Chicagohenge

September 24, 2020 by Ming Hung in Chicago, Cityscape, Photography, Sunset

Hello! It has been a few months since I posted anything on this main blog page. The reason? The Two Ls: Laziness and Lack (of content). Here is some content I actually shot this week. The Autumn equinox was just a few days ago. During the Spring and Autumn equinoxes (give or take a few days) the setting sun will line up along the East-West streets, and the resulting scene between the buildings in downtown Chicago is pretty cool. I do not own a long enough lens to get close so I chose a cinematic presentation for my images. This was my first time shooting Chihenge so it was a learning experience. I will know what to expect next time. I only took a handful of shots and am leading this post with the best one, so there is no real reason for you to keep going, lol.

This was the first shot as the sun started peaking out from behind some buildings. I did not know beforehand where the sun would appear relative to the horizon. Then I noticed the gal in the middle of my shot move up so I knew it began. My friend and I walked up and down Michigan Avenue and looked down each East-West street to see which view we preferred. We settled on Jackson Boulevard because the Sears Tower could be seen in the shot. That is if we were on Michigan Avenue. But because of where the sun appeared we had to move off Michigan Avenue, and the skyscraper was obscured by closer buildings.

The other reason we ended up on Jackson Boulevard was because there were a lot of people camped on the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago to watch the “henging” along Adams Street. There were fewer people on Jackson so we could properly social distance while shooting. I color graded each of my images differently for some variety. In the above image I got some of the other shooters out there. They would dart to the middle of the street when there was no traffic. I did the same thing where I was, and preferred to stay back to use the elevated train tracks as a framing element.

I had my Monochrom246 with me so I took just a few shots with it. Next time I will have a camera set up to capture some motion blur when the trains go by. It was not this dark, but I like some drama and moodiness. Thank you for visiting.

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Color and Love

May 31, 2020 by Ming Hung in Chicago, Colors

We are at the start of the sixth month of 2020 and it has been a doozy of a year. I cannot say that I am looking forward to the rest of it. I felt like we can use a little color and some love right now. These images were shot several weeks ago, but they were not fitting my current monochromatic aesthetic on my other platforms so I have just been sitting on them.

As a country we are currently fighting two diseases: COVID-19 and systemic racism coupled with police brutality. Protests around the country have started following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. The protests have turned violent. I do not agree with rioting and looting, and there are plenty of bad actors to blame. They are making matters worse for peaceful protesters who are out trying to spread their messages of change and demands for justice.

I have been to a number of protests and rallies the last few years—anti-Trump ones, women’s marches, rallies for science, etc. Fortunately they were all non-violent. I thought about heading out Saturday morning to join in solidarity with African Americans. The photographer in me also wanted to document some of the proceedings. I did not go.

The ongoing pandemic is the reason I chose to stay home. I have been a proponent of social distancing, mask wearing in public, and staying home so I am not going to violate that. Taking care of my elderly mother I do not need to bring the virus home to her. I hope that these huge crowds of citizens and police officers alike do not contribute to a spike in cases of the virus. Protesting during a pandemic is a confluence of two terrible situations. I cannot help my mother if I get physically hurt, which is a distinct possibility given the volatile nature of why people are protesting.

At the very least please sign some petitions or donate to organizations fighting for justice if you can. As individuals we can work on our implicit biases. We must learn to love one another. And, most importantly, we should listen to the oppressed and not ignore societal problems any longer. Stay safe and healthy, everyone.

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COVID Chronicles - Empty Downtown Streets

May 24, 2020 by Ming Hung in Black and White, Chicago

Took a walk through Downtown Chicago the other day to get outside for a little bit and to snap some pictures of relatively empty spaces. The streets are not really as empty as I expected during this whole stay-at-home time. There are people everywhere! Less than before the pandemic but they are out there. I waited until people walked out of my frame to shoot.

If the man was not wearing a mask I would have removed him in post. The plazas in both of the images above are normally well-traversed areas, populated with people on break from work, skateboarding kids, tourists, and the spaces are used for farmers markets and other gatherings.

I hope someone is still guarding the money

I took this photo because I like the lettering of the neon sign. Still, we can tell that the scene is not normal. There is no valet, doormen, bellhops, etc to be seen outside waiting for guests.

