The Chicago Photography Workshop was quite possibly one of the best photo tours/workshops I've ever had the pleasure of attending. Professional photographer John Batdorff and his partner Staci led our group on an amazing day-long journey through some interesting parts of Chicago, which is a fascinating city in its own right.
Our group met in Lincoln Park at Cafe Brauer to start our day. There, we captured some shots of the peaceful South Pond in Lincoln Park and of the Chicago skyline, practising our HDR bracketing technique. We moved into the Lincoln Park Zoo to photograph some of the animals, then went into the Helen Brach Primate House to try some low-light action photography. Moving back through Lincoln Park we photographed the People's Gas Pavilion, which is a simple but very interesting piece of architecture. Along the way we covered techniques and tips for metering modes, black and white photography, macro photography, landscape and street photography.
Stopping for lunch at the Green City Market in Lincoln Park, we had abundant opportunities to practise street photography. After travelling downtown to Michigan Avenue we shot the Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower and Trump Tower among others, honing our architectural photography skills. It was a rainy afternoon but we did our best to get some exterior shots of the unique Aqua skyscraper on North Columbus Drive.
Passing through Maggie Daley Park we visited the beautiful Lurie Gardens, then moved on to Millennium Park where we captured a few rainy day shots of children splashing in the Crown Fountain. Our group finished our day together at Cloud Gate (or as the locals call it, "The Bean") in Millennium Park, squeezing in a few last shots before we all parted company and went our separate ways.
This was a special day for me, as I had travelled to Chicago primarily to attend this workshop. I will always have fond memories of Chicago, this workshop and the special people who joined me that day.
