After Hours

Highwood, IL

Leica M EV1 @ f4 | 28mm | 1/125 sec | ISO 1600

Voigtlander 28mm F2 Ultron w/ 1/4 Pro-mist filter

Photographed 8/15/26

Laugh-In

52Frames - Week 33 - Night

No astro this week in the Chicago area!

Went out looking for a good night scene to complete this week's challenge.  Highwood, IL never disappoints.  It was a hot, humid, misty night so I thought a photo op around the train station might surface.  This scene immediately reminded me of the 1968-1973 TV show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

All Photos:    Leica M EV1 @ 2.8 | 28mm | SS varies | ISO varies

                        Voigtlander 28mm F2 Ultron w/ 1/4 Pro-mist filter


All Photographed 8/15/26

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

ALTERNATES

Just Hanging

Kenosha-bound

Did Not Succumb

Porto, Portugal

I had some great sardines in Duoro Valley, outside of Porto but did not partake in this well-marketed tourist trap in Porto's city center.

1.  Ricoh GRIIIx @ f2.8 | 1/640 sec | 40mm equiv | ISO 200


1.  Ricoh GRIIIx @ f2.8 | 1/125 sec | 40mm equiv | ISO 800


Photographed 5/12/26

Out Of Place

El Paseo

Palm Desert, CA



El Paseo is a mile long stretch of high-end shops, galleries and restaurants.  At night, storefronts are stunning.  Galleries highlight their spectacular art.  Dining areas and live music spill out onto the sidewalks.

As I walked from my parking space to the restaurant, I could not help but notice the contrast between this scene and the entire street environment.

Ricoh GRIIIx @ f3.2 | 1/160 sec | 40mm equiv | ISO 200

Photographed 3/22/26

Out Of Place

El Paseo - Shop

El Paseo - Gallery

El Paseo - Dining

El Paseo - Music

Dedication Or Smarts?

Palm Desert, CA

Not sure if it is dedication or smarts that caused these gents to play sports at night with daytime temps of 100 and nights dipping into the 80s.  Either way they presented good IRL moments to capture this week's challenge photo.

1:  Sony A7Cii @ f5.6 | 1/200 | 40mm | ISO 12800 [52 Frames - Week 12 - Low Key]

2:  Sony A7Cii @ f4 | 1/500 | 40mm | ISO 12800  [52 Frames - Week 12 - Low Key Alternate]

1 & 2:  Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic (adapted)

All photographed 3/16/26

Cooks In The Kitchen

52 Frames - Week 10 - Chaos

EC:  Composite

Vacationing in a very "chill" location this week making it difficult to find chaos.  I felt forced to create my own sense of chaos via photographic technique.  Then we went to Culinary Dropout in Scottsdale Quarter where I saw actual organized chaos (and had a great dinner).

Image is a composite of 3 photos.  How many people can you pick out?

Sony A7Cii @ f1.4 | 1/125 | 40mm | ISO 1600

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic  (adapted)

Photographed 3/5/26

Alternate shots are below.

Visual Chaos 1

Visual Chaos 2

Passé x 3

Kierland Commons

Scottsdale, AZ

Sony A7Cii @ f1.4 | 1/400 | 40mm | ISO 100

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic (adapted)

Photographed 3/5/26

La La Land

Kierland Commons

Scottsdale, AZ

State of the Union.

Sony A7Cii @ f1.4 | 1/125 | 40mm | ISO 100

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic (adapted)

Photographed 3/4/26

Pre-Dawn Confab

52 Frames - Week 4 - Get High

Cancun, MX

On the way to the ocean to witness a beautiful sunrise, I observed this scene as an IRL get high composition.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro @ f2.8 | 1/40 | 9mm (156mm equiv) | ISO 800

Photographed 1/22/26

Pasta Man

Cancun, MX

A favorite Cancun restaurant, Cenacolo, opened in a new location recently. Freshly made pasta is better than ever.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro @ f1.8 | 1/60 | 6.76mm (24mm equiv) ISO 500

Photographed 1/14/26

Not Quite But A Happy Accident

Century Park

Vernon Hills, IL

Last minute effort to shoot the Northern Lights with photo buddy Steve P.  Not quite successful but also not a wasted effort.  The previous night would have been spectacular.  On the second photo. Steve was fooling around with his flashlight while we were trying to capture the Northern Lights.  The bright colors against the night sky caught my attention.

