Photographer in Colorado

Last month, we headed up to Como for the Boreas Pass Railroad Days. Como was the major hub for narrow gauge railroad over the Boreas Pass to Breckenridge. This was a branch line from the railroad that ran from Denver to South Park and beyond. The railroad was dismantled in the late 1930’s. In recent years, various preservation societies have been working to restore some of the railroad infrastructure in Como. Here is Klondike Kate, the one steam locomotive that is housed in Como.

Klondike Kate Engine, Como

Originally, the Roundhouse could house six locomotives. The original structure was built by Italian stone masons; the town got its name from Lake Como in Italy. After years of disuse, the Roundhouse was restored.

Como Railroad Roundhouse

In recent years, the turntable was restored. Here is Klondike Kate being turned on the table.

Klondike Kate On Turntable

Another view of the engine.

Klondike Kate Engine

Another image of the engine on the turntable.

Klondike Kate On Turntable, No 2

One of the attractions in the Roundhouse was a letterpress that had been used in South Park. Here is Tom, inking the press.

Tom, Inking The Letterpress

Here he is setting up a sheet of paper to be printed.

Tom, Setting Up Paper

Later in the morning we headed out to Boreas Pass (along the road that originally carried the railroad track to Breckenridge). After pancakes at Section House, we returned to Como. The Denver Brass Band were scheduled to play in the Roundhouse during the afternoon. During the performance, I found this hat being worn by one of the audience members.

Hat, In Roundhouse, Como

There were two trombone players in the band that I captured in this image. The band members were dressed in period railroad costume. That is the drummer in the background.

Trombone Players, Denver Brass

These two tuba players were enjoying playing their massive horns.

Tuba Players, Denver Brass

Moving around the Roundhouse, I made this image of the two tubas.

Two Tubas In Roundhouse

Towards the end of the band’s performance, I captured this image of the trombone player in action.

Trombone Player, Roundhouse

Soon afterwards we headed back home in the late afternoon after an enjoyable day in Como.

Day 3 of the conference was an early start because I had enrolled for an early class. On the way to the University Center, I passed the Washington Library. Above the main entrance is a huge sculpture.

Washington Library Main Sculpture

At each corner of the building is a huge sculpture of an owl that I captured in this image.

Washington Library Corner Sculpture

Across from the plaza from the library is the Bar Association. I made this image showing the reflections of an adjacent building in the morning sun.

Bar Association Window Reflections

After lunch, I headed outside to explore the area around the University Center. The Roosevelt University is located adjacent to a red building. This contrasts with the blue of the university building.

Blue And Red Windows

The “L” passes next to the University Center. At the rear of the building are colorful letters along the side of the parking lot. I composed this image of one of the “L” support columns with the lettering as part of the background.

Color Under The “L”

I could not resist another image of the blue and red buildings, this time against the blue sky.

Red And Blue Windows… And Sky

Another nearby building was decorated with white squares.

White Square And Reflections

At this point I walked under the “L”. There was some interesting shadows cast on the street from the overhead steelwork. I could not find a decent composition of the shadows, so I turned my attention to steelwork.

Steelwork Under The “L”

I discovered this blue mural along one of the nearby alleys.

Blue Mural

The harsh midday sun made for a challenge to find some images. In the following image, the sun light shone directly onto a bush growing on near the top floor of the buildings. The sun also lit up the shadowed areas of the building.

Room At the Top?

Those white squares grabbed me again. Here is a tighter composition up close.

Three White Squares

Returning to the conference, the were another two presentations to catch up with and a studio photo session that was really interesting. The conference was a really fun event and well worth the time spent among fellow photographers.

Angela had made her way downtown and we arranged to meet. On the way to meet her, I found this big exclamation point on the sidewalk.

Exclamation Point Shadow

We met and then headed over to Buckingham Fountain. Later we made our way to Crown Fountain watch the spout of water that periodically gushes out onto the pool before the portrait changes on the pillar. This was a popular attraction for the kids who run under the water spout.

Here are a couple of images of reflections to end this post.

Crown Fountain Reflection, And Foot

2151-0201-Crown-Fountain-Reflections

Day 2 of the conference was spent with lectures at the University Center. During the afternoon, I took a break to walk through the streets downtown. Close by was the Roosevelt University that had striking blue windows.

Roosevelt University

The architecture of the downtown area is unique because various different styles that have evolved over the years. This image shows a montage of several layers of buildings.

Downtown Chicago Window Montage

I made my way to the Crown Fountain. Here there are two pillars of glass tiles with a water flowing down from the top.

Crown Fountain Water Spray

Each of the two pillars have an animated face projected onto the pillar. Between the pillars is a pool where many kids were enjoying playing in the water.

Crown Fountain Pool

Here is another image of the kids splashing in the pool.

Crown Fountain Pool Reflections

I headed back to conference. Another image of the blue windows on the university building.

Blue Diamond In The Sky

The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows on the sidewalk.

Sidewalk Shadow, Chicago

Later that evening, was another photowalk. I had enrolled in a walk with Aaron Nace. The plan was to visit the Calder Flamingo, Palmer House and the Bean. The Flamingo is a public sculpture located in Federal Plaza.

Calder Flamingo, Federal Plaza

Here are some images of the Flamingo.

Calder Flamingo, Federal Plaza, No 2

After sunset, the sculpture was lit by lights.

Calder Flamingo Detail

I made this image lying on the ground under the sculpture, pointing upwards.

Calder Flamingo Detail, No 2

Later we got back to the Crown Fountain. The pool continued to be a source of interest for kids late into the night.