I was clearly not staying home even though I can. On my days off I usually do. Like everybody I have to get outside some time. I like to take my walks downtown because it is easier to avoid other people there than it is in my own neighborhood. I live near two parks so there are always people about. There are more interesting things for me to photograph downtown so I might as well do something during my walks.

I shot most of the images in this post with my lens aperture wide open. The images are not entirely sharp and slightly dreamy as a result. I felt that if the images were slightly off that it may give the viewer a sense that something is not right.

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Look #up . #Light and #shadow .
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#ming_monochrom #bw #bnw #bnwphoto #bnwphotography #instabw #monochrome #blackandwhite #Leica #LeicaMonochrom #Monochrom #LeicaMonochrom246 #leicagram #theleicalook #leicalove #leicacamera #leicap

Metal flower. #Blacksky .
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#ming_monochrom #bw #bnw #bnwphoto #bnwphotography #instabw #monochrome #blackandwhite #Leica #LeicaMonochrom #Monochrom #LeicaMonochrom246 #leicagram #theleicalook #leicalove #leicacamera #leicaphotography

Two #lines and an #airplane . A couple #lights around the work area.
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#ming_monochrom #bw #bnw #bnwphoto #bnwphotography #instabw #monochrome #blackandwhite #Leica #LeicaMonochrom #Monochrom #LeicaMonochrom246 #leicagram #theleical

We had a relatively mild winter without much snow or ice, and a lot of rain so the #water level of #LakeMichigan was pretty high. There was much flooding on Lake Shore Drive and some streets and homes along the #lakeshore . I haven't been to the lake

Some #architecture today. This is the #glass filled atrium of one of the convention center#buildings during C2E2. That was back when we had conventions. A whole lot of #lines #light and #shadows here. I really dig this space.
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#ming_monoch

A Walk in Bridgeport - Reminisce with Me

April 19, 2020 by Ming Hung in Black and White, Chicago

Woke up a little after 05:30 this morning and decided not to go back to sleep. I ate breakfast and headed out for a walk around the neighborhood while no one was out. I was born and raised in Bridgeport. Have I ever thought about living elsewhere in the country? Absolutely. However I am tied to Chicago because of work, but that is really another discussion. Like any other neighborhood Bridgeport has its bad sides, but it has some charms as well.

I wanted to get a little exercise and shoot a little bit. These images are not all that good, but there are some stories from the past associated with a few of them. The corner of 35th and Halsted Street has remained relatively unchanged over the years. The Ramova, a theater I never went to, was never torn down. It and the diner on the corner has been there as long as I can remember.

I do not remember if this building on the opposite corner to the diner has always housed a furniture store, but I love its architecture. The lamp posts on the corner are not the originals, but it adds a bit to the scene. There are still a lot of buildings in this style throughout the city.

The buildings in the two images above are right next to one another. The empty retail space used to house a record store. I have a feeling it may have been Let’s Boogie in a previous life. Perhaps they downsized to the space next door. The last time I stepped foot in the larger space was some time in the early 1990s. I did not own any music as a kid, as we were relatively poor so the only music I heard was through a clock radio. I would occasionally listen to my parents’ old hi-fi system. They had a receiver with AM-FM tuner, an 8-track player, a cassette deck, and a turntable. But aside from a handful of 8-track tapes and whatever cassettes they brought with them when they emigrated to the United States there was not anything for me to listen to besides the radio. It was free and it was on 24 hours a day. Being an only child I gravitated toward music to pass the time at an early age.

It has been a long time since I walked down this way. I completely forgot this place was here. Malelo and Company started back in 1950, and has been family owned and operated since. Google knows all!

I have never eaten at this restaurant. For most of my life up until The Internet killed video rental stores this was Bridgeport Video. My family did not have a membership, but I would occasionally walk in to “browse.” Like many adolescent boys I would try to sneak around to the adult section to look at the boobs on the boxes, lol. They also had a few arcade video game machines. A buddy and I would occasionally skip school and end up there playing games. One time a police officer came in to the store and questioned us as to why we were not in school. “We’re testing today…,” my friend answered. I do not think he was convinced, but he left us alone. We were relieved, and left shortly ourselves, not wanting to push our luck.

