Michigan vs. Illinois: Round One

I've developed a thoroughly unscientific, completely biased theory that Michigan skies are the prettiest. Thus I present the first of several rounds of photo throwdowns.

Illinois:

Michigan:

Lookout Tower

On our way to Michigan last week, we passed this lookout tower (we had to ask what it was) near Hartford, IL. When it's completed, it will offer a killer view of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Getting fancy with the camera

When you're on a road trip, you're not driving, and the sky is super-pretty, having a camera is a great boon.

Peace

Leaning into the future, perhaps

Lest you think I only care for old structures, I offer this lovely glass-fronted biotech research building. I pass it twice a day on my way to work and back home, but until I stopped to take pictures of it, I had no idea the slanty bit on the front was just kind of tacked on.

I still like it, though, for its unfussy lines, and the way it always looks as if it's about to fall over.

East, West, North, South

Here in the Midwest, storms come on dramatically. This morning, I found myself racing one to work.

In front of me, to the east, were clouds and sun:

To the south, the clouds were advancing on blue skies.

Behind me, to the west, these clouds:

To the north, diagonal lines indicating the front:

Once I got to work, the scene to the west was this:

And to the east:

Once inside, I headed for the roof; this is to the east again:

These last two are to the south:

Sunday Morning, 6ish

A sky this nice makes being up this early a lot more tolerable.

What Friday Feels Like

Mountainous Clouds

Sometimes I wonder what it's like to live near the hulking presence of mountains. Today I found out -- it's a little intimidating, and very beautiful.

Nanjing, China, Summer 1990

My older brother and I were visiting a friend of his in his home, a small apartment in one of a cluster of concrete towers. This was the view from the front windows.

What the weekend will feel like

The forecast is for a high of 97 both days, with heat indices around 105. Ah, August.

Full moon, 9:30 last night and 5:30 this morning

Thanks to my sudden urge to photograph the full moon, I learned how to use the long shutter setting on my trusty digital Elph.

Granted, the shots are grainy and the moon did not come out as pretty as it really is, but still, it's the full moon, and now I know how to make darkness look like daytime.

The Office: Beam Edition

I have the great good fortune to work in a building that's been standing since the 1880s. It's part of a complex of paper warehouses that were revolutionary for their time in that they brought the railyard to their backyard for the sake of efficiency. (This was something even Chicago didn't have at the time.) In 2006, the advertising firm I work for partnered with a development company and an architectural firm to kick out the pigeons and make the place livable. They did a lovely job.

One of my favorite things about the interior of the building is the massive beams. From the basement, where they are anchored in iron footings that must weigh hundreds of pounds each, they go all the way up to the sixth floor, getting progressively smaller. Still, at the top, they're roughly eight inches wide.

The photos are arranged as a beam stands; if you look at the number of floor planks next to the second and third shots, you'll see what I mean about the beam getting smaller.

This morning, 8ish

It was supposed to rain, but never did.

This morning, 6ish

Heat and humidity got together with the sun this morning to make some pretty clouds.

What is that color, exactly?

Pink? Salmon? Something in between?

The tricky part about naming it is that it changes so fast. Sunsets will do that.

Empire State Building

We visited our New York City family members back in March, and one day while wandering around, we decided to go up into the Empire State Building. It was a great day for it -- a weekday, kind of cold, but sunny and very clear.

I took some interior shots, and wish I'd taken more -- the level of craft and care in that building is not to be believed.

Someone mocked me for taking shots of the elevator, and I remember thinking, wow, what a fool. Or maybe he's blind. Poor guy.

The lego version of the building, in the gift shop:

Why yes, I believe that is a monkey at the top:

Yesterday, the sky did all the work for me.

As I was driving to meet a friend for yesterday's lunchtime thrifting spree I thought, "Wow, the sky is amazing today. I love taking pictures of the sky. And the buildings look great, too. I love taking pictures of buildings."

And that, my friends, is the story of how this blog came to be.

At 2:51 Facebook time, a friend who had no idea I'd decided to start this blog posted a status that said, "There are good shapes in the clouds today."

Freaky? Maybe. Groovy? Definitely.

These photos were taken in manual mode, but with default settings. They're in chronological order; the first three were taken around 1:30, and the others around 5:30.

Enjoy.