Face On The Pillar, Crown Fountain

Finally I made this image of a young girl who found something of interest on the pillar.

Girl, Watching The Pillar

By this time, it was getting late. I found some dinner and headed back to the apartment on the “L”.

The Out Of Chicago Conference started on a Friday night. Prior to the event, I headed out the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) at Bronzeville. This is located on the “L” Green Line. The “L” runs in a tube located above the Campus Center. I made this image of the yellow windows of the center with the “tube” in the background.

Yellow Windows, Campus Center IIT

I waited at the other end of the tube, and waited for a northbound train to emerge. This was the reason for visiting this location.

Emerging From The Tube

I made my way back to the “L” to head downtown to “The Loop”. Here I made this image of one of the intersections of the “L”.

Rounding The Bend On The Loop

It was soon time to head to the Conference. After the introduction and key note, we joined the various photowalks. I had enrolled for the walk led by Levi Sim. Levi led our group to Buckingham Fountain. We had some fun along the route. After arriving at the fountain, I made this image.

Buckingham Fountain Spray Plume

At night, the fountain is lit by various different colored lights that cycle through different colors. In this image, I caught red and purple lights.

Buckingham Fountain In Red

The rain set in on our second full day in Chicago. We spent the day with many other visitors at the Art Institute. Since it was a Thursday, the Institute was open late. This is one of the images that I made of the low cloud hanging over the city, while inside the Institute.

Low Cloud Over Chicago

Angela enjoyed the time visiting the Impressionists. Here she is leaving the gallery to head towards one of the other galleries.

Angela At Art Institute

I hung around these stairs for a while to do some people watching.

Art Institute Visitor, No 1

This lady is one of the guides in the Institute with a badge that read “Ask Me”, welcoming visitors to the Impressionists gallery.

“Ask Me”, Behind Staircase

I made this image to show the detail of the impressive hand rail.

Art Institute Hand Rail Detail

This young lady was in the midst of making a panorama of the entrance and stairway with her smart phone.

Visitor, Making Panorama On Phone

Some more visitors to the gallery…

Art Institute Visitors

After visiting the Impressionists, I headed to one of the food courts for some lunch. This overlooks one of the passage ways joining the galleries. The far wall was labeled with “Roof” at the top and “Floor” near the bottom. In this image, I managed to capture a circular group of visitors as they walked through the area and in the same direction.

Art Institute Visitors, No 2

I headed over to the modern art galleries, where there are some Picasso and Dali paintings. While there, I made this image of a visitor studying one of the art works. This is a reflection in a mirror that had been framed in a gold colored frame.

Art Institute, Reflection

While in the Modern Art Wing, I spent many minutes gazing out at the Lurie Gardens. Several people were walking their umbrellas in the rain.

Walking In The Rain, Chicago

I refocused on the raindrops in the window, and chose a large aperture to throw the background out of focus. This allowed me to capture a more impressionistic image of the walkers with their umbrellas.

Rain Drops, Umbrellas And Walkers, Chicago

Towards the end of our visit to the Institute, I headed over to the Modern American Art Wing to see the “American Gothic” piece by Grant Wood. Also, in the same gallery are some works by Georgia O’Keefe. Leaving this gallery, I looked out over the Sculpture Court, where I made this image.

Art Institute, Visiting The Sculptures

The final exhibit was the Charlie White Retrospective. This was really fantastic collection of many of his works.

Finally, after having a great time in the Art Institute, we headed out for dinner at one of the Greek restaurants in Greek Town.

A couple of weeks ago, we headed to Chicago so that I could attend the Out Of Chicago event. After being delayed by bad weather, we arrived several hours later than expected. The following day we walked to the University of Chicago campus at Hyde Park. Along the way, we passed a dead tree that had been made into a work of public art.

Tree As Art, Hyde Park

At the University is the “Campus North Commons” building. This is a hall of residence that was designed by the architect Jeanne Gang.

Campus North Commons

Here is another view of the building.

Campus North Commons, No 2

We also stopped by “Robie House”. This home that was designed by the renown architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was closed and is undergoing renovation.

Robie House

Here is another view of Robie House.

Robie House, No 2

Across the road is another campus building. Here I made an image of the window with a reflection of Angela exploring the surrounding area.

Angela, Reflected, University Of Chicago

I backtracked to a location near a book store that we stopped by earlier. Along the way, I found the patio with colorful furniture.

Patio Color, University Of Chicago

Here is the mural in the alley that we passed earlier.

Alley Mural, Minds Open

On the facing wall was a picture of a panda bear. I capture the mural with a window that reflected the bear.

Mural And Panda Bear Reflection

I noticed this broken light hanging from the edge of the roof. The yellow against the green background caught my eye.

Broken Light, Hyde Park

Later we decided to head towards the center of Hyde Park by bus. We got onto the “2” bus, but failed to get off at the correct stop. So we had no option but to ride the bus all the way near downtown. We got off at the “Shedd Aquarium”, where we took a break along the lake shore. Here I made an image of the Downtown Chicago skyline.

Chicago Skyline From Shedd Aquarium

We spent a couple of hours here before returning to Hyde Park for dinner.

Yesterday, while making images of the wrens, the House Finches were busy in our backyard. I made several images while waiting for the wrens to return to the nesting box.

House Finch On Fence

Here is another, sitting on the fence.

House Finch, Sitting On The Fence

This little guy flew to the creeper.

House Finch In The Creeper

And then peered over into the alley.

House Finch Peering Over Creeper

Enjoy