Self portrait

Cloud Gate
Millennium Park, Chicago
Photograph by Tom Atwood

This is an unassuming self portrait. In fact, you may have a hard time even finding me in this photograph of Cloud Gate, a sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor in Chicago's Millennium Park. But I'm there - right in the middle. The guy with the camera. The sculpture, inspired by liquid mercury, weighs 110 tons, and is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates. Kapoor says she wanted to make something "that would engage the Chicago skyline." Shutter: 1/80; Aperture: f/8; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm.

Hoarfrost

 

Near Marine, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood


I decided to watch the sunrise near this tree not far from the intersection of Rt 4 and Highway 143 in Madison County. For most of the early morning, the tree was a silhouette against against the dawn sky. But as the sun came up I could see frost on the upper branches of the tree. Known as hoarfrost, or air hoar, it gave the tree a white glow I hadn't expected. Shutter: 1/125; Aperture: f/7.1; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm

The God Tree

Tree near Route 4 and Highway 143
Photograph by Tom Atwood

A friend of mine, Annette Mueller, calls this the "God Tree." It's a sort of landmark along Highway 143 near Marine, Illinois. I spent some time with it on a godawful cold morning this morning. Like almost everything, the tree becomes less mysterious the closer you get to it. But still, it is an amazing tree. So amazing I took almost 200 pictures of it as the sun rose, revealing hoarfrost on the branches. More photos of the tree later. Shutter: 1/640; Aperture: f/7.1; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm

The transformation of snow

Woodlawn Cemetery, Edwardsville, Illinois
December 25, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I hadn't planned to spend Christmas morning in a cemetery, but driving down St. Louis Street in Edwardsville, looking for snow pictures, I saw Woodlawn Cemetery. I have always thought it was a beautiful place, but too often, photographs of cemeteries resemble creepy Halloween scenes, so I had avoided taking any photos there. Until Christmas Day. The fresh snow overnight transformed the cemetery, the "creepiness" forced aside by this new light that covered Woodlawn, cold and pure as the driven snow. Shutter: 1/30; Aperture: f/10; ISO: 100; Focal length:18 mm

Christmas portrait

Ellen Atwood, December 25, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Tom Atwood Media offers winter portrait sessions for hardy Midwesterners. Portraits made in the dead of winter, or even now in very early winter, allow your warmth to shine through against an icy, gray backdrop. Cheeks are rosier, the skin is a bit tighter, and once the numbness sets in, these photo sessions become almost euphoric. So much so that Ellen didn't want to leave the Gardens at SIU Edwardsville. In fact, she is still there, leaning against this tree, almost as if stuck to it. Shutter: 1/200; f/2.5; ISO: 100; Focal length: 35 mm

To schedule your winter portrait, contact Tom Atwood Media before the next warm front moves through!

Merry Christmas from Goshen Road

Goshen Road near Edwardsville
December 24, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

The snow began falling early on Christmas Eve, and continued into the night. Shooting while it's snowing is more difficult than after the snow has fallen. The falling snow in this picture looks more like falling streaks than snow. Almost like falling stars against the barn, which is also falling, very slowly. Shutter: 1/640; Aperture: f/4; ISO: 800; Focal length: 18 mm.

Way of Lights

Way of Lights
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Usually I practice moderation when it comes to photography. A less-is-more kind of shooter. But this is the holiday season, and like the guy at the office Christmas party who has one too many and gets a little sloppy, I am guilty of some excess Christmas spirit here, I admit. At least, excess saturation, contrast, ISO and exposure. The excessive lights, however, all 1,700,000  of them, are courtesy of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. As for the tripod shadow on the sidewalk? At the time I was too drunk to notice. Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/22; ISO: 800; Focal length: 18 mm

Drive-thru Christmas

Way of Lights
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows
Photograph by Tom Atwood

What I love about the "Way of Lights" is its 1960s feel. After taking pictures here Wednesday night I drove through White Castle in Collinsville on my way home just to make the journey complete. Christmas and dinner without even leaving your car. Now, that's America! Don't worry about gas, or electricity, or the vanishing night. Just sit back and enjoy the 1.7 million lights that line this one-and-a-half-mile drive. Crank up some Christmas music on your car radio and loosen your seatbelt--it's 1969! Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/22; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm

Moonrise

Twin Hill Lane
Photograph by Tom Atwood

The moon gives all photographers an equal chance. Each night it's the same moon for everybody, except on nights when it's new, or hiding behind clouds. The moon is beautiful, and adds an eternal element to landscape photos, but it is also extremely difficult to photograph. It's very bright, for one thing, and tends to outshine everything around it. And it moves very fast, making long exposures almost impossible. To its credit, the moon is always on time. Comes up exactly when it's supposed to, and sets right on time. The challenge, for a photographer, is finding something interesting to put around it. In this case, clouds and a farm on Twin Hill Lane. Shutter: 1/40; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 100; Focal length: 200 mm (Double-click to enlarge image)

