Rodney Campbell's Blog

The sun was beginning to rise and the sky was lighting up. The minimal clouds that showed some promise for colour earlier on had vanished and it was going to be a clear blue day

The Rising Sun

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 1.3 sec at f/8, ISO 64

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Bean Standing

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 1/2 sec at f/8, ISO 64

More people were arriving every minute and by sunrise there were already too many people to exclude from any shots

Bean Under

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 1.6 sec at f/8, ISO 64

Daybreak

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 1/25 sec at f/8, ISO 64

With the sun now up and the crowds moving in it was time to leave and head back to the hotel and breakfast

Cloud Gate is 33 feet high, 42 feet wide, and 66 feet long and weighing about 110 tons

It was designed by artist Anish Kapoor. The Indian-born British sculptor was already well-known for his large-scale outdoor works, including several with highly reflective surfaces. Cloud Gate was his first permanent public outdoor work in the United States, and is widely considered his most famous

Chicago Bean

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 8 sec at f/6.3, ISO 64

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

The exterior of The Bean is made entirely of stainless steel. It was created using computer technology to precisely cut 168 massive steel plates, which were then fitted together and welded shut for a completely seamless finish

Looking Up

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 1.30 sec at f/6.3, ISO 400

Whilst it’s official name is Cloud Gate, Anish Kapoor doesn’t title his works until after they’re completed. Once Chicagoans saw the curved, oblong shape they quickly started calling it “The Bean”, and the nickname has stuck

Curved Bean

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 21.5 mm, 8 sec at f/6.3, ISO 64

Bean There

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 2 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Cloud Gate, aka “The Bean”, is one of Chicago’s most popular sights. The Bean’s reflective surface was inspired by liquid mercury, reflecting the city’s famous skyline and the surrounding green space

The Bean is located in Millennium Park, the lakefront park in Chicago’s downtown Loop

We’d been here during the day but it was pandemonium. Forget getting a nice clean shot of the famous sculpture without too many distractions. Tt was hard enough to even get near the thing in the crush of the crowds

Here I’ve opted to visit at a much more sane time – about 45 minutes before sunrise. Just me and perhaps a handful of other keen photographers

End on Bean

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 3 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400

With such an incredible view from up here at the 360 Chicago observation deck I was hoping to somehow put together a much wider stitched panorama of the scene

This is the view from the 94th floor, 1000 feet above the famed Magnificent Mile in the iconic John Hancock Center. View it large to really appreciate Chicago 360

Chicago 360

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 62 sec at f/8, ISO 64 x 4 Frames

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Sure the ultra wide angle 14mm images I was already taking were supremely wide but there’s nothing like an insanely wide panoramic view

So here we have the result of stitching four (4) horizontal shots with the 14mm. Taken at approximately 90 degrees to each other we have an almost full 360˚ view over Chicago

We have Lake Michigan on both the left and right with the moon rising on the left (to the east). Inbetween we have the city skyline of Chicago spread out from facing south (along the lake edge) around through west and then to the north (also along the lake edge)

I was uncertain this would even work but I took a lot of source frames in hope. There were very large pillars at the corners of the building which projected out far beyond the glass

This meant I didn’t have a great deal of overlap between shots and because I had to take the images out four sides of the building I had quite a lot of parallax issues with anything close to the building

Surprisingly I managed a half decent result with the frames I had to choose from

#360chicago #chicago

Finally this is the view in the western direction (towards where the sun set some time ago). Looking away from Lake Michigan we see the suburbs of Chicago endlessly going out to the horizon

West of Chicago

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 15 mm, 30 sec at f/8, ISO 64

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

#360chicago #chicago