This was one of the few pictures I liked from an otherwise disappointing day of shooting. It was also the only photoshoot I've ever really been disappointed in all of the results. The client was offered a free reshoot sometime, but I was really unhappy. Still, I caught this from an oblique angle underneath some trees. There are square stepping stones not far from one another, and in the right light and angles appear more like monoliths over a lake.
At 6 in the morning in February-era Chicago, you don't find many people on the streets. The vast majority of people on the streets at this cold, bitter hour are in cars or warm places. I had my boots, coat, and a pair of gloves to help stave off the gnawing cold. I was on my way down to the harbor, hoping to catch the sunrise over Lake Michigan. I came across this tent under the tunnel. I did not check if it was occupied. I didn't want to disturb whoever had found a safe haven from the city for a night. I am glad, however, that nobody seemed to have bothered him and left him safe to get some rest.
Originally, I wanted to shoot a sunrise while I was in Chicago. I walked down to the riverfront at 6:30 in the morning, braving the biting, bitter cold. The sun never showed. I saw a general lightening of the environment, but the mist hid the warmth behind cold, wet curtains. At first, the only sounds were pops from metal posts expanding and contracting in the ice. Then, the geese began waking. I captured this image as a flock of geese fled the creaking, groaning docks.
