Study in pink and blue

BALLET SKIRTS IN A DANCE SHOP, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 24, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 18mm
1/60 sec. f5.6
ISO 1600

The second in Deborah Abbott's photographic documentary series of still life on a colorful shopping street near our home in northwest Evanston, Illinois.

Storefront of future stars

BALLET SCHOOL WINDOW, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 24, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 40mm
1/4000 sec. f8
ISO 800

Deborah Abbott, my Lady Friend, is becoming an accomplished photographer. She took this photo outside a ballet school the other day as part of a documentary project capturing the small-town atmosphere of a commercial neighborhood near our home. (First in a series.)

Theater glory

CEILING ILLUMINATION, AUDITORIUM THEATRE, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 21, 2009

Canon SD600
Canon 5.8-17.4 at 12.1mm
1/6 sec. f4
ISO not recorded

The other day I attended the Joffrey Ballet with my Lady Friend. We sat in the balcony, affording a close look at the magnificently detailed ceiling illumination that graces Chicago's historic Auditorium Theater, designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan and opened in 1889.

Truck

AMTRAK SUPERLINER I TRUCK, GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO, JANUARY 12, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 109mm
1/20 sec. f11
ISO 200

Here's a vintage commonplace nobody ever looks at closely: a massive and heavy Industrial Age railroad passenger car truck made of cast and machined steel. It's a 19th century invention refined in the late 20th century by German engineers for the first generation of Amtrak's double-deck Superliner cars. Those huge coils in the center originally were air bags for smoother riding, but they wore out so fast Amtrak replaced them with classic springs of a design Casey Jones would have recognized.

Station herald

OLD DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN DEPOT SIGN, GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO, JANUARY 11, 2009

Pentax K10D
Sigma 17-70 at 37mm
1/500 sec. f9.5
ISO 400

Vintage stations often are treasure troves for lovers of railroadiana, especially such commonplaces as the ornate town signs that greet passengers debarking from their trains. Deborah Abbott, my Lady Friend, captured this one last January while waiting for an eastbound California Zephyr.

Beware

TRACKSIDE WARNING, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 21, 2009

Canon SD600
Canon 5.8-17.4 at 17.4 mm
1/500 sec. f4.9
ISO not recorded

For some reason my mind registered the yellow line on the far side of the double-track main as the one the sign was warning me to stay behind.

My stop

CENTRAL STREET STATION SIGN, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 21, 2009

Canon SD600
Canon 5.8-17.4 at 12.1mm
1/400 sec. f4
ISO not registered

About a decade ago this stop on the historic Metra North Line (Union Pacific RR., formerly Chicago & North Western Ry.) was completely refurbished, but now age is beginning to show again. To capture this view I used my little Canon point-and-shoot, a splendid "boot camera" for situations where a big DSLR might be too heavy or conspicuous.

Done for the day

VIEW FROM THE HANGAR, WILMOT, WISCONSIN, FEBRUARY 16, 2009

Pentax K10D
Sigma 17-70 at 17mm
HDRI composite at f11
ISO 400

Shortly after putting my airplane to bed after a hour's flight on a cold morning out of Westosha Airport in southern Wisconsin, I captured this high dynamic range view as the hangar door slowly rolled down.