Tourists on Wendella Boats’ “Linnea” take in the view from Chicago’s outer harbor on Oct. 19, 2010. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm | Exposed 1/1600 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100
I’ve been spending the better part of the week processing my photos for my master’s project. The trips to Chicago were surprisingly productive. And the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens that I’ve been borrowing from my dad–I briefly reviewed it here early this year–proved to be invaluable in the city. Sure, the images aren’t as sharp as they would be with a 70-200 lens, but it’s a smaller, less “obvious” lens for street shooting: the black barrel doesn’t draw attention to itself.
As always, comments and criticism welcome! And more photos after the jump!
The city's eponymous river, Chicago Riverfront, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 16mm | Exposed 1/1000 sec. @ f/4, ISO 250
Chicago and the river that bears the city’s name are a large part my project about Asian carp: the river is a conduit through which the fish are likely to find their way into Lake Michigan. (In all fairness, they have already found alternative routes that take them into Lake Erie.) Here, then, are a few more photos of this city that is the seat of so much controversy.
"Corn Cribs," IBM Building, and Trump Tower, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/8, ISO 250Aqua, designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, is the largest skyscraper project awarded to an architectural firm headed by a woman. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens @ 240mm | Exposed 1/800 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 400Window cleaning crew on 333 W. Wacker Drive | Canon 5D Mk. II and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens @ 300mm | Exposed 1/400 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400
Metra stop, Berkeley, Illinois. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 30mm | Exposed 1/2000 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.
A few images from Berkeley, Illinois, where I took the Metra West line to get into Chicago a couple of weeks ago to play tourist at Wendella Boats. I think it’s fitting to show some of the rail infrastructure surrounding the city as rail would be one of the alternatives for carrying the cargo that barges currently push in and out of the region.
Also, I’ve been experimenting, perhaps too much, with leaving my large-aperture lenses wide open even mid-day for the selective focus and natural vignetting that you can get…and then enhancing the latter a touch in Lightroom. Don’t worry–I’m sure it’s a phase that I’ll get over sooner rather than later. At least the vignetting part!
Capt. Dan Egan minds the rear of the boat as Steve Gray stands on point at the bow of the empty barge while they push it up the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on Illinois Marine Towing's "Albert C." on October 20, 2010 near Lemont, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 38mm | Exposed 1/60 sec. @ f/10, ISO 100 (flash @ -1/3 EV)
A few more frames from my day on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with Illinois Marine Towing. I wanted a little “more” both from the portrait of Dan Egan and the image below, with Steve Gray growing in proportion from one frame to the next. As for the third image, I can’t help but be drawn to photos of flowing water, although usually I try to make it silky, I enjoyed the way that the faster shutter speed froze the large droplets.
Tim Griest of Illinois Marine Towing goes over crew assignments with Josh Fox on the morning of their shift change on October 20, 2010 in Lemont, Ilinois. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/1000 sec. @ f/4, ISO 200.
Before I even got onto the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, I found myself outside the office of Illinois Marine Towing in Lemont, Ill., talking to some of the deck hands who were scheduled to start work that morning, and would remain at work for three weeks. Crews on the tugboats that push barges up and down the waterways live on the boats for three weeks at a time, sometimes four if they’d like to earn a bit more money, before coming home for a few weeks. There are a lot of moving parts in the discussion about Asian carp and the Great Lakes, and these people who make their living working on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal are a part of that debate, as is the cargo that they help to push up and down the waterways.
Antonio Lopez, a deck hand for Illinois Marine Towing, looks on as a barge loaded with components for gasoline passes by on October 20, 2010 on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Ill. Perez, who is in his sixth year in the industry, has already earned his steerage license and plans to make a career on the canal. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 51mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/3.5, ISO 100.
Last Wednesday I had an opportunity to spend most of a day on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with three men who make their living pushing cargo up and down the man-made waterway created 110 years ago. Bill Russell at Illinois Marine Towing, a small barge company in Lemont, Illinois, granted me access to one of the fleet boats as it repositioned barges and other tug boats around the shipyard and up and down a stretch of the canal. Capt. Dan Egan, Antonio Lopez, and Steve Gray were all very open to the idea, and basically allowed me great access to the work that they do, although there are some safety precautions that certainly limit how much of their job I could photograph from close range. But I didn’t want to be the victim of a snapped line or fall into the water, either! Be sure to see the rest of the images after the jump. And there will be more to come!
Mallory Green, a tour guide for Wendella Boats, tells passengers about the famous Chicago skyline on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010. Tour companies like Wendella Boats would be hampered if the Chicago Harbor Lock was closed in an effort to prevent Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 40mm | Exposed 1/2500 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.
I’m beginning to wrap the shooting for my master’s project. One of my last days was spent playing tourist in a city I used to live in. While barge companies would be adversely affected if the Thomas J. O’Brien lock on the Cal-Sag Channel was closed permentntly, closing the Chicago Harbor Lock would mean an end to boat traffic from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River, and hurt tour companies like Wendella Boats.
Heather Calkins looks back at the Cal-Sag Channel as the Fish & Wildlife Service electro-shocking boat heads towards the Thomas P. O'Brien Lock and Dam in Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 52mm | Exposed 1/2000 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 200.
As I go through my take from Thursday, I find a new image I like each sweep. It’s interesting to me how different my editing process is with storytelling photographs than with my more traditional nature and architectural fare, where I am far more ruthless in the initial sweeps of the takes. I suppose it’s part of learning…
Brett Witte sets up the electro-shocking probes before setting them in the water ahead of the Fish & Wildlife Service boat in Lake Calumet, beyond the Thomas P. O'Brien Lock and Dam on the Cal-Sag Channel, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm | Exposed 1/500 sec. @ f/4, ISO 100.A bottle of hand sanitizer and ear-protective goggles rest on the plexiglass shield ahead of the pilot's position on the Fish & Wildlife Service electro-shocking boat. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 85mm f/1.2L II lens | Exposed 1/800 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.
Heather Calkins, left, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service holds back the electro-shocking boat as Brett Witte, center, prepares to turn the wheel to let it roll towards their truck, while Andy Plauck, right, looks on at the Sleep Inn parking lot in Tinley Park, Ill. | Canon 1D Mark III and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 42mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.
From the early morning before I rode out on the Cal-Sag Channel with the crew pictured above. Oh, if only that lamp post wasn’t growing out of Andy’s head…or if I could have a little more separation between Heather and Brett’s feet. As always, comments and criticism welcome.
