Photo of the Month
Inside the Cloud Gate
Chicago's Millennium Park
The last two Photo of the Month images have featured what is quickly becoming the new icon of Chicago, namely the Cloud Gate sculpture commonly known as "The Bean." The popularity of the bean makes it very difficult to photograph the sculpture without numerous observers reflected in the image. Consequently, an observer seldom sees the simple beauty of the constantly changing contours of the structure because of the distraction of moving images as visitors move around and under the structure.
This image was captured early one morning last summer prior to the morning onrush of Millennium Park visitors. The buildings across Michigan Avenue were included to provide scale and perspective. The only other distraction is the camera on a tripod that’s reflected several times in the image. The clever photographer set the timer and quickly rushed outside to avoid taking another of those annoying self portrait images so often a subject in most artists’ portfolios.
When visiting Millennium Park, be sure that you not only walk around the bean to see the spectacular reflections of the city's buildings, but also stand alone inside if possible to look at the vision that explodes once the outside is beyond your view. I think you will be amazed at what you see.