Chicago by hkskyline - Part 2

hkskyline · #1 Posted **Nov 9, 2006, 3:44 PM**

1. Perhaps a Hancock twin?

2. Even though it is now a Macy's, the sign is still
there. I had to capture it before it disappears the
next time I visit Chicago.

4. Due to the compactness of downtown and how
skyscrapers appear all over the place, blocking each
other out, it's hard to get a sense of how many
buildings are in the Loop. Hence, I took some extra
time to walk a few key streets to see the buildings up
close.

6. Too bad New York didn't keep much of its El
network.

9. One of my greatest challenges was to photograph
decent photos in low light / cloudy skies. I tried to
tweak the settings a bit and it helped a little, but I
had to pay so much more attention to what I'm doing as
opposed to a sunny day under clear blue skies.

14. Masking a bad picture in black and white is an
easy salvaging technique.

16. One of the biggest surprises I stumbled across was
the Cultural Center, which had a few amazing domes
with shiny glass mosaic tiling.

20. This scale model of the Loop is quite nice. I'd
see an even bigger one later.

21. The library was close to my hotel, and I wondered
how old it was when I first saw it. After looking at
the exhibit, I was surprised and amazed that it's a
relatively new building!

23. So many designs!

24. Chicago has some really nice museums. The Art
Institute has a very large collection, and I was
particularly happy to see a lot of Chinese relics from
a huge range of dynasties and periods.

25. This one is Japanese.

28. I was told Chicago was famous for pizza. I tried
out this thin-crust pizza for lunch. Although it
wasn't from Giordano's, it was pretty yummy.

29. I compiled a list of days when museums that my
special pass doesn't have access to would be free. On
Monday, I stopped by the History Museum to learn about
Chicago's past.

30. Then I ventured to the waterfront to see the beach
and take some skyline photos.

32. I did a bus tour of Lincoln Park, which has some
very nice housing and boutique stores along Armitage.

33. It's great that there are announcements of the
next stop.

35. Chicago had a much friendlier atmoshpere than I
expected from a major business city. I was told by the
lady staffing the Cultural Center information kiosk
that there is another lovely mosaic dome at Macy's.

37. Armed with new settings, it was time to do a night
tour!