Photo of the Week: Splatter Painting

"Splatter Painting" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/200sec at f5.6, ISO400.

This week's photo is an example of what can happen when CTA employees are given snow blowers.  That's the best guess I can make for what caused this snow pattern on a north bound red line train. 

Art is everywhere if you choose to see it.

This was also featured in the Gapers Block Rearview.

Photo of the Week: Vice Grip

"Vice Grip" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/500sec at f3.5, ISO200.

If you've been following me on flickr or this blog for some time, you've probably noticed that I gravitate towards slightly unusual compositions.  Sure, I take the tourist shots too, but 9 times out of 10 those don't excite me simply because I've seen them before.  What I really like is finding new ways to capture familiar subjects.  Here, Chicago's iconic Wrigley Building is seen through the railing of the Wabash Ave Bridge.

Photo of the Week: Marina Towers Abstract

"Marina Towers Abstract" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/100sec at f8, ISO200.

This week's photo is an abstract take on Chicago's iconic Marina City.  With this shot, I tried to focus on the building's distinctive curved lines.  The stark contrast and heavy blacks were achieved in post processing. 

Here's what the Photoshop levels adjustment looks like:



That's more extreme than most post processing that I do, but I think it works well here.  Shadow details: who needs 'em! 

Photo of the Week: Arched

"Arched" Copyright Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ Sigma 10-20mm lens, 1/320sec at f8, ISO100

This week's photo is a shot of the iconic Wrigley Building, looking up from the walkway that separates the two halves.  I've probably walked through here a hundred times, but I don't think I've ever looked up while under this arch before.  I had a lens with me that I don't normally carry-- the Sigma 10-20mm-- and I find that sometimes helps me to see things in new ways.

Photo of the Week: Barbed

Nikon D7000 w 16-85mm lens, 1/1250sec at f8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved.

It's been quite a week, hasn't it?  The Boston Marathon was bombed.  A fertilizer plant blew up in Texas.  There was an earthquake in China.  Chicago got bombarded with rain which led to massive flooding in the area, and then IT SNOWED.  In April.  On a more personal note, one of my favorite musicians (Scott Miller of the under-appreciated bands The Loud Family and Game Theory) passed away.

So what does this week's photo, an abstract of a barbed wire fence, have to do with any of that?  Well, nothing, really, but I'm not sure any single photo could sum all of that up.  Life is full of barbs.  Try to avoid them as best you can while you climb over to the next week.

The Loud Family - "Just Gone":

Photo of the Week (News Years Edition): Daley Plaza

Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f1.8D lens, 1/60sec, f2.8 and ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo is an abstract take on the Christmas Tree in Daley Plaza, and also the Daley Center, which is on the left.  This shot is intentionally defocused.  I always feel like I'm cheating when I create a photo like this, but every once in a while it makes for an interesting effect.

The seven sided polygons are caused by the aperture blades of the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D lens.  At f1.8 these would have been circular, but with this lens you start to see the shape of the aperture blades as soon as you stop down even to f2.0.  This is an older lens design-- newer Nikon models have rounded aperture blades which don't produce these sharp polygons.  Most people think that's a good thing, but I rather like this look.

I hope everyone reading had a wonderful Christmas and New Years.  I still have to post my Best of 2012 photos, and then onward to 2013!

Photo of the Week: Looming Large

Sony RX100, 1/1000sec at f5, ISO125. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

It's easy to pick a "photo of the week" when you've only posted one photo online the entire week.  I've been busy with work the past few weeks, and more stressed than usual, which impacts my creativity.  No matter, I really like this shot.

Are things "looming large" in your life?  Or is it just an illusion of shadows?  Sometimes it can be hard to tell.

Photo(s) of the Week: The Drive

I've been finding myself on Lake Shore Drive a lot lately.  Whenever that happens, assuming I'm in the passenger seat and not driving (I'm not that crazy), it's pretty much impossible for me not to pull out a camera.  Below are a couple of abstract takes on Chicago's famous drive, photographed on two different days.


