join me for a day & night series of downtown chicago shot on my rolleiflex and a few rolls of kodak gold 200.
I decided to bring along my Rolleiflex and a couple of rolls of Kodak Gold 200 on a recent work trip to Chicago. I flew in on a public holiday so had some free time for a quick walk before dinner. I also kept my Rolleiflex with me for the week and managed to snap a few shots enroute to the office and also at night from my hotel bedroom. I had a very good corner room although had not fully prepared for nightshots and had neither a tripod or a cable release.
Luckily I knew the famous Central Camera store was nearby and was able to pop in quickly for simple cable release. The store is iconic and world renown for its long history but also recent sad history where a few years ago it was destroyed by a fire caused by looting - more on that here. But in happier news they received a ton of donations and were able to get back on their feet. It is a great store for all things analogue photography!
The iconic Palmer house hotel, opened in 1871 and said to be haunted. Ghosts or not, it has a great entrance architecture!
I love this shot - I waited for a while until the bus turned and luckily he was stuck in a traffic jam so it gave me some time to take a good shot.
It was the day after the Chicago Marathon and many of the side streets has these big trucks parked there blocking the area off, I couldn’t resist taking a shot.
Interesting and unusual art exhibition in Millennium park - the big “screen” on the brick is interactive.
Classic river shot.
Apparently this is called the Cloud Gate. It works better on a sunny day in my opinion and also early morning when it is not packed with people and influencers doing live videos. Actually the inside/under belly of the structure is more interesting than the outside in my opinion.
One of my favourite shots of this post.
The Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry, in the Millenium park. A very cool structure to photograph and completely empty at 8am on a weekday, very easy to go by enroute to the office.
Took me ages to get the right angle for this shot. I like the overall symmetry but the lighting was a bit harsh and you cannot really make out the bright red seating as much as I would have liked.
Another river shot, I really like the lighting here.
Setting up for a night shot on an improvised tripod (e.g. a hotel book)!
I actually really like how this shot came out, even if I was hoping for something less blurred. That being said, I could not have made this image if I tried so happy with its funky result.
A better more focused version, even if a bit dark. Not bad for Gold 200 though.
This side of the window had more street lighting so the image is a bit clearer overall.
Could not quite get the full side of the Trump building as was right up against the side of the window.
Overall observations
I am actually really pleased with how these shots came out considering they were taken over a few days in a “I have 5 minutes let me take a shot” type approach. I usually prefer longer photo walks where I can take everything in, but given it was a work trip I made the best of the little time I had. It also reminded me I should probably take a backup mini tripod (and cable release) with me if I ever take my Rolleiflex on a trip.
I hope you enjoyed this brief day & night series of downtown Chicago.
See you next time,
Neil
