Posts Tagged ‘WI’

Milwaukee Tour

Wisconsin

Thanks for all the responses from the post yesterday. I had some questions on the photos that were taken out of the plane window. The photos that I posted were all from the Fuji X100s. Although you are allowed to use small electronic devices during takeoff and landing, I did not turn on my phone out of habit. So I took the photos with the small mirrorless camera, then cropped the images in Lightroom so that you can see more of the details out of the window without the frame of the plane, the wing or the engines in the way.

Wisconsin from the air - ©TimeLine Media
Wisconsin from the air – ©TimeLine Media

This is only the second time that I have spent any time in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My mother always takes a city tour when she goes to a new place, so we decided to give that a try. We found Untapped Tours of Milwaukee through an online search, and made it down to City Hall to meet the tour guide. This was probably the best thing we could have done with our time!

Untapped Tours Milwaukee

Untapped Tours bus - ©TimeLine Media
Untapped Tours bus – ©TimeLine Media

The tour stopped at all the sights around the city. With the foggy, but nice weather, there were a lot of opportunities for photos, but more importantly, we found all the places that we needed to visit later. The tour started at the impressive Milwaukee City Hall. Even though the building was being renovated, the size of the building and the scale of its tower was impressive both inside and out.

Milwaukee City Hall clock tower - ©TimeLine Media
Milwaukee City Hall clock tower – ©TimeLine Media

Since we were on a tour, I did not have a lot of time to setup a photo of the building. I just took out my Fuji X100s, and took a series of photos from bottom to top. My thought was that I would combine the photos later in a vertical panorama in Photoshop.It worked! I had to work on the photo with some adjustments due to the way I shot the original images. After the tour, I also had the chance to take more time and make an HDR image. I’ll post more about that on the next Tech Thursday post.

Milwaukee City Hall - ©TimeLine Media
Milwaukee City Hall – ©TimeLine Media

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Leavin’ On A Jetplane!

Flying West

It has been a while since I have taken a trip that needed a jetplane to get to the destination. This was a good occasion – an out of town wedding! The best part, is that I did not have any work to do for the wedding! It was another trip that did not have a work-related component attached. So, I went into the trip with a more relaxed approach. However, I still wanted to make some good photos. Especially since it is not every day that I get the chance to travel.

KC-135 on tarmac - ©TimeLine Media
KC-135 on tarmac – ©TimeLine Media

For the trip, I planned what gear to take that would let me take a range of photos without weighing me down too much. Paring down the gear list will also let me carry it onto planes without too much fuss. I brought my Fuji X100s which has a 35mm lens, and my iPhone. For the “big” camera, I brought my Nikon D800 with 3 lenses – a 14mm for a wide angle, a 50mm which is a small, normal, lens, and a 105mm macro lens that I could use as a telephoto or portrait lens.

Fog Over Chicago

747 and Willis Tower on approach to Chicago O'Hare airport - ©TimeLine Media
747 and Willis Tower on approach to Chicago O’Hare airport – ©TimeLine Media

The first plane we boarded was an almost factory-new Embraer 175. From the inside, the modern design was really evident with what seemed like a lot of headroom and legroom for a small regional jet. The first leg of the trip was supposed to be from Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) to Chicago’s O’Hare airport (ORD). The E-175 and the crew provided a smooth flight to Chicago, but Mother Nature had a wrench into the landing plans. Due to the Polar Vortex that brought a lot of cold down from the Arctic, the Great Lakes stayed frozen for much longer than usual. With the warm air starting to arrive it created a lot of fog off the lakes. You can see from this photo, that there is a thick layer of fog closer to the ground. Chicago is usually one of the most beautiful cities to see from the air. With Lake Michigan taking up most of the view, and the tall towers, it is a great view from the plane. Not on this trip! Zooming in, you can just see the top of Willis Tower, the 2nd tallest building in the US.

747 and Willis Tower on approach to Chicago O'Hare airport - ©TimeLine Media
747 and Willis Tower on approach to Chicago O’Hare airport – ©TimeLine Media

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Milwaukee, WI

Another summer with another work-related trip to the Mid-west. At this time, Milwaukee Wisconsin was the destination. Prior to this trip, I have never visited.

This, however, was by special request by my cousin, Renato. He has always been a very gifted artist with the visual and performing arts since we were young. This would be the first time I would see him perform in his home place in front of his home crowd. It was also nice to visit Renato in Milwaukee, a city I’ve never visited in his recently acquired 100-year old house. Thanks for the accommodations!

I was honored that he asked me to document the happenings of the 8th Annual Umali Awards, at the Green Gallery East, as well as watch him perform with two bands at the Bremen Cafe.

This was the first time I had really seen Renato stressed with all of the planning and logistics of getting something like this put together. I suppose I usually only seem him when he is on vacation, so his blood, sweat, and almost tears were seen until a needed video cable for the projector were found for the presentations.

Luckily, John was able to get the right connections, and the show went on without a hitch. The presentations, awards, and speeches – so creative and humorous! I hope I get the chance to go again!      

The next morning, Renato treated us all to a huge breakfast at the Comet Cafe. I was the least adventurous with my food and drink but was quite satisfied with the meal.
         

Photographer preparing for the timer-released group shot:

Thanks to Sarah, John, and Renato for hanging out, and showing us a good time in Wisconsin. See you soon!

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703-864-8208

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