I had a long and unhappy day at work that resulted in my leaving for home quite late. I realized that, even if I were leaving on time, I wasn’t in the mood to cook, and as late as it was, a little kindness at a nearby bar would do a lot to improve my mood. Spotting this composition and tweaking it over a number of photos helped me forget the day, the very rare burger and cold beer were also comforting, and I left feeling better than when I’d arrived, with a good mood lighting photo.

November 6, 2017. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/120, ISO 320.

A porch with shiplap walls, a landing with a broom, a door for the long-gone iceman to put the frozen block in the icebox, and an expanse of yellow brick lit by the glare of a single light deep into the night. Maximum Chicago.

August 15, 2017. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/10, ISO 250.

Leaning my camera into a buttonbush whose anthers are bulging with pollen, I loved the effect my close-up lens gave me as the focus gently receded, with the stamens not as organized as those that swirl around the center of a sunflower but long and ready for any pollinating passersby.

July 12, 2015. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 105mm Nikon macro lens (35mm equivalent: 155mm), f/5.6, 1/4,000, ISO 200.

Flying from one buttonbush to the next, a swallowtail butterfly dangles not only its legs but also its long proboscis in anticipation of the nectar on its destination.

July 7, 2018. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/5.6, 1/2,00, ISO 560.

Among the rubble on a mulched and groomed park path, a chipmunk manages to find an afternoon treat.

June 16, 2019. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/8, 1/45, ISO 400.

After a long winter, color finally started to make the world a livelier place in early May. In our cold, raw city, we are impatient but grateful for what we finally get, whenever it may push through the browns and the grays.

May 2, 2021. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 100mm (35mm equivalent: 150mm), f/11, 1/180, ISO 560.

On a breezy day, choppy water on a pond surface covered with lily pads lends texture to the golden hour behind a chaotic patch of reeds

September 26, 2014. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 170mm (35mm equivalent: 255mm), f/11, 1/500, ISO 1,250.

Well, OK, it isn’t a circle, but how do you describe the shape dragonflies make when they are, shall we say, doin’ it? I’m not really up on the whole procedure, because the sex life of anyone or anything but my own is not something I really read up on or talk about. So I don’t know how those little red eggs ended up on the green one’s belly, even if I’d hazard a guess on which one put them there. Both of them look like they’re smiling, so I hope they have both had a good time, and I hope that among the many photos of dragonflies I took the next year, some of them might have been their kids.

August 2, 2014. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/5.6, 1/1,500, ISO 400.

Chicago has lots of underpasses, overpasses, bridges, and other road features that let pedestrians cross busy streets and highways without dying (ideally). If you’re at street level on a sunny day under an overpass, you may be lucky enough to get a view like this.

July 15, 2012. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 105mm (35mm equivalent: 200mm), f/16, 1/30, ISO 200.

I loved the decor of this jazz club on Chicago’s Far North Side as much as I loved the music. A friend and I used to go there often before the pandemic, but she’s less interested in it now, sadly.

Anyway, I also loved the cocktails there. I’m an old-fashioned drinker, maybe literally, but if they think theirs is good enough to put on the menu, it will be my first choice. This one was not just good but strong, which may have encouraged me to take this photo so I’d remember it later. I made sure to include a little bit of that decor.

April 26, 2019. Samsung S10+ cell phone, 4.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/2.2, 1/30, ISO 640.

Behind this brick wall, which faced the street I lived on, there was a parking lot for a few businesses on the corner — a bar, a yoga studio, a bank branch. Like another brick wall I’ve published a photo of here, it seems to have suffered some damage, maybe more than once.

But one night I was coming home from an evening out and saw that someone had mounted a painting of a tranquil river and bridge scene to it. That isn’t trivial; you don’t just hammer some nails into brickwork. Maybe that’s why no other artwork joined it, and it eventually vanished as quietly as it had appeared.

April 29, 2019. Samsung S10+ cell phone, 1.8mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 13mm), f/2.2, 1/9, ISO 1,600.

This photo of the Wrigley Buildings at night already carried a bit of weight, but looked even better converted to black-and-white.

November 2, 2017. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/40, ISO 160.

A remarkable number of animals have stuck their tongues out at me while I was taking their pictures. And since they were making eye contact, I must believe it was meant as a statement and meant for me. I’m still going to take the picture.

October 9, 2011. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/16, 1/250, ISO 800.

A few days ago we saw a dragonfly that seemed to be on the verge of ecstasy as it hovered defending its turf from interlopers, but this one taking a break on a log near a pond seems to be well into the grumpy side of life.

October 6, 2019. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/6.7, 1/125, ISO 800.

A Cooper’s hawk rides the thermals over a pond as it searches for lunch one afternoon.

September 20, 2020. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 380mm (35mm equivalent: 570mm), f/6.3, 1/1,500, ISO 200.