The empty lot

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Sometimes a photograph is almost too real. The focus becomes a burden, too sharp. Too much detail. In this case, it's the asphalt in the empty parking lot of Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The painted lines. The shadow. The emptiness. When a photo is too real like this one, it raises questions. Where is everybody? How come the photographer left his shadow in the picture? What is he trying to say? Why is life so empty? I mean, the parking lot, not life. Just kidding! Photo humor. Shutter: 1/320; Aperture: f/4.5; ISO: 200; Focal length: 18 mm (Double-click to see larger image)

Impressionism

Mississippi River at the Chain of Rocks
Photograph by Tom Atwood

This is about as abstract as I get. Generally in landscape photography the goal is to create a a fairly accurate representation of reality. But capturing the energy of the Mississippi River at the one point where it becomes unnavigable, the "chain of rocks," is impossible in a short freeze frame. So, a longer exposure (6/10's of a second) is needed to reveal the river's movement over the anticline exposure. It also gives the overall image a surreal appearance, enhanced in editing by desaturating the photo. Shutter: .6 seconds; Aperture: f/22; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm

Golden

Golden Eagle above the Mississippi
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Some eagles get all the glory. Usually, the bald ones. The Golden Eagle is just as talented, powerful and beautiful, but lacks a good publicist. In Europe and Asia, however, the birds are regarded with almost mystic reverence, where they are known to hunt and kill deer and even wolves. Along the Mississippi River at Alton, though, most binoculars and telephoto lenses are trained on the more glamorous Bald Eagles that draw tourists to town in the winter. Meanwhile, Golden Eagles like this one soar over the river often unnoticed. Shutter: 1/400; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 100; Focal length: 200 mm.

The Vanishing Night

Gateway Arch
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I remember when the Gateway Arch wasn't lit at night. Okay, I even remember watching as the arch was being built. No lights then, either. For years, the arch stood on the riverfront at night as a giant silhouette against the St. Louis skyline. Then, in 2001, 44 powerful floodlights were installed at the base of the arch, pointing up, illuminating not only the stainless steel monument, but also the night sky, including any low clouds passing above it, as they did on this winter evening not long ago. A shining example of excessive lighting that continues to erode the night sky. Shutter: 13 seconds; Aperture: f/13; ISO: 100; Focal length: 55 mm.

Best of Landscapes gallery created on Smugmug

This new gallery on Smugmug.com features a collection of the best landscape photos by photographer Tom Atwood during the past year. To see high quality images and order prints, double click on any photo above and you will be linked to Smugmug. Prints are available in a variety of sizes and finishes. To see prices, just click "Buy" on any photo in the gallery. To see all landscape photographs by Tom Atwood on Smugmug, click here.

Living near the refinery

South Roxana, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I can't really explain my fascination with the nearby refinery. Maybe it's an obsession. To me it is a visually stunning place. And I realize I may be in a minority. This photo was taken on a windy, clear night. If you look closely, you can see stars above the ConocoPhillips Wood River Refinery. Just like the people who live in this apartment building can right across the street. Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/16; ISO: 200; Focal length: 18 mm

Happy Halloween 2011

October (from the calendar "Vanishing Night 2011")
Pin Oak & Fruit Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

A spooky photo for October from the Tom Atwood Media calendar, "The Vanishing Night 2011." The photographs in this calendar depict erosion of the natural sky by artificial lighting. Light pollution. Except in very rare, dark places, scattered light is almost inescapable. Especially near cities like St. Louis. The night sky that has inspired people for thousands of years is vanishing before our very eyes. The calendar features 12 photos by Tom Atwood. Order online at zazzle.com.

Killing two birds with one stone

ConocoPhillips Wood River Refinery
South Roxana, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

For the past year I have been trying to photograph two unrelated subjects without much luck.  One is the ConocoPhillips Wood River Refinery in South Roxana. Surrounded by high chain link fences and ambitious security guards, the refinery has proven tough to capture. The other subject? The birds that will one day take over the world, flocks of starlings, billions of them, that seem to swarm aimlessly, and yet as one conscious organism, each winter. Monday evening, though, I got lucky. I decided to move away from the refinery and shoot it from a large, frozen pond along Highway 111. As I began to set up on the ice, I saw them: a trillion starlings circling the refinery, preparing to roost for the night in tall trees around the pond. You don't know how happy this photo makes me. It is the one stone I used to kill two birds. Figuratively. Shutter: 1/250; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 400; Focal length: 125 mm. Temperature: 16 F.

Event

Jerusalem Road
December 12, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Yesterday's snow was an event. Not exactly a blizzard, but close enough. In many of the lovely, flat areas of Madison County, there is nothing to stop the wind and blowing snow. The result is something like this photograph taken during the storm near Hamel, Illinois. The point of a photo like this is not to create a pretty picture of the snow--a greeting card photo--but instead to capture the event. And this particular event was harsh, cold, bleak, blinding and full of power. Hopefully, just like