/8, 1/1,500, ISO 200.

The bridges that cross the Chicago River are all lift bridges, so boats can get from the lake to their harbors or Winter storage or wherever they go when they aren’t out on the lake for a while. The bridges are lifted on a very regular schedule, and if you forget and end up stuck on the wrong side, it sucks to be you, because each disruption is just a little less time than trudging down to the next bridge crossing and going around the one that was annoying you. You may as well just wait it out.

But whichever side you’re on, it’s kind of a cool sight, and if you’re waiting and some worker is observing the boats’ progress underneath from above, at least you can get a fun picture out of it.

October 12, 2022. Samsung S24+ cell phone, 6mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 28mm), f/2, 1/640, ISO 25.

If you are in a window seat on a plane and you glance out the window at the right time, you may see the shadow of the plane surrounded by a more-or-less full-circle rainbow. You can read up on the optical phenomenon of the “glory” (a lousy name for it, I think) on reference sites. You need to be above the clouds, and the sun needs to be at a good angle above you on the other side of the plane. (If you’re flying east, be in an A seat, and if you’re flying west, be in an F seat.)

You can read up on them at reference sites if you’d like, obviously, but long story short, they’re pretty and ultimately it’s like any rainbow — the sun is on one side, the water droplets are on the other, and we’re in the middle. I’d rather see what’s going on at ground level, but if it’s an overcast day when I’m flying, I’ll watch for glories to keep my interest up.

January 29, 2023. Samsung S24+ cell phone, 6mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 28mm), f/2, 1/640, ISO 25.

After my little rant yesterday, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to post the color version, and yeah, here’s the all the color that makes it just so purty. I like the black-and-white version better, but maybe you like the color version better.

October 21, 2023. Nikon Coolpix P1000 (1/2.3-inch sensor), focal length 24mm (35mm equivalent: 135mm), f/4, 1/60, ISO 100.

I started in photography in grade school. My dad was a talented amateur photographer whose work was exhibited around the country and in Europe in the ’50s and ’60s, and he gave my younger brother and me inexpensive 35mm cameras when we were kids and took us on little trips occasionally to get us interested in it. I liked it, though I think it’s safe to say my brother lost interest once he was old enough to start spending time with friends.

One of our annual trips was to Vermont to do some leaf peeping. You might look at that and think “Uh, nice picture, Bob?” but the best thing my dad ever did for my photographic eye was to not let my brother or me use color film. (He didn’t use it either. I have some of his prints from that time and they’re gorgeous.)

My very first boss was a semiprofessional photographer and we talked about the subject a lot. Now, back in high school, I had a friend who was an artist, and he actually mocked the idea of going to Vermont and taking pictures of Fall foliage with black-and-white film. One time we were talking, I told my boss that, and I added, “I couldn’t believe someone who was an artist didn’t get it. Anyone can wave a camera around in any direction and take a picture of Fall foliage that people will like. Work in black-and-white and you have to figure out how to take a good picture.” He got it.

Is that a good picture? I think so. I like the arrangement, the composition of the grays and blacks in the image. In this picture, you may not see the color, but you see the light, and that’s what my dad taught me, and that’s why I love this photo.

October 21, 2023. Nikon Coolpix P1000 (1/2.3-inch sensor), focal length 24mm (35mm equivalent: 135mm), f/4, 1/60, ISO 100.

I had never been to a state fair in my life, so when I was visiting friends in Minneapolis, a good friend made sure I finally got to enjoy one. I’ve been to lots of street fairs and neighborhood carnivals, but obviously state fairs are like all of them combined and then supersized, and I had a great time with them. We started out in the late afternoon and stayed well into the evening, and I was really looking forward to all of the lights and color of the night. This was one of the views that caught my eye, a classic carnival ride that looked great at night.

August 26, 2025. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 13.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 140mm), f/2.6, 1/40, ISO 400.

My friend and I are in downtown Minneapolis at dusk for a concert, and as we approach the entrance from ground level, I see a bridge one story up with folks strolling toward the venue amid some lights. The shapes of the silhouettes of the lights, power lines, and people really caught my eye.

October 17, 2025. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 13.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 140mm), f/2.6, 1/30, ISO 320.

Here’s another photo taken from my seat on an Amtrak train outside of St. Paul. I was using my cell phone in manual mode, which it turns out is a pretty decent camera (and gives me a live preview so I know exactly what I’m getting), and while I wish the bright overcast clouds hadn’t blown out, I’m happy with the blur on the left thanks to the proximity of that side and the sharpness of the rest of the train and tracks. Another nice shot of what I would have thought was a scene you wouldn’t be able to see anymore.

October 14, 2024. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 6mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 23mm), f/1.6, 1/320, ISO 100.

Look at all that beautiful texture! The bricks, the panels where signs used to be, the remaining sign, the shadows, the glass bricks, and so on. Converting this to black and white was a decision that worked really well. This diner wasn’t quite in my neighborhood, but it was one of my favorite breakfast spots while it was open, and I had a New Year’s Day tradition of heading there for a plate of biscuits & gravy with eggs over easy on top. One of the best breakfasts Chicago ever had to offer, I’ll say. Another diner is open there now, and it’s good, it’s good. I sure miss that original diner, though.

June 9, 2022. Samsung S24+ cell phone, 5.4mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.8, 1/420, ISO 40.

With birds as with people: What looks like the cool new trendy place to live slowly becomes that place that lets everyone in, and the trendsetters move along to some new hot spot. This dead trunk was clearly very popular with woodpeckers for a time — I occasionally saw them very nearby but rarely saw them in these nests — and eventually they just packed up and moved out. Of course, they make their own housing, so once a trunk they love has become so dead that the insects they love have moved on, they can move on too.

November 4, 2023. Nikon D850 (FX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm at 220mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO 100.

I’m visiting a museum in Minneapolis and, in a hallway, I see that something hit that window hard. I wasn’t there to see that happen, but I was there before they repaired it to see how cool the cracked pattern was, and that cone brings a little more color to the scene. I’ve mentioned my fondness for glass from some of the earliest published photos here, and this was another look at how it acts in the real world.

March 3, 2024. Samsung S24+ cell phone, 5.4mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.8, 1/750, ISO 40.