This was always a gas station, a quick-mart, and a diner, though they all had different names. In high school some friends and I started an adventure here. It was so cold that school was cancelled that day, but we were stupid and went outside. I do not remember if we were having lunch at the diner, or if we were just getting gas, but the one car we arrived in would not start because of the cold. We proceeded to push it to another friend’s house. He lived closest, less than a mile away. I still think that was the coldest I ever felt, and we were pushing a car! After getting the car squared we decided it was a good idea to play some football in the street. Again we were kids and we were stupid, but stupid makes for fond memories.

Maria’s Packaged Goods and Community Bar, Bridgeport Coffee House, and Pleasant House Pastries formed the “Hipster Triangle.” Pleasant House has since moved to a bigger space near Pilsen, but Maria’s and Bridgeport Coffee is still here. I do not imbibe so I have never been to Maria’s, but Bridgeport Coffee is one of my favorite cafes in Chicago. I frequent it before I go to work. For a long time there were no real coffee shops in Bridgeport. Then the hipsters came. People like to give hipsters a bad name, but they bring good stuff with them! Was that the real reason for the coffee shops arriving? Who knows? I am just glad they are here.

Last but not least is Jackalope, another of my fave coffee shops, also in Bridgeport. This one is uniquely decorated with art featuring its mythical beast namesake. And it was opened by one of my grammar school classmates!

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Dragon Lights Festival

June 03, 2018 by Ming Hung in Art, Colors, Culture

There was a Chinese lantern festival in Chicago at the end of April-beginning of May. This was a festival based on the idea of Chinese lanterns. These exhibits were not made of paper and they were lit electrically. Different companies and organizations sponsored different lantern displays. At the time these images were taken I only had one lens for my Leica M9-P, the 35mm Summicron, so I did not shoot very many images with depth like the one above.

I timed my arrival in order to get images during blue hour, just to have a little bit of interest rather than just a black sky.

I took this shot in to the light to see the qualities of flare from the 35mm Summicron. The colors from the M9-P's CCD sensor are still blowing me away. See the little baby turtle following?

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Exploring Colors

May 31, 2018 by Ming Hung in Photography, Chicago, Colors

I am still very pleased with the colors produced by the Leica M9-P's mid-2000s CCD sensor. In the images above and below I used different presets to add warmth and saturation to really make the colors pop. Buildings under construction are not places normally associated with being overly colorful, but these two were really showing off. It is a little hard to see, but there is an American flag hanging from the yellow crane in the image above. It was Memorial Day weekend and the crews were off.

There is a soft and "quiet" quality to the images that also add warmth of a different kind to the images. They are more inviting.

This image was not processed with any preset, throwing off the theme of this post a bit. There is still a lot of warmth in the image and the complementary colors work. This is/was the home of photographer Victor Skrebneski, who was born in Chicago in 1929. Many credit him for launching Cindy Crawford's career. Skrebneski has produced many well-known images during a remarkable career. There used to be a car--I think it was a Benz or a Jaguar--with plates that simply said "V" on them. I wonder if he still lives here.

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Science Advocacy

Field Museum of Natural History

April 15, 2018 by Ming Hung in People, Science

I am by no means a great advocate or activist for science. My education in the sciences is limited to what I learned in high school. While I did graduate from a four-year university with a BA in Anthropology I took no science courses as an undergrad. And my education ended there as I did not pursue graduate studies. I will, however, share a little about science via articles on social media and in blogs like this with whatever limited reach I have.

There were several March for Science events throughout the country this past Saturday. Last year's event was a rally and an actual march. This year the organizers here in Chicago made the event a science fair at the Field Museum of Natural History. I originally would have preferred a march and a rally because it would have drawn a bigger crowd, and I wanted to get shots of signs and the sea of people on the city streets. The weather we had here on Saturday would have put a dampener on the proceedings anyway so this was perhaps the better option. At the event I realized that the science fair was a better vehicle to get information to kids (and adults). It is more effective to have people see and touch and learn versus marching and chanting.

It was very cool seeing kids engage in learning. I do not have children myself so maybe it seemed extra cool to me.

