Learnt about a new plan that Mayor @Rahm Emanuel had put forward to make the city of Chicago as "The North American City of Lights". I love night sky, I love watching the stars & milky way. But I would also say I love lights and city skylines. It was a great experience shooting man made skylines like this @ Seattle. I love lights. Without them, the shadows would not be so beautiful. So I say come let us light up Chicago ! Lighting is not just about adding jarring halogens and LEDs to buildings. It also can be learning and designing a lighting systems at a really grand scale that is functional and beautiful, while keeping the light pollution low. Am sure we do have technology in place to achieve this. So if you are one of them who can make it happen – - do participate in this world wide competition and submit a proposal to light up Chicago - in a way we can all enjoy the milky way that is always there !!! Come let us light up Chicago - in a way to reduce light pollution & bring out the milky way that had always been there !!! This shot is a composite of the Chicago skyline from the Alder Planetarium. The milky ways is from Green River Wildlife area – a couple of hours away from Chicago. Hopefully we would be able to enjoy views like this without camera gimmicky or total blackouts.
Nothing beats a beautiful spring day like a trip to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Just 30 mins away from downtown - nestled in Mary McDonalds woods – this well kept & curated garden, provides a deserved break to the Urban feel of Chicago. Are u tired of the concrete jungles, wanna breathe some fresh air – not tainted by pollution – just head down to Chicago Botanic Garden – a worthwhile place to get ur Zen back :) And did I say this is a lovely place to enjoy a sunset too …
As you would have read from the news, the new meteor shower – Camelopardalis - was expected to adorn the skies during the early morning of 5.24.2014. When I heard about this meteor shower, I was pretty existed. Time of the event being a weekend – check. Location – northern continental US – favorable. Clear skies – check. May be the stars just aligned for this :) Camelopardalis - I was wondering about the name, as it has been as long as the giraffe's neck, when I came across this ! The giraffe's species name, camelopardalis (camelopard), is derived from its early Roman name where it was thought of as a composite creature, described as having characteristics of both a camel and a leopard. The forecasted peak time for the meteor shower was from 1 –3 AM CST. It was not as much as hyped (~100 / hr), but the night was still clear and Milky way was magnificent. Around 4 AM, took out my flash light and started playing to get a star war style crisscross with the milky way. Just then the celestial gods decided to bless – look - a shooting start in the same direction my camera was positioned, as if to slice the Milky way. This was not one of the shooting star i saw in person. I was busy walking up & down and playing with the flash light. But I will definitely settle for this shot instead :) Lesson to self : Never given up, just go out and do what you like, you never know when the stars will align :) Note: Are you just getting started with night photography ? Do check out this article !
