Sometimes, post processing can turn a photograph taken in the middle of the day into one that looks like it was captured at midnight!

This is the image that I captured (straight of of the camera) in the Cook County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago one afternoon. I underexposed the shot to avoid blowing out the highlights from the sun.

During post processing, I applied the "Midnight" filter from the Color Efex Pro 4 collection:

After editing, the image appears to me as though it was captured during the evening. Many viewers think that the light now originates from the moon rather than the sun! In fact, one photography forum member commenting about how impressive it was that the photograph holds so much detail for a night image. The photograph's title of "Midnight in the Woods" helps to lead viewers to that impression.

Midnight in the WoodsSwallow Cliff Woods at 11918 S Lagrange Road in Palos Park, Illinois on April 23, 2014.

Last week, I visited the Lincoln Park Conservatory in Chicago. It's an interesting location and free of charge. So, it's a busy place!

Before entering the facility, my first goal was to capture a photograph of the exterior of the greenhouses. At first, my vantage point was quite close to the building. In my opinion, not enough of the top of the greenhouse was visible from that perspective. So, I started walking further away.

As I moved further away from the conservatory, other buildings started to appear over the top of the greenhouses. So, I moved closer until none of the buildings in the background were visible. As it turned out, I was now dialed in at 38mm with my Nikon 24-70 2.8 lens.

Now that my vantage point was set, I placed my camera on a tripod and made sure it was level to the horizon. I used the Virtual Horizon feature of the Nikon D800 camera to ensure that the frame was perfectly aligned both horizontally and vertically. As a result, the conservatory landed higher in the frame than I wanted (which I addressed in post processing).

My next challenge was to wait until some of the crowd dispersed from the front of the building. Waiting for people to move out of the frame took quite a bit of patience. To be sure that I was ready for the opening when it occurred, I took some test exposures and verified that my settings were accurate. After several minutes of waiting, there were a few seconds of opportunity when the scene was mostly clear. Unfortunately, the woman sitting on the bench with the bright pink coat wasn't going anywhere. She sat on the bench with her daughter just looking at the front of the conservatory for at least 30 minutes! But, she would also be taken care of during post processing.

So, here's the original image straight out of the camera:

Lincoln Park ConservatoryLincoln Park Conservatory at 2391 N Stockton Drive in Chicago, Illinois on April 18, 2014. During processing, I made the following edits:

• Cropped the image so that the conservatory was positioned better in the frame.
• Reduced the exposure by 1/3rd of a stop.
• Darkened and saturated the blue sky.
• Removed some of the glare from the greenhouse glass.
• Filled in the bare spots in the lawn.
• Removed the woman with the pink coat and her daughter.
• Removed the trash bins and the blue sign on the left.
• Sharpened the image and removed a few sensor dust spots from the sky.

Here's the finished product:

Lincoln Park ConservatoryLincoln Park Conservatory at 2391 N Stockton Drive in Chicago, Illinois on April 18, 2014.

In recent years, I have traveled quite a few miles to photograph locations throughout the United States. Before arriving at a location, I usually do some research so that I can be positioned at good vantage points at times that might yield the best lighting. Not too long ago, it occurred to me that I was neglecting one of the greatest cities of all. I live just 30 minutes from Chicago--which offers an amazing number of interesting locations. Yet, I rarely took the time to take pictures within the city.

Over the past several months I approached Chicago as if it was another one of my photography trips. During this process, I've visited a number of locations for the first time. And, I've revisited other locations that I haven't visited since I was a kid. I've also gained a much better appreciation of the city.

I have always enjoyed the view of the Chicago skyline from the Adler Planetarium. From there, it's the classic view of the city with Lake Michigan in front. Since then, I've discovered a great view of the city from the south. Yesterday, I scouted some positions along the lake to photograph the city from the north. Earlier this week, I came across a fantastic view of the city from the west.

So, here's my West Side Story. There is an 8-story parking garage located directly next to the Rush University Medical Center just off the Eisenhower expressway. If you go to the top level of the garage, you will be rewarded with an unobstructed view of the city. It also makes for a great panoramic. I plan to return to this location under a variety of lighting conditions. I particularly wish to capture this image at twilight with the office buildings lit up on a weeknight.

Downtown ChicagoDowntown Chicago from the Rush University Medical Center at 1725 W Harrison Street in Chicago, Illinois on April 15, 2014. As always, the use of a tripod will help make the photograph as sharp as possible:

This morning, my "Autumn at the Castle" picture won Imaging Resource's "Photo of the Day".

This photograph was captured back in November, 2011. The picture became more popular after I applied some newly learned post processing techniques to the original file a few months ago.

This marks the 17th time in the last 18 months that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day".

Seven of my photographs were featured in an article appearing in the Travel section of CNN's website!

100,000!

When I created this website just over 7 years ago, I never dreamed that the photographs would be viewed by so many people. Today, this site welcomed its 100,000th independent visitor! In other words, the 100,000 count does not include return visits from the same person. These 100,000 viewers reside in 139 different countries and 6 continents.

I doubt if my interest in photography would be as strong as it is if I didn't have an outlet to share my images. I appreciate all of the visits and hope that viewers will continue to monitor my website for new pictures.