We cannot afford to ignore or deny science. It is the bridge to our understanding of the world and universe around us. That is the philosophical view of science overall. The more pragmatic and immediate concern is our direct effect on the Earth. If we are just asking ourselves what we are doing wrong or if we are in fact affecting our environment then we are way behind. We have to decide yesterday what kind of planet we will leave the next generations.

Nothing special on the photography side in this blog. It was relatively dark in the museum. To make the process more interesting to me I created a film look for the otherwise not very interesting shots.

For more information on science related events near you visit http://marchforscience.com. The Illinois Science Council will be presenting the Chicago Science Fest next month from May 8-16, 2018. Visit http://chicagosciencefest.org for tickets and information.

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Trump International Hotel and Tower

August 02, 2017 by Ming Hung in People, Street Photography

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum there is no denying that the current president is making some noise. Closer to home the Trump Tower has become a gathering place for protesters, supporters, artists, and tourists.

The artist who created this sculpture was not being political, as this piece was made several years ago. Whoever decided to install it across the river from the tower was probably practicing some political commentary.

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Land/cityscape in Black and White

May 09, 2017 by Ming Hung in Black and White, Landscape, Cityscape

There are not that many obvious or "traditional" landscape shooting opportunities in Chicago. I am not looking hard enough. I live just over two miles from Lake Michigan so the lakefront is a good spot for doing some landscapes. But they are technically cityscapes.

This particular day was a fairly nice day. It started with nice blue sky with puffy white clouds, but it was windy and rain was coming. Thicker clouds started rolling in. I envisioned taking these shots as monochromes from the start. Even though the sky started nicely blue, the images were just too blue because the water was blue as well, and there were no other interesting colors present.

I used Fujifilm's Acros black and white film simulation with a red filter as my base. Then I adjusted whites, blacks, highlights, and shadows in post.

I wished there were some more clouds in the sky for the shot below to balance it out better.

The clouds thickened and made for more drama.

As an aside I do not currently own any zoom lenses on my Fujifilm X system. When I was shooting Canon my main lens was a zoom lens. For all of these shots I may have either zoomed in or out if I had a zoom. However, I am enjoying using just prime lenses. I see things differently, and I do not miss having a zoom at all. I used to shoot just primes prior to my Canon system so it is not something new to me. I also do not feel that one type of lens is "better" than the other. They are all tools, just with different applications. It is up to the individual to utilize them as they see fit.

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Snowy Day in Chicago

March 09, 2017 by Ming Hung in landscape

We have not had accumulated snowfall for the months of January and February in Chicago. This has not happened in nearly 150 years. So I was glad that I went out on a heavy snowfall day back in December. The snow was wet and the flakes were big. I took advantage of the weather-sealed camera and lens combination of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and the Fujinon XF35mmF2. I wore a good water repellent coat and a great pair of boots, but my pants were soaked in some spots so I was not completely comfortable. The camera and lens though? They performed phenomenally.

I wanted to show park spaces in downtown Chicago devoid of human presence. These spaces are often populated when it is warm so my goal was to show the exact opposite. It was a gray day and I decided to present the images in gray scale. Fujifilm's Acros film simulation is beautiful. Despite the highly-touted quality of the jpegs I used and worked with the RAW files.

This group of 106 head- and armless bodies is called Agora. They are iron sculptures crafted by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. They wander in every direction just off the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue.

This scene has become one of my personal favorite images. I was not particularly a fan of this park space at all, but it just looked so beautiful at the moment I walked by. I liked the symmetry of some of the scene. I actually got this one in one take. As you may know, we're not always so lucky with our shooting. Sometimes I take frame after frame and get nothing and move on. This was one of those happy moments I have as a photographer, knowing that I got the shot right away.

I made one decision to disturb the continuity of the series. The red and yellow sculptures in this park added a pop of color to an otherwise gray day and environment.

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Peaceful Protest

February 21, 2017 by Ming Hung in People, Street Photography

There were two anti-Trump protest rallies/marches this past weekend, February 19 & 20. The first was on the one month mark of Donald Trump's presidency and the second was dubbed "Not My President's Day," a play on the holiday. I originally thought about approaching these protest/street style shots in monochrome. However, people made all kinds of colorful signs, and the makeup of the diverse crowd was colorful as well so I shot it in color, with Fujifilm's classic chrome film simulation.