Sony RX100, 1/100sec at f1.8, ISO125. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.


Sony RX100, 1/400sec at f8, ISO125. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

Photo of the Week: red white and blue

Sony RX100, 1/800sec at f6.3, ISO125. Copyright Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo was taken at Fast Track, a Chicago hotdog/hamburger eatery in the West Loop.  I was mostly the colors that drew me to this photo; that bright blue sky against the white lights with the red and white stripes of the canopy below it-- to me it looks like an abstract American flag.

Update 08/20/12: This photo is featured on Gapers Block today:

Photo of the Week: Shadow Play

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/1000sec at f8, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

I've titled this week's photo "Shadow Play", which I'll admit, is kind of a cop out. I've used that title at least 2 or 3 times already-- it's sort of my "I can't think of anything better" title for shadow related photos. Nonetheless, I really like this shot, in particular how the angle of the light has caused the streetlight to look unbalanced, like it's a scale. (Those two lights are actually perfectly even.)

This was taken on Lincoln Ave, one of several slanted streets in Chicago, running northwest to southeast. This is important because at this particular point of the day the sun was coming from due south. On a street running north/south, or east/west, this shadow would have either been in a different place or blocked by buildings. This also accounts for why the streetlight looks askew. Here's another shot:


Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/1000sec at f8, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

Art Institute: Windows to Chicago

One of my favorite things about the Art Institute of Chicago-- aside from the wonderful artwork, of course-- is the way the museum interacts with the city around it.  I've taken photos in the past which show this from the exterior; I thought I'd try a few shots from inside the building on a recent visit:


Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/50sec at f4.5, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

The shot above is from the southeast section.  It's one of my favorite stairways in the Art Institute, here intermixed with the Santa Fe Building and Michigan Ave.  I processed this so the staircase would be predominantly in silhouette, which I think accentuates the basic elements of the scene.


Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/640sec at f5.6, ISO800. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This next photo is from the Modern Wing and shows some relatively new high rises in the South Loop.


Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/125sec at f5.6, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This third and final shot is from the wing that crosses over the old rail yards, and shows the Aon Center and other buildings to the north.  The white line in this picture is a break in the window shades.

Photo(s) of the week: CTA Abstracts

Canon S95 at 85mm, 1/80sec, f4.5, and ISO80. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.


Canon S95 at 85mm, 1/100sec, f4.5, and ISO80. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I'm putting these two photos together, though they were actually shot several weeks apart.  The first one, taken this week while I was waiting for the Red Line to leave Howard, likely represents the last sunset I will see for a while.  (At least during the work week-- on Sunday we move our clocks back an hour, plunging my 5pm commute into darkness).  The second photo shows a mix of reflections as my train passes the Granville station.  I'm pretty sure the man in this shot knew he was being photographed, even though the camera was pointed out the window-- human beings have a sixth sense for that-- but he didn't seem to mind.

Photo of the Week: Grass Train

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens (at 42mm), 1/640sec at f5 and ISO80. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I have a ton of photos to look through and (hopefully) post online this week, but before I do that, I wanted to call attention to this shot of an Orange Line train zipping along Ping Tom Park in Chicago's China town.  I don't think there's an exact "Andy Marfia style" at this point, but this comes pretty darn close.  A unique view of the city: abstract, but not fully abstract.  Slightly right brained.  One of my flickr friends commented that this is "more like a passing thought than an actual train."  I like that.

Photo of the Week: Summer in 52 Pieces

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/125sec at f8, ISO100. Copyright 2011 Andy Marfia, All Rights Reserved.

This weeks photo shows Hollywood Beach as seen reflected off the beach house.  I've posted this shot on my flickr account to provide context.  This is a good example of a photo that came about, not from some design or plan, but just walking around with a camera and being playful with the world around me.  In this case, I had walked up to this beach house thinking it would make for an interesting macro or abstract, only to realize that the most interesting photo was in how it reflected the lakefront that surrounded it.

