© Jeff Olson for Investigating Healthy Minds
I think everyone got this shot on Saturday. The surprising thing was how different everyone's shots looked. Even on the back of the cameras. I saw people that had yellow green skie. The only difference was the white balance. Today, I've started a series on color. The first article shows you how drastic changing the white balance can be to your image. You can read the article at http://outofchicago.com/mastering-color-series-part-i-white-balance-the-most-powerful-color-tool/
Out Of Chicago Blog | Google+  | Facebook | Twitter | 500px | Tumblr This may be my favorite shot from our walk Saturday night. The sky was boring without a cloud in the sky. But when I was taking my HDR brackets I realized that the sky looked fantastic when underexposed by a couple of stops. This image is a combination of the HDR image and the 2 stop under bracket. I painted the HDR image in for the buildings and left the single image alone for the ice and sky. Pretty much everything that I learned to do in Photoshop for this shot, I learned from Tony Reynes. I have asked Tony to contribute to the site as our resident Photoshop expert. Meet Tony at www.outofchicago.com/introducing-tony-reynes.
This is from one RAW file that I edited in Lightroom. I chose one of my darker exposures to bring out the color in the buildings and especially the sky. Come check out a guest post by Luis dos Santos about shooting some of Chicago's best architecture. http://outofchicago.com/guest-post-by-luis-dos-santos-chicagos-architecture-from-an-out-of-towner/
Autumn Woods Abstract
Theresa Hart
I went out to shoot Earth hour last night.  It was cold, windy, and a bit hazy.  But I was able to get some shots.  I ended at North Avenue Beach to get a before and after shot of the lights on and off. Seeing the skyline at Earth Hour was not much different than usual. The only lights that were turned off were the brightest lights on the tall buildings.
But it did make for good shooting. The biggest difference was the strip of lights from the Hancock Building.  Not only is the light itself bright, but the reflection in the water is overpowering.  The other big difference was the absence of the Palmolive/Playboy beacon.  The beacon can be a cool addition to your shot, but it distracts from the buildings itself and can cause flare. Without these extra elements in the shot, you can get a simpler composition of the city.
I was thinking that this opportunity comes once a year, but I remember shooting down here last spring and the lights were off. During migratory bird season, Chicago participates in Lights Out Chicago. To keep from disrupting migratory patterns, the decorative lights of the buildings are turned off after 11PM.  If you are interested in a different shot of the skyline at night, try going after 11PM over the next couple of months.
I think everyone got this shot on Saturday. The surprising thing was how different everyone's shots looked. Even on the back of the cameras. I saw people that had yellow green skie. The only difference was the white balance. Today, I've started a series on color. The first article shows you how drastic changing the white balance can be to your image. You can read the article at http://outofchicago.com/mastering-color-series-part-i-white-balance-the-most-powerful-color-tool/
© Jeff Olson for Investigating Healthy Minds
© Jeff Olson for Investigating Healthy Minds
© Jeff Olson for Investigating Healthy Minds
See photo in original gallery.