Photographed with a Sony A7IV camera and 14mm F2.8 Series II lens.

All Photographed 11/12/25

  

Not Quite

Happy Accident

Bellying Up

52Frames - Week 34 - Low Key

Evening shoot with a new fast lens to capture low key scenes.

Sony A7Cii @ f2 | 1/125 | 40mm |  ISO 640

Voigtlander Nokton Classic 40mm F1.4 (adapted)

Photographed 8/20/25

Urban Nights

These photos were taken June 19, 2025 on a photowalk in downtown Chicago with some photography friends visiting from out of town and coincide with the 52 Assignments-Exposure project #26-Urban Nights.

Before or After The Vows?

The guy's shirt makes this a very puzzling scene.  What's the story?



Sony A7IV @ f4 | 1/640 | 20mm | ISO 6400

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G


Beacon

Chicago, IL

Chicago River, Riverwalk & Bridges

Sony A7IV @ f4 | 1/320 | 105mm (equiv) | ISO 6400


Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

City Perspectives

A few more shots from June 19th & 20th photowalks in downtown Chicago with some photography friends visiting from out of town.

Winding Road

Sony A7IV @ f? | 1/3200 | 15mm | ISO 100

Voigtlander VM 15mm F4.5 (adapted)

Geometry Of Looking Up

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/125 | 20mm | ISO 125

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Places To Go

Sony A7IV @ f5.6 | 1/3200 | 70mm | ISO 12800

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Fashion Footwear

Sony A7IV @ f4.5 | 1/125 | 91mm equiv | ISO 400

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

High ISO Alternates

In yesterday's post, I described how I had a hard time selecting which photo to use for the 52Frames submission, so I'm presenting these alternates as a separate post.  All Photographed on 5/21/25.

Chase Tower

Sony A7Cii @ f4 | 1/125 | 35mm | ISO 12800

Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 w/ 1/4 Pro-mist filter

LaSalle Street

Sony A7Cii @ f4 | 1/1250 | 35mm | ISO 12800

Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 w/ 1/4 Pro-mist filter

Sears and the Lantern

Sony A7Cii @ f3.5 | 1/80 | 35mm | ISO 12800

Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 w/ 1/4 Pro-mist filter

A Shot In The Dark

52 Frames - Week 21 - High ISO

EC: 12800+

Heading to a late night train after a dinner in downtown Chicago. Virtually empty streets with a light drizzle made for some cool IRL photo opportunities. I truly had a hard time selecting which photo to use (as opposed to the all-to-often one shot streak-saver).

Sony A7Cii @ f3.5 | 1/640 | 35mm | ISO 12800

Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 w/ 1/4 Pro-mist filter

Photographed 5/21/25

Trepidation

52Frames - Week 13 - Mood

Unknown path.

Sony A7Cii @ f5.6 | 1/125 | 28mm | ISO 12800

Voigtlander VM 28mm F2 Ultron

Photographed 3/27/25

Night...

Highwood, IL

Train-related photos from a night photowalk on 2/26/25.  I'm loving the effects of the Pro-mist diffusion filter.


Night Train

Sony A7Cii @ f1.8 | 1/125 | 52mm (equiv) | ISO 640

Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 (w/ Pro-mist 1/4 diffusion filter)

 

Night Shift

Sony A7Cii @ f2 | 1/125 | 35mm | ISO 500

Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 (w/ Pro-mist 1/4 diffusion filter)

Mystery Lab

Highwood, IL

An eerie sighting into this storefront. Was unable to discern what goes on inside.

Sony A7Cii @ f1.8 | 1/125 | 35mm | ISO 2000

Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 (w/ Pro-mist 1/4 diffusion filter)

Photographed 2/26/25

Night Shift

Highwood, IL

This darkened side street provided some good photo ops.

Sony A7Cii @ f1.8 | 1/400 | 35mm | ISO 200

Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 (w/ Pro-mist 1/4 diffusion filter)

Photographed 2/26/25