Category: Chicago

This “otherworldly” picture, taken in April 2009, is actually a reflection of that day’s cloudy sky reflected off the stainless-steel surface of the $23 million sculpture, by artist Anish Kapoor, formally known as Cloud Gate but affectionately known as “The Bean.”
It’s a fun picture that opens a way to the imagination. The fact that I took it on a partly cloudy day and the formal name of this Chicago icon is pretty apropos, considering.

Like many others, I’ve taken dozens of pictures of “The Bean.” Two other pictures that contain this Chicago landmark are found in our Etsy Shop. You can also find the stories behind Untitled #16 and Untitled #17 along with their pictures and link to our shop in this website.

This is a picture of “Cloud Gate” also known as the “Bean.” It is located in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

At the time this picture was taken, in April of 2009, I was working for a commuter railroad that brought passengers into Chicago from northwest Indiana. Because of the nature of my job, I had a great deal of free time between assignments and I was able to take photographs during some of that time. On this particular morning, after my train arrived in Chicago and a change of clothes out of my uniform, I took my camera to Millennium Park, which was very near our terminal, and specifically to the Bean.

I couldn’t even venture a guess as to how many times a picture of the Bean, or including the Bean, have been taken. What is so striking about this picture is that it is void of people. That is, there are no tourists, locals, sightseers, no one, which, for someone who has been to the Bean so many times, like me, is a rare oddity that is beyond noteworthy.

Another note about this picture. You may notice the fog, a cold front, that is moving in from the west, beginning to envelop the buildings just west of the Bean.

This is a February, 2009 picture of buildings, near the intersection of Randolph and Michigan in downtown Chicago, either reflected in or behind the iconic Chicago landmark titled “Cloud Gate,” otherwise known as “The Bean.”

Visible in the reflection is the Chicago Cultural Center and The Crain Communications Building, known as the Smurfit-Stone Building when this picture was taken.

Buildings behind the Bean include One Prudential Plaza (The Prudential Building), Two Prudential Plaza, and the Aon Building.

This is one of 104 pictures taken that day, two of which are in our Etsy Shop, “AbbasImages.” Another image from that day is Abstract – Untitled #23.

This is the contrast of the old and the new; the Chicago Water Tower and 875 North Michigan Avenue (formerly, The John Hancock Building).

In this picture you see the Chicago Water Tower in the foreground and 875 North Michigan Avenue in the background.

The Chicago Water Tower, completed in 1869, is one of the very few structures to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. 875 North Michigan Avenue, complete 100 years later in 1969, is among the tallest buildings in Chicago and in the world. Another distinct contrast is the Chicago Water Tower is made from yellow Joliet limestone, a very popular building material in that day, while 875 North Michigan Avenue, foundationally, it made of steel.

A final contrast is in the picture itself which offers a hint of scale between the Chicago Water Tower, topping off at 182.5 feet, and 875 North Michigan Avenue’s height of 1,128 feet to the roof, 1,500 feet to the tip of the towers.

This picture is taken from the 95th floor (1,030 ft above street level) of the, then, John Hancock Building, since renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue, in Chicago. This photograph is one of 66 taken that July day in 2013.

I set my camera on a ledge next to the observatory window, to gain some level of stability and avoid camera shake, and hit the shutter button. It was a relatively long exposure as evidenced by the thread-like images of automobile headlights and taillights.

Visible in this picture are portions of Lake Michigan, Lake Shore Drive, North Avenue Beach, Lincoln Park, Belmont Harbor and surrounding area, the Montrose Beach area, and points north.

This image shows just a slight fraction of the expanse of this interesting, colorful Midwest city that really never ceases to amaze owing to its diversity, the dreams of many, and a certain mystique that invites you to discover more.