Photo of the Week: Skyline Bridge

"Skyline Bridge" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w 16-85mm lens, 1/640sec at f8, ISO200

This week's photo shows Chicago's Webster Ave Bridge crossing the north branch of the Chicago River.  This bridge was build in 1916 and is the "oldest style of pony bascule bridge in Chicago", according to Historic Bridges dot org.

A couple of things to note about the photo: 1) Though it was quite cold on this day, what looks like ice in the water is actually foam floating on the river.  I assume this is caused by nearby industry.  2) I processed this one to be much warmer than it was in real life.  I like how this accentuated the reddish brown of the bridge, and I just liked the overall feel of the coloring.

In addition to flickr, this photo also appeared on Instagram.

Photo(s) of the Week: Milky Blue Chicago

"Milky Blue Chicago" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mmmm lens, 1.3sec at f8, ISO100.


"Milky Blue Chicago, #2" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mmmm lens, 1.0sec at f8, ISO100.

This week's photos are pretty representative of the month of June this year in Chicago.  It's been fog, fog, and more fog.  Apparently the polar vortex is to blame.  Personally, I think the media just misses the phrase "polar vortex", but I guess it's as good a theory as any.

Both of these photos are pretty standard tourist shots of the Wrigley Building from just across the Michigan Ave Bridge.  The addition of fog and some nice blue hour lighting makes them fairly unique.  I shot both with a mini tripod, so my choice of shooting locations was limited to where I could safely set the tripod down-- in both cases it was sitting on a concrete ledge.  The nice thing about using a mini tripod vs a full size is that it fits inside my camera bag, and can be moved around very quickly.

Photo of the Week: St. Charles Air Line Bridge eats Chicago

Nikon D7000 1/200sec at f10, ISO100. Copyright Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

I'm a big proponent of revisiting photos, both in the darkroom, and by going back to locations in real life.  I find that some of my best images come from second or third attempts.  This week's photo, of the St Charles Air Line Bridge as seen from Ping Tom Park in Chicago's China Town, is similar to one that I shot last year but was never completely satisfied with.  With this version, I chose a wider crop and processed in black and white, and I think I finally got it right.

About the bridge: The St Charles Air Line Bridge was named a Chicago landmark in 2007.  It was the world's longest and heaviest single-leaf bridge when completed in 1919.  Interestingly, while most people view this as one bridge, there are actually two in this photo, sitting side by side.  The lowered Bridge is the St Charles Air Line, while the raised one is the Chicago Terminal Bridge.  The latter is no longer in use and sits permanently raised.

Prints: I recently used this as a submission for a photo contest sponsored by Preservation Chicago, and as a result, I have a few extra prints lying around which are for sale if anyone is interested:



Shoot me an email for info on pricing.  They measure exactly 9x18 inches on 13x19 Epson Premium Semigloss paper.  I can also print other sizes as requested.

Photo of the Week: Over Under

Nikon D7000 w/ Nikon 70-300mm (at 180mm), 1/400sec at f8, ISO200.  Copyright Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

Vertical photos tend to get short changed on the internet, which is unfortunate as I take a lot of vertical shots.  A few years ago, your standard monitor was a 4:3 aspect ratio, likely 1280x1024 or 1600x1200 (which is what I use).  Now, monitors have all switched to 16x10 or even worse 16x9 dimensions to better match the dimensions of HDTVs.  Your standard resolution on most laptops today is 1366x768.  That's not a good screen size for productivity, in my opinion, but I guess watching videos drives sales more than using an excel spreadsheet or viewing photos on the internet.

Anyway, that lament aside, I still really like vertical compositions and have no intention of abandoning them.  I took this shot of various Chicago bridges from the Chicago River Walk.  I wanted to get as many bridges into one shot as possible (there are six in this photo, though the ones at the bottom start to truncate together) and also capture people walking on more than one.

Photo of the Week: Columbus Drive Bridge

Nikon D7000 w/ Sigma 10-20mm, 1/160sec at f6.3, ISO400. Copyright Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo features the Columbus Drive Bridge as seen from the Chicago Riverwalk.  Columbus Drive is one of the newest bridges over the Chicago River, built in 1983 and is the second-longest bascule bridge in the world.  What I enjoy most about it, at least from this vantage point, is the metal grates used on the road surface which allow light to pass through.

This is the first in what I'm hoping will be a new series of photos documenting the bridges of Chicago.