This is featured today on both Gapers Block on flickr's "Last 7 Days" explore page.  I had a feeling people would like this one, still, it's always a bit surprising when the explore thing happens.

Here's another shot:


Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/400sec at f5.6, ISO100. Copyright 2011 Andy Marfia, All Rights Reserved.

Photo of the Week: Mirror Mirror

Nikon D7000 w/ 55-200mm lens (at 100mm), 1/60sec at f4.5, ISO400.  Copyright 2011 Andy Marfia, All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo was taken on the Sheridan Red Line platform.  The platform curves at this point, hence the need for these mirrors.  Apparently, the CTA has had these up for a long time-- one of my flickr contacts posted a photo of the same platform in 1975. (I believe his photo is of the opposite side of the platform)

This photograph is also featured as the photo of the day on Gapers Block.

Photo(s) of the Week: Urban Macro by request

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Micro Nikkor, 1/800sec at f8, ISO400

I had a personal request recently that I shoot more macro photos, and who am I, if not someone who honors personal requests!  So I slapped my 105mm Micro Nikkor on my camera and went for a walk on what was a pleasantly sunny almost-spring day.  These two photos were from that walk.

The shot above is the corner of a wall, sort of an ode to brick walls.  The shot below is the top of a fire hydrant.  Though I'm quite certain they weren't singing about fire hydrants, the song Ready to Start by the Arcade Fire has popped into my head:

"My mind is open wide, and now I'm ready to start"


Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Micro Nikkor, 1/320sec at f8, ISO400

Photo(s) of the Week: peeling away (triptych)

I like to think of these photos as visual ruminations.  I took them on the same day while riding the CTA red line, between approximately Loyola and Howard.  My window had a bit of muck on it, some sort of peeling plastic coating and I thought it made for a cool effect to shoot through it. 

Photo Details:
#1: Canon S95 at 35mm, 1/125sec at f3.2, ISO80
#2: Canon S95 at 35mm, 1/400sec at f3.2, ISO80
#3: Canon S95 at 35mm, 1/250sec at f3.2, ISO80

Note: by clicking through the photo to flickr, you can see a larger version.

Photo(s) of the Week: grasscrapes

I took these two shots near the Foster Ave Beach.  Summer is winding down-- I can feel it in the air at night.  These shots seem to fit the moment.

Photo details: Nikon D90 with 55-200mm lens, 1/640sec and 1/500sec respectively at f7.1, ISO200

Photo(s) of the Week: Lurie + Art Institute = Awesome

The Lurie Garden in Millennium Park with the Art Institute's Modern Wing in the background.  I was drawn to the combination of nature and architectural elements here, and I love how the two interact with each other (in particular in the first photo) to form a repeating vertical pattern.

I believe the flowers in both shots are lilacs, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Photo Details: Nikon D90 with 55-200mm, 1/160sec and f8 (top photo), 1/320sec and f4 (bottom photo), ISO400.

CTA abstract series, part 1

I wasn't expecting this to be a series, but what hell, two or three photos make a series, right?  I had it planned all along!

The photo above is a macro shot of a sign on the Thorndale L platform.  I was facing east when I took this-- it was fairly late in the day so the low hanging sun was crossing sharply under the platform's canopy, illuminating this sign.

The two images below are of the metal grates that the CTA uses as dividers on the platforms.  The red blob in the first photo is an out of focus CTA sign in the background.  The second photo is actually of two dividers, spaced about 6 feet apart on a stairwell.  I put the focal point between them, which is what caused the kaleidoscope effect that you see as the patterns merged.  I'm not really sure if this photo works-- the fact that it requires an explanation leads me to believe that it may be a bit too abstract.





Details:

#1: Nikon D90 with 60mm lens, 1/1200sec at f6.3 (cropped square via photoshop)
#2: Nikon D50 with 60mm lens, 1/800sec at f7.1
#3: Nikon D80 with 60mm lens, 1/500sec at f5.5
(Note: these photos were all taken on different days)