click any pic for a larger version. C&C welcome.

6-shot panorama taken from Millenium Park - click for 1920px version



The Bean, single-shot HDR from RAW - click for 1920px version



Looking south down LaSalle Street towards the Board of Trade, Chicago. Single-shot HDR from RAW, hand-held.


17-shot panorama of Lake Michigan, Grant Park, Chicago Loop, looking south from 39th floor on Randolph Street. Advisable to view large (1920px)



Chicago at night. You may recognize some buildings from <i>The Dark Knight</i>.. Nikon D70, 2005.



downtown Chicago, by the river and Marina City, IBM building.. b/w conversion.
Taken in 2005, Nikon D70.



looking north from Roosevelt, South Loop Chicago. 3-shot panorama from single-shot RAW HDR. click for 2560px version



Railyard north of Roosevelt, Chicago. Single-shot HDR.



Navy Pier single-shot HDR panorama, Chicago.


Navy Pier single-shot HDR panorama, Chicago. Made from 2 shots.


18-shot HDR (from single RAW) panorama, looking north from the Adams St bridge on the Chicago river.



looking east from South Loop Chicago. 11-shot panorama (no HDR). missed a couple of shots to get a complete pano, I will most likely go back and redo this one - hopefully during more dramatic sky conditions as well.

Of note, the white house towards the center of the picture is the Clarke House, which is regarded as the oldest surviving building in Chicago.

Wow. Just... wow...

Wow really nice....How do you do single shot HDR?

Henry Huang wrote:
Wow really nice....How do you do single shot HDR?

Just make 3 editions from the same raw file and make a hdr from them.

Some truly nice shots you got here.

your shots are absolutely stunning

on the 3rd shot, seems like a picture straight out of 'The Dark Knight' if Joker was standing in the middle.

thanks for having a look..

for my single-shot HDR's I just drag a single RAW file into Photomatix, tone-map, save, and that's it. Photomatix takes care of the (pseudo) exposures. It's great because you don't need a tripod (didn't use one for any of these - I did balance on ledges and railings for a few but the majority of these are hand-held) and you don't have to worry about ghosting. I take my camera with me whenever I can, if I see a shot I think looks nice, I snap a few RAWs and then have the option to do a single-shot HDR if the lighting (and scene) seems like it might benefit from it.

vdubBEN wrote:
your shots are absolutely stunning

on the 3rd shot, seems like a picture straight out of 'The Dark Knight' if Joker was standing in the middle.

ha thanks.. well.. that is Wayne Tower...

Looking North down Michigan Avenue from Randolph Street.



heading to Chicago on 94-West. single-shot HDR



(not HDR)



taken during the filming of Batman: The Dark Knight, Chicago Loop 2007. Single-shot HDR, hand-held.

What you see in the middle with the spotlights surrounding it is the ramp leading to the lower level of Wacker drive - these are the scenes with the trucks going down/up the ramps and the related chase scenes.

Stormy night.. 08/23/07.. facing west from Wacker Drive. Behind glass. multiple exposure HDR (3 or 4), the spots at the top are raindrops on the window..


Looking east from Franklin Street at Delaware at 5AM. Single-shot HDR.

amazing work!
got to go back to my camera right now!
thanks for sharing!
jean-yves

Very nice series! It's hard to pick out a fav. I'm glad to see you didn't overdo the HDR images. They are quite tasteful, IMO. Nice work!

-Nick

Stunning. Simply beautiful.

Absolutely spectacular. I have lived here for almost 36 years and not seen some of the views you are showing here. The HDR treatments used are done so tastefully, and in most of the shots truly make for better images. I am assuming you live downtown and can get out quickly when the skies look good. I am curious what the lenses were in some of these. Favorites? The last one, the view north from Adams, and the 2nd Navy Pier shot. That one could only have been better on a Wednesday or Saturday night. Again...incredible work here. Glad you joined. You have made me realize how much better HDR shots can look!

thanks for taking a look - I don't live downtown but I do live close by. I can't get out to the city as often as I'd like but I have found some opportunities. Isn't it crazy how monumentally important "being in the right place at the right time" is?? I still have no grasp of that concept. Sadly I don't "plan" any shots, I just take them when I happen to be in a certain place at a certain time and I feel there is a shot. It takes a LOT of effort to plan! The lenses used for these are (Canon) 24-105 f/4L, 24-70 f/4L, and the standard 18-70 on the D70 shots. I like to use HDR as a scalpel for fine-tuning and enhancing shots, not for blowing them out of reality. I'm glad you noticed that.

Here are some more - click for larger version..

D70, 2005.


note: this is one of my earlier HDR's, it is definitely on the "wilder" side.. intentionally.










go Cubs!


34-shots, Canon SD550.








D70, 2005.

D70, 2005.

It's been said numerous times already, but it deserves to be said again. WOW! AMAZING! These are all marvelous to look at and extremely enjoyable to marvel over. Job well done.

Outstanding collection...each one is amazingly well done! Thanks for the ride.

delobbo,
Real nice work, inspiring, some cool place to see for our family's next trip to the windy city. . .

Cheers,
Todd

^^ thanks for taking a look, and I appreciate the comments.

Awesome!
I've been shooting Chicago for over 20 years.
These are the best shots of the city I've ever seen.

^ hey thanks - that's good to hear!

a few more.

more freezing rain in Chicago..

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D
Image Date: 2007:02:01 01:28:18
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 70.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.125 s (1/8)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 640
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

Franklin & Wacker intersection. Looks kinda like it's a HDR - but, it's not.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D
Image Date: 2007:02:01 01:00:52
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 24.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.250 s (1/4)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 640
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

Franklin & Wacker intersection. hand-held.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D
Image Date: 2007:02:01 00:52:56
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 35.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.100 s (1/10)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 640
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

Looking down La Salle. Looks kinda like it's HDR - but, it's not. hand-held.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D
Image Date: 2007:02:01 00:53:11
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 35.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.100 s (1/10)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 640
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

State of Illinois building, Chicago. 3-shot HDR.


Merchandise Mart, Chicago. hand-held

Camera Model: NIKON D70
Image Date: 2005:07:05 22:16:28
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 36mm)
Exposure Time: 0.200 s (1/5)
Aperture: f/3.8
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix


Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D
Image Date: 2007:02:01 00:52:01
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 58.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.100 s (1/10)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 640
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual


Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D
Image Date: 2007:02:01 00:57:58
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 28.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.200 s (1/5)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 640
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

thought I would share technique on one of the shots, which was primarily processed in LR. (original shot is a JPG)

My Dad was actually a superindendent on the construction of the second building from the left in the 5th picture in your original post. The one that looks really nice, I love that building.

I love the photos . Excuse my ignorance ,but what does hdr stand for ? and some of the shots , you say its like 34 shots , do you mean you shot 34 pictures, pieced them together , and then shrank the image? I dont really see why some of the shots couldnt be done in just one photo?