River Seine Paris

Beautiful area with lots of history as the River Seine winds through the city of Paris. The island is the Ile St. Louis, where Paris was born. Ile St. Louis is a traditional refuge of the Parisian upper classes. Many artists found their way onto the island, including famous figures such as Hemingway, and the island is covered in examples of 17th century architecture. Notre Dame is somewhere there in the distance.

New Orleans Fortune Teller

Can't help but find strange things to photograph walking around in New Orleans in the French Quarter. It takes an amazing number of items, I guess, to get a correct reading from the fortune teller. I should have asked her when the recession was going to end.

Colorful Chicago, part 2

Used this title before but it works for this shot as well. Always on the lookout for color and this old building had lots of it. I think this used to be a bar on the near north side.

Florence -- pretty as a painting

Loved Florence and can't wait to go back there some day. This is a shot looking at the historical district taken from a Medici palace window. They were the ruling family and a major player in Italian politics for hundreds of years. Anyway, Florence looks like a painting to me.....

The Boxer -- Old San Juan

This piece of art was part of a collection at a Bed and Breakfest that I stayed at in Old San Juan. Kinda freaky, depending on the light. The owners of the B&B was an artist and she had these incredible pieces of art all over the rambling collection of buildings. Definately enjoy B&Bs but you never quite know what you are gonig to get.

Beautiful sunset over the Pacific

Taken from the Los Angeles area got this nice calming shot of a west coast sunset. While yesterday's shot was cool and blue, today's is nice and warm. Funny how you can get different feelings from basically the same shot.

Sunset on Hermosa Beach Pier

With school starting I have a slight fall feeling, although the weather in Chicago is still summer hot. Still, this shot of the pier in Hermosa Beach has a bit of an end of summer, fall kinda feeling for me, although I don't really don't know why. Maybe it is the cooler, fallish colors in this shot. Cooler colors or not, this is a fun area to visit at any time of the year.

Great Wall, Great Walk

Our day on the Great Wall was overcast, slightly rainy, and very warm. Want an excellent workout? Hike a portion of the Great Wall of China. It is built in an incredibly challenging and hilly environment and your legs will let you know right away how out of shape you are!!!

Another Navy Pier Shot

I can't seem to get enough of the pier. This is from the fifth floor of the parking lot at the far end of the pier. Used a tripod to try to steady the shot. Loved the colors of the day right after the sunsets, to about an hour after it sets. Great time for taking shots.

Party Pier at Navy Pier

Yes, it is a big tourist trap, but Navy Pier has so many photo opportunities and angles on the skyline that you normally don't get to see. Here is a shot from the pier looking southwest. None of those buildings where there when I was a kid. I remember an old firehouse gym that I used to play racquetball in the 70's. Anyway, much more interesting area now.

Times Square from Above

Nothing like shooting in or around Times Square. Such an energy, no matter what the time-- day or night. This year, rather than my more business hotel choice over on Lexington Avenue, I stayed right over Times Square. Got this shot from the hotel room window. Don't want to stay there all the time, but it was an interesting change of pace.

Montrose Harbor---Clear as Glass

Just a gorgeous, calm summer morning with a surface as calm as glass. This view is looking north towards Navy Pier in the distance.

River View of Tower Bridge, London

Wonderful view of the Tower Bridge from a London tour bus. Great town, but as I recall, super expensive. The other thing I remember was the incredible shopping--although window shopping for us at those prices. What a melting pot of a city.

Trevi Fountain -- Rome

From 2006 family trip to visit Nina in France at school, we did a side trip to Rome. This is a picture of the Trevi Fountain from the side. The sculpture is quite amazing, but the crowds is what attracted me. According to Google, they throw 3,000 euros into the fountain every day. Tne money is used to support a food pantry. The legend that we heard says that if a visitor throws a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Other sayings relate that two coins thrown will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. Well, we threw one coin so I can't wait to get a chance to visit Rome again.

Painting with Light

Continuing the painting with a red light theme, this one is Stephanie in two different poses, painted by Anthony in a red light. We were staying in Monticello watching the Perseus meteor shower, which was a lot of fun. However, things got very spooky...

Playing with light

Here is what you do when it is 2:00 am and you are playing around with a camera while shooting some astronomical pictures--you start painting with light. Stephi and Anthony stepped into the dark and starting playing with a red flashlight. Simple shots to take. Just open the shutter for 30 seconds or so and start drawing. This one is Anthony on the red light.

St. Croix View

Got a chance to visit St. Croix for 24 hours earlier this year on a business trip. Stayed at a beautiful resort. Here was the view from my balcony. It all was a tease, however, as we got in by 4 pm and were out by 4 the next day. Oh, well. I did get in a run around that golf course.

John Hancock Basin

I don't know what they call this area, but it has a nice reflection of the Hancock Building as well as others just north of Navy Pier. So, I just call it the John Hancock Basin. You know I have pictures from work locations and some vacation travel on this website from all over the US, but I constantly find excellent views in Chicago. Tough to beat this beautiful city.

Blue Chicago Navy Pier

Got to get up early to catch the deep blues before sunrise. Did that back in 2006 for this shot of Navy Pier before sunrise. No Photoshop here. The color is as the camera saw it.

Nuveen Building

That's where I work, in the green curved building, right at the curve of the Chicago river. The tour guides say that the building was colored green to match the color of the Chicago River. Anyway, most days, when I am not traveling around the country, you can find me up there on the 30th floor.

Nassau Sunrise

I keep thinking I am done posting Nassau shots--time to move on already--but I found one more that I couldn't resist. Took this just as we were pulling into Nassau. That's the Paradise Resort on the right side.

Nassau Boat Docks

Colorful view of the docks by the cruise ships in Nassau on New Providence Island.

Coming into Nassau--Atlantis in sight

We arrived early minoring in Nassau and this is a shot coming into the harbor with the Atlantis resort in the background. Went over there in the evening. What an amazing place. Nassau is an island that I would like to visit again.

Sunrise at sea

Got up early to catch a sunrise as our cruise ship headed back towards Florida. Got a lot of nice shots, but needed some foreground interest to make the shot more interesting. A fellow sunwatcher fit the bill.