It’s been a very long time since Out of Chicago (OOC) has had an in-person city conference. Just last week, the OOC crew put together a fantastic, intimate 4-day conference in Chicago. It’s always an honor to be a part of their events. The other instructors and the participants are always incredible. And, last week was no exception.

The week consisted of photowalks, panel discussions, and image critiques. There were 6 instructors that partnered to show each group various ways to approach photographing the urban environment. Valerie Jardin and I combined efforts to give participants both architectural and street perspectives of each location we visited. They all did an amazing job trying both approaches.

I didn’t shoot a whole lot, but thought I’d share some of what I did photograph. We’ll start with Millennium Park – The BP Bridge and an ICM shot of The Bean.

I haven’t photographed Chase Tower in a really long time. The city has had weird skies from all the wildfires which are pretty prevalent in this sweeping look up at the Tower.

A shot each from two of our amazing art museums – The MCA and the Art Institute of Chicago.

And a few ICM shots of the colorful ceiling installation in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute.

We spent a chilly, foggy morning along the riverwalk. One shot of Marina Towers getting lost in the fog…

…however, I spent most of my time on the riverwalk shooting the building reflections in the river. I’ve done this many times with my phone and finally got around to it with my real camera. I’m obviously very drawn to abstracts and love interpreting the city in this way. The many images here combine two of my favorite things – water & architecture.

Now for some color versions.

If I remember correctly, the reflection shot is the reflection of the buildings in shot next to it. Hmm, maybe that’s a series I should do – the actual building + its river reflection…

That was fun! Hope you enjoyed them too 🙂