photography

More from the old town

Decided to go back and expand on my photography before my first trip to Toronto. The campus of Illinois Tech in Chicago has a lot of notable modernist architecture, and the school in general does have a feeling of looking to the future. The historic Main Building feels out of place now amongst the newer glass and steel framed buildings, whom in turn feel ironically out of place next to the new dorms with their shining metal. The commuter rail station for Metra, one of their newest, also stands out from other stations in the system with its dramatic concrete ramps, metal shelters, and paving bricks. The quaintness that characterizes many of their suburban stations is not found here.

Delaware Park in Buffalo

I finally decided to take advantage of the incredibly warm weather and walk around Delaware Park for the first time since I arrived in Buffalo. The area around Park Lake next to the Albright-Knox Gallery reminds me a lot of the Museum Campus in Chicago. One big difference though is the lower illumination compared to Chicago. Delaware Park is markedly dimmer after sunset, being situated in a predominately residential area far away from the downtown light sources. It makes getting clear handheld night time shots much more difficult, requiring me to use higher ISOs and deal with more image noise. The night sky ends up noisier since there is less light being thrown upward. I hope to go back soon with my tripod and get much improved shots.

Chicago High Rises

An older collection of historic Chicago high rises and new condo construction. The skyline of the city has been changing rapidly during the last generation. The Hilliard Towers are high rise public housing that have survived the wrecking ball, fortunately. Whereas much of the high rise public housing has been demolished for newer mixed developments, these iconic housing towers have withstood the test of time and were actually rehabilitated.

New York Redux

Second time staying in Brooklyn, and took advantage of the winter sun to get different light than what I had in the summer. Also went across the Brooklyn Bridge, the first time I had really seen the city at night. Had to see Grand Central again since I had missed the 100th Anniversary celebration, and was quite surprised to see the new Apple store in the central hall. Arrived at Rockefeller Center during Zamboni time and had to move on to High Line before it closed, so no ice skaters.

Manhattan Redux

First visit to New York during the winter, and the cold kept me moving when touring the city. I finally made it to the High Line this time and really enjoyed a nice park separated from the hustle of the city. If high rises throughout the city could share elevated parks like these it would completely change the urban dynamic. Cities want to develop more of the ground level into buildings, so this could be the way to mitigate the loss of open space: simply lift it off the ground.

Toronto Fall

First time visiting Toronto in 3 months, and started to really get familiar with the city. One of the reasons I moved to Buffalo was to be closer to Toronto and New York City. I really feel like Buffalo should be building more connections with such a large metropolis relatively close by. We arguably get more business from outside Buffalo that originates in the GTA, as opposed to New York City.

My only experience with the waterfront before this visit had been flying into Billy Bishop through Porter. It’s a very disjointed experience compared to Chicago where I use to live. That being said, it does have some interesting finds, and the harbour islands are an experience that Chicago didn’t offer. It allows you to far more removed from the experience of the city. Chicago did have the Wooded Island in Jackson Park and Northerly Island, but you were still felt like you were in the city. Being separated by actual water and requiring a ferry to reach them makes the harbour islands a much better place to relax.