When I’m at the nature preserve in the Winter, there’s no guarantee I’ll see any life, maybe for weeks. But it can be nice to see signs of life and to imagine the secret life that’s still very active, just wary of being out when some sightseer is in the way.
January 19, 2015. Samsung Galaxy Camera, 20-483mm built-in lens at 20.3mm (35mm equivalent: 113mm), f/7.2, 1/1,600, ISP 100.
We’re back on the third Forgotten Chicago trip along the industrial South Side rivers of Chicago, and this is one of my favorite shots from that trip. The color, texture, detail, and light are all just perfect. Sometimes photographs like this benefit from a conversion to black-and-white to bring out detail, but it’s all there in color and it needs no enhancement.
July 21, 2013. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 185mm (35mm equivalent: 275mm), f/5, 1/8,000, ISO 1,250.
Well, it might be a little stronger than a mere grimace, but we’ll ride on the polite side for a change. Pareidolia is the brain’s insistence on convincing us that just because something has a vague resemblance to, oh say faces in anguish, we should interpret that as faces in anguish. Considering these little sights come around as one of the earliest signs of Spring, they amuse me to no end, and although there are hundreds of these shots in my collection, I’ll try to make sure one is enough for public consumption. You’re welcome.
April 20, 2014. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 105mm Nikon macro lens (35mm equivalent: 155mm), f/13, 1/45, ISO 320.
That’s why one day, when the year’s first strawberries arrived at my favorite farmers market, I brought as many home as I could carry, filled myself up with a whole lot of them, and then got out my camera and took some gorgeous macro shots of them. They’re beautiful and they taste great on pancakes, in oatmeal, on pastry, under whipped cream, under chocolate, or just eaten one by one like the perfect treats they are. I love strawberries.
June 4, 2014. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 105mm Nikon macro lens (35mm equivalent: 155mm), f/4.8, 1/180, ISO 640.
It’s always good to hang out and be seen on a sunny day, but if you can hang out and be seen on a sunny day when you’ve got the best sunglasses, well, that’s boss-level hanging out.
(Have I mentioned that I love dragonflies, and especially their eyes? I think I have.)
August 24, 2014. Cropped from a larger image. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm), f/11, 1/350, ISO 500.
Is this a parent’s greatest fear when there’s a youngster around and there’s love, or something more physical and urgent, in the air?
Actually, I think the positioning doesn’t quite work out like that. I’m not well versed on turtle nethers, and expect to happily stay that way. But that interpretation kinda looks plausible, and even if it is just two turtles basking while a third approaches, who doesn’t love to believe it could be an awkward moment?
April 11, 2015. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/16, 1/125, ISO 200.
It’s another of those little bits of curiosity that made me really happy. After a long, pelting rain during the day, a nearby garage roof was still quite wet and lit only by an amber streetlight in the back alley. I took a few shots and, as always, here is the one that made me happiest.
October 10, 2017. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 195mm (35mm equivalent: 295mm), f/5.3, 1/30, ISO 800.
We’re back on the Calumet River returning to Lake Michigan, and the lighting and placement of all of these structures — lift bridges and grain elevators — really caught my eye. The harsh lighting from a difficult angle made much of the trip difficult to capture well, but here these structures were out in the open and well-lit to show off all the detail. I’ve talked a bit about how industrial engineering fascinates me, and this photo of two of my favorite subjects in that category shows off why.
August 29, 2010. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 70mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm), f/8, 1/1,000, ISO 640.
After a good wet Spring, the nature preserve where I like to photograph came alive with irises. Those days feel like they’re gone. Chicago has had less and less rainfall, and more and more heat, from year to year over the last decade, and this part of the pond doesn’t even exist anymore. This is a bittersweet reminder of what we could still have.
May 13, 2012. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 70mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm), f/11, 1/500, ISO 400.
Herons are generally pretty good-looking birds. I’ve posted some photos that show how very odd they can look, because those entertain me quite a bit, but a great blue heron in flight is as much fun to see as it is to try to photograph. This shows off the whole bird pretty well.
February 22, 2020. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/11, 1/1,000, ISO 800.
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.