Ahh...Chicago...

...I will be seeing you soon!

Chicago

Cloud Gate

Cloud Gate, located in Millennium Park, Chicago, is an amazing sculpture designed by artist Anish Kapoor. Eighty percent of the surface reflects the sky, thus the name. Because of its shape, it has been dubbed The Bean, much to the apparent chagrin of the artist. This is a huge piece of art measuring 33 feet high, 42 feet wide and 66 feet long...which makes the fact that it was completely created in California and then taken apart to be shipped to Chicago quite remarkable.

If you get a chance to go to Chicago, do stop by Millennium Park to take a look, stand beneath, walk around, see the warped reflections of the buildings...and yourself in Cloud Gate. It is interesting, amazing, interactive and fun. Oh, and bring your camera.

Interesting fact: Cloud Gate is washed twice a year in 40 gallons of liquid Tide.

Capturing Height in Landscape Mode

Are you looking for an interesting way to capture height? Here's a different way to compose your urban shots that lops off the tops of many of the buildings yet still successfully gives the impression of height. Shoot in landscape mode and then crop so the image is much wider than it is high, focusing in on the long shadows of the buildings rather than the buildings themselves. What you end up with in this image is a pretty good understanding of the towering height of Chicago's highrises.