Here are a couple of photos from sunrise at a top secret Chicago location. 😉😂 (To non-Chicagoland page visitors, the emojis are there because this really isn’t secret at all — if you’d like to know where they were taken, just drop me a line and I’ll be happy to spill the beans).
In all seriousness, these are some of those shots that some photographers refuse to shoot because they’ve become cliché and overdone. I had a friend once ask me about my opinion on shooting cliché scenes — waterfalls and sunrises and such. When I think about my answer, there’s a quote from Ansel Adams that I really like:
“You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
Sure, there have been millions of photos taken at North Ave. Beach at sunrise. But none of them (until this morning) have been mine. None were taken with this exact lighting with this exact composition. None have been created with the emotions that I feel (a guy who still misses his mountains in Colorado but is fascinated by the possibilities of rediscovering and photographing the Great Lakes).
As much as I have admired shots from other photographers at this location, none of them have given me the pure sense of joy that making these photos brought me on my journey to reconnect with the roots of my Illinois birth.
So don’t be afraid to shoot cliché subjects and scenes. Just be sure that you’re bringing all of the personal elements that St. Ansel mentioned in the above quote so that you can make the scene your own.