During my trip to the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky, I visited the Lexington Public Library. My research indicated that this library offered some interesting architectural images. The library's rotunda offers the world's largest ceiling clock as well as a five-story Foucault pendulum.

When I first entered the library, it looked nothing like I had envisioned. It was interesting, but not that much different from our local library here in Orland Park. There was a rather high ceiling, but I could not find a ceiling clock or pendulum. After a brief conversation with a librarian, I learned that I was at the wrong branch. I was at the Tates Creek branch and I needed to be at the Central library location!

The rotunda of the Central library is impressive. Anticipating that security would soon tell me to stop shooting, I quickly set up my tripod and began capturing images of the ceiling clock. These photographs take some time and patience. Most require multiple exposures so that I can later blend them together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. Individual exposures may require as long as 30 seconds. And, occasionally I have to wait for curious visitors who are looking down from the railings to get bored and leave the scene.

I was able to capture this photograph before being approached by security:

World's largest ceiling clockWorld's largest ceiling clock in the rotunda of the Lexington Public Central Library at 140 E Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky on October 29, 2013. This photograph consists of seven exposures blended together using HDR EFex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image.

As I was preparing to shoot some images of the pendulum, a security guard approached me. He said that he assumed I had clearance to take photographs, but needed to see my permit. I explained that I was visiting from out of town and didn't have a permit. I went on to explain that I recently captured images of the Seattle and Salt Lake City public libraries and was only hoping to add Lexington to that collection. I emphasized that I had no intention of including any patrons in the photographs.

He told me that he would see what he could do. He asked me not to take any more pictures until he bounced the situation off of the facility manager. Fifteen minutes later, and with my parking meter time counting down, I was beginning to lose patience. After all, the chances of the facility manager letting me take photographs with the tripod were remote. A few minutes later, the security guard came into view and was walking towards me. I lifted my hand up and rotated my thumb up and down--trying to get an early indication of whether I was going to have a photo shoot or not. To my surprise, his thumb was up! He told me that I was free to shoot throughout the library for as long as I wanted, so long as I didn't include patrons or employees in the frames. He said that if I was approached by anyone else, to tell them that I had permission to shoot and that they could check with security.

I spent another hour shooting at the library. During my first ten minutes of shooting, I was approached by three more employees who told me that photography wasn't permitted in the library! I told them that my photo shoot was cleared through security. I captured some pictures of the pendulum and some images of the rotunda from the fifth floor. It wasn't easy, but I tried my best not to include anybody in the shots.

Foucault pendulumFoucault pendulum, designed by Lexington sculptor Adalin Wichman, in the rotunda of the Lexington Public Central Library at 140 E Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky on October 29, 2013 Library rotundaRotunda of the Lexington Public Central Library at 140 E Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky on October 29, 2013. This photograph consists of three exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image.

During my quest to photograph the state capitols, I will usually arrive in town in time to catch the late light just before sunset. Then, I have a second shot at the early light just after sunrise the next morning. I don't always know which direction the front of the building faces (I really need to do more research on this!), so often times just one of the two photo shoots offers any useful images.

I arrived in Iowa City about an hour before sunset and drove directly to the Capitol. The golden lighting couldn't have been much better on the golden dome of the Iowa Capitol:

Golden domeGolden dome of the Iowa State Capitol building at 1007 E Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on August 18, 2013.

It's good to be on location when the building is illuminated against a colorful sky. When the sky is completely black, the scene gains too much contrast and most of the color gets lost. This photograph was captured the next morning just before sunrise:

Iowa State CapitolIowa State Capitol building at 1007 E Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on August 19, 2013. This photograph consists of three exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image.

I arrived in Carson City early in the evening last August--in time to photograph the Nevada Capitol before dark.

Nevada State CapitolNevada State Capitol building at 101 N. Carson Street in Carson City, Nevada on August 13, 2013. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. I was glad I made it there that evening as this image would not have been possible the next morning. Capturing a photograph of this building is very challenging because of all of the trees positioned directly in front of it. In the morning, the entire scene is backlit.

I also had two tries at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre. During the evening, the front of the building was nicely lit:

South Dakota State CapitolSouth Dakota State Capitol building at 500 East Capitol Avenue in Pierre, South Dakota on July 24, 2013. This image consists of five exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. But, the photograph of the South Dakota Capitol was more dramatic the next morning as a thunderstorm rolled in during sunrise:

South Dakota State CapitolA storm rolls in at dawn at the South Dakota State Capitol building at 500 East Capitol Avenue in Pierre, South Dakota on July 25, 2013. This image consists of five exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. I wanted a picture of the dome of this capitol, but the flag pole was in the way. To lower the perspective of the flag, I needed to get further away from the building. To get this next photograph, I drove three blocks away and put a more powerful lens on my camera. The flag pole dropped out of view:

South Dakota State Capitol domeDome of the South Dakota State Capitol building at 500 East Capitol Avenue in Pierre, South Dakota on July 25, 2013. Of course, the more tries that you get to shoot a scene, the better the chances are to capture the photograph. That's what makes shooting around where you live so advantageous.