I do not have a zoom lens for my Fuji X-Pro2. I spent my time switching between three different prime lenses: the 23, 35, and 56mm lenses (35, 50 and 85mm full-frame, respectively). I was kind of slow with my lens changes, although I don't feel like I missed any shots. The difficulty I faced was that I would see framing for the lens that I did not have on the camera, lol. The next such event I go to I might just carry one prime with me, and that would help me to just look at framing scenes for only one focal length.

There was a band called the Sousaphones Against Hate. They played some Pink Floyd tunes and standards such as "The Imperial March" (Darth Vader's theme).

What I found myself doing was just taking picture after picture of signs, something I didn't want to end up doing the entire time, but I saw interesting signs every direction I turned. I just chose this one to share here randomly.

There were three pro-Trump supporters at the rally--that I noticed anyway. The interactions between them and the anti-Trump crowd made for more compelling images.

This red, white, and blue clad woman with the megaphone repeatedly chanted "Happy Trumpiversary! He is your president..."

It was great seeing young people engage like these two young men talking to the pro-Trump guy in the suit. There was some yelling from both sides, but this guy remained calm and talked rather than yelled. That's something we all need to remind ourselves to do. The boys asked him some questions, but I wasn't able to hear over other protesters who were trying to drown out the pro-Trumpers.

The woman in black was really trying to drown out the pro-Trump woman with the megaphone. She led various chants, and the anti-Trump crowd responded.

There was a group of Muslims who arrived together, perhaps bussed in for the event. I missed a shot when they arrived. One Muslim man was taking in the rest of the crowd--how diverse it was, how loudly they chanted, and how they were all there to support Muslims and each other. The man nodded and his eyes were welling up with tears. Seeing the emotion on his face touched me. That was the only shot that I regret not getting.

This was my favorite sign.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..."

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Chinese New Year Parade

February 08, 2017 by Ming Hung in People, Culture

There are two lunar new year parades in Chicago. These images are from the "south side" Chinatown. I am a lazy photographer, lol. I went out only twenty minutes before the parade was to start so I did not have a good spot from which to shoot. I must confess. I have not been to this parade since I was a child. So when I started the editing process I knew I wanted to use some film presets for a "retro" look. Only problem is that digital grain doesn't look exactly like film emulsion, but hopefully the mood comes across in my images.

I actually got a good spot for the lighting of these strings of firecrackers. Switching to the Fuji mirrorless camera system has been great. I can use the LCD screen on the back of the camera to shoot shots like this. I just stuck my arm up in the air and looked at the screen. I never shot with live view when I was in the Canon SLR system. I like the people across the street covering their ears.

Most of the time I spent at this spot I had to look through a window such as this. I need to be a little taller!

I was shooting pictures of Chinese members of the American Foreign Legion parading by when this gentleman walked into the scene. I included the image because I like this character.

I like it when the guys swoop the dragons down toward children in the crowd. Some kids delight in it and some show apprehension like the little girl in pink below.

I will forever have the lion dance drum and gong beat in my head.

I don't have great images from the parade, but it was still hard to keep the number of images here to a limit. I don't want these photo essays to be very long, but I don't have a very good reason for that either. I'm still trying to figure out what this blog is supposed to be.

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Chicago in a fog

January 27, 2017 by Ming Hung in Landscape

Chicago was enveloped in fog for a few days last week. I ventured out to the Museum Campus area by the lake, first not knowing what I would capture. When I saw that visibility over the water wasn't very far I knew I wanted to show that in a minimalist shot like this in a square format.

The thickness of the fog made it difficult to see the museums from afar. I thought I would use some humor with this caption because the Adler Planetarium is supposed to be at the end of this embankment. I originally wanted to make monochrome images because of the gray day. But I decided to stay with color and gave them a bit of tone, blue for the images above and below this one because of the water, and just a hint of green for this image because trees are an element.

The building in the foreground is the John G Shedd Aquarium. Normally in the background would be the great Chicago skyline. It could not be seen on this day until I got to the other side of the aquarium where the fog wasn't as dense as it is here.

Two men enjoying the beautiful Chicago skyline

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