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.