Photos: The Lighting of Chicago

A few weeks ago we showed some photos of Chicago at night, including a telephoto shot of the Trump Building that you see on the left of this photo. This picture was taken from the same spot -- the cocktail lounge at the top of the John Hancock Building. Barack Obama took Michelle here after visiting the Art Institute of Chicago on their first date. You can see why.
The Water Tower is a landmark, in this photo highlighted by the reflections of the setting sun against the Park Hyatt Hotel.
We like to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, which is located between the Water Tower and the Lake. This is a view down the staircase in the museum, which itself is a work of art.
The top of the John Hancock building provides an excellent vantage point for watching the late afternoon light transitioning into sunset.
Our very good friend, Sharon, who does Phoenix Daily Photo, had a temporary assignment in Chicago for 2 years about 10 years ago. We stayed with her several times and fell in love with the City. The anticipation of restaurants, theater, and museums grows as one rides in from the airport and gets closer to the loop.
The top photo in this series showed our champagne toast to the sunset from the cocktail lounge at the top of the Hancock Building. Here is the view down towards Navy Pier on the left, and the Lake Michigan waterfront. Here is a little photo tip. My husband has a six inch mini tripod that he can put in his pocket so we could put the camera on a ledge next to the window and take a long exposure night shot. There would be no way to hold a camera still for a photo like this, nor any way to have a large tripod in a crowded cocktail lounge.
This is a view of Lake Michigan from downtown Chicago. If you know Chicago, you know that this is the first light of sunrise, facing East. If you know me, you know that it must have been my husband who got up early to see if there was a sunrise worth photographing. I was warm and comfortable in the hotel room.