Centennial Fountain, a photo from Illinois, Midwest

Photographer's Note

The best way to view the pictures is to use the 3 links below.

Nicholas J Melas Centennial Fountain
Fountains, waterfalls and other fast-flowing water always fascinate me and inspire me to freeze the water with the shortest possible shutter speed.
I have used 1/4000 sec for picture 1 and 2. The shortest shutter speed of this camera.
With my new camera I even can go up to 1/32000 sec.

The Nicholas J Melas Centennial Fountain is located on the north bank of the Chicago River.
It was dedicated in 1989 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dirk Lohan, grandson of the famous architect Mies van der Rohe, who deeply influenced Chicago's architecture, designed the fountain.
At picture 1 and 2 I used the semi-transparency of the water curtain of the fountain.
Picture 3 gives a more extensive image of the fountain.

■ Picture 1: ◄ Water-Talk►
■ Picture 2: ◄ Water-Promenade ►
■ Picture 3: ◄ the Centennial Fountain ►

papagolf21, ikeharel, jean113, jhm, Fis2, ChrisJ, Royaldevon, COSTANTINO, Cricri, worldcitizen, macjake, PaulVDV, cornejo, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (115494) 2019-01-18 5:45

Hello Rob,
Another topclass captuere and TE entry in your gallery. Very good pov and sharpness. Overall a joyfull scenery. Interesting and usefull notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

dopiro (926) 2019-01-18 5:53

Hello Rob, interesting presentation of the Centennial Fountain and good technical capture. All crisp and sharp from all angles. Your informative note is supported by the links you provided. Your post taught me about the multiple images trick, good to know!

Charles

snunney (130965) 2019-01-18 6:06

Hello Rob,
The slow shutter speed turns the water droplets into a curtain of light through which we can observe the outside world. Original composition, very well realised.

papagolf21 (145160) 2019-01-18 6:14

Bonjour, cher Rob,
Ce que j'aime dans vos prises de vue, c'est une forme permanente de la recherche du beau où qu'il se trouve !
Vous utilisez avec compétence la technique photographique.
Mais, et surtout, l'art de la présentation avec une recherche artistique, je dis bravo !
Amitiés.
Philippe

rbassin (27404) 2019-01-18 6:14

hello Rob,
C'est une très bonne composition, le couple est bien situé dans le jeu d'eau.
Bonne gestion de l'eau, bons effets
Bonne journée
Roland

Sergiom (115702) 2019-01-18 6:31

Bonjour Rob,

J'aime beaucoup cette composition. Le focus fait sur le couple à travers la fontaine est original et techniquement très bien faite. Le cadrage vertical donne une belle hauteur à l'ensemble.

Amicalement

Serge

Nicou (188540) 2019-01-18 6:39

Hello

Fantastique ce rideau d'eau quelle image et effet quelle forme fait l'eau en tombant et ces deux personnes ces couleurs grandiose vue.
Bravo et belle soirée
Nicou

ikeharel (98856) 2019-01-18 7:00

fantastic sight through the wall of water, Rob, excellent ides and marvelous outcome.
The WS's also shown in fine manner.
A romantic attitude towards the fountain...
Good afternoon,
Ike

jean113 (16127) 2019-01-18 8:30

Hello Rob, this fountain is a gift to photographers like you; all three shots give us a great impression of the place.
I am fascinated by the patterns that we can see in the falling water.
Lovely work.
Reading your notes, I was amazed to see that your camera can even go to a shutter speed of 1/32000sec. that is incredible!
Best wishes Jean.

Tue (71978) 2019-01-18 8:37

Hallo Rob,
Ik zag ook zo'n gladde waterval vandaag voorbijkomen. Ook leuk, maar de patronen en vormen van het vallende water zien er toch wel veel mooier en spectaculairder uit. Het water wijkt mooi aan beide kanten om het romantische stelletje te laten zien.
Lars

lousat (121085) 2019-01-18 8:37

Hi Rob,a classic full view in the WS and 2 fantastic pics to show the fountain in a very original way,it seems a bit to walk under the waterfalls of Iceland as i remember well,great post another time and useful info too. Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

dta (95576) 2019-01-18 12:02

Hello Rob ,
Fantastic idea with the coupe between the walls of water . Tchnically perfect ; it looks like glass !
Bravo

Fis2 (142753) 2019-01-18 12:18

Witaj Rob!
Excellent framing and composition.
Fantastic water effect, the fountain is very interesting.
People add flavor to this image.
I like colors, light and sharpness.
Well done.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

jemaflor (125791) 2019-01-18 15:50

Hi Rob,
Nice photo with an interesting effect with water fall, well framed and composed with these people in the center of the view, tfs.

CLODO (42431) 2019-01-18 23:50

Hi Rob

We don't believe what we see: a man taking a couple in picture while under the shower! but....
Cheers
CLODO

pajaran (92238) 2019-01-19 0:31

Pozdrav.
Interesantni i lepi pogledi, dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad sa lepim fotografijama u radionici, lepo pokazano, dobar kontrast, lepe boje, lepo uhvaceni trenuci.
Dobra ideja i realizacija lepim fotografijama.
Zelim vam sve najbolje za vikend, srecno.
Paja.

Greeting.
Interesting and beautiful views, good text ...
Good work with nice photos in the workshop, beautifully shown, good contrast, nice colors, beautifully captured moments.
Good idea and realization of beautiful photos.
I wish you all the best for the weekend, good luck.

holmertz (83376) 2019-01-19 0:42

Hello Rob,
The walls of "ice" are well used to frame the couple being photographed. The extremely short exposure time has frozen the water into a very interesting pattern. The additional photos describe the location step by step. While the last photo tells us all we need to know, the main photo leaves us in some doubt of what we are seeing, making it the most interesting composition. The water is a refreshing change to the trees or walls most often used as frames.
Have a nice weekend,
Gert

ChrisJ (152474) 2019-01-19 1:11

Hello Rob,

Nice motion blur of the jets of fountain water, with good sharpness and the central fg couple nicely framed by the plumes. Tfs!

jhm (191443) 2019-01-19 1:21

Dag Rob,

De foto is doelbewust goed genomen met het koppel in liefdes houding.
Duidelijk met de fontein en de water massa vorm een mooi geheel.
Mooi foto werk, bedankt.

Prettig weekend,
John

Silvio1953 (191323) 2019-01-19 3:14

Ciao Rob, lovely composition with falling water and photographer in action for a couple, I like WS too with untire fountain, wonderful colors, fine details, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

Royaldevon (64382) 2019-01-19 5:17

Hello Rob,

It is exciting to use different aspects of features commonly seen.

WE usually see fountains as shown in the third post, which is great, because we love to know what the fountain looked like and where it was positioned but I love your experiment with the water curtains. The water takes a completely new character! And, I just love how secretive it all feels, as if we are spying the figures from behind an obscuring veil!

Have a good w/e,
Bev :-)

rychem (68021) 2019-01-19 7:31

Great water courtain, this photo shows us the "frozen" water, I like it very much, creative idea
regards Ryszard

COSTANTINO (93501) 2019-01-19 23:18

Hello dear Rob and greetings for this
beautiful photo with originality
and freshness
I love art and this photo is unique
welldone and wellseen
regards
Costantino

Cricri (176) 2019-01-20 4:24

Hi Rob
Il y a comme un effet artistique avec l'eau en premier plan, le couple bien capturer, la netteté est au top, belles versions en WS
Bon dimanche
cricri

gervaso (27399) 2019-01-20 4:26

Hello, Rob!

The "frozen" waters of this fountain make this view so special, it was a very original way to capture this fountain, with an almost abstract scene behind this "curtain" in the foreground! Excellent light and colors! Wonderful composition!

worldcitizen (12762) 2019-01-20 10:44

Hello Rob,
This is a clever composition. At first, I didn't realize that the fountain was so tall, and you could even stand underneath it. You froze the water perfectly, and that couple is standing in just the right spot, where there's a break in the flow and we can clearly see them. I like the WS photos, too.

macjake (92637) 2019-01-21 11:42

Hi Rob
its like the parting of the sea, haha, they are placed perfectly in the void that is flowing downward. the water looks very cool, like a sheet of glass or a sheet of ice, yet its warm. It really is an interesting visual, better than I thought it would turn out. excellent shot. cheers
Craig

emka (139302) 2019-01-21 14:16

Hello Rob, Interesting view of the water curtain. An excellent composition. Original capture.

Kind regards MAlgo

mkamionka (53844) 2019-01-25 2:51

Hi Rob,
brilliant composition!
So well spotted. You froze the water on both sides like Moses, having the charming couple in the middle.
The water is such an unusual framing -great idea indeed! And you ensured that in the narrow slot there is a lot going on.
Very creative,
excellent reportage,
M

PaulVDV (49024) 2019-01-26 6:00

Hallo Rob,
Heel mooie reeks over de Nicholas J Melas Centennial Fountain waarbij het middendeel van je hoofdfoto excellent gekaderd wordt door het water in de meest diverse vormen.
Mooi helder zicht op het paartje, een deel van de boot en de boomkruin.
Goed opgemerkt en uitstekend uitgevoerd.
Vele groeten, Paul

cornejo (61222) 2019-01-29 10:37

Hello Rob, great picture of this beautiful and interesting composition with the source, very well captured in this beautiful image, with good sharpness, light, color and quality. Excellent and interesting work perfectly done, my congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.

Good night and happy week.
Best wishes from the south of Spain.
Angel.

mcmtanyel (54649) 2019-02-02 19:56

Hello Rob,
These are very fine three photos. I love what you have done with the falling water.
Regards,
MT

bona (14211) 2019-07-17 11:37

One of the places I want to visit in Chicago is this fountain. Soon I'll bring photos from there.

Great capture of the couple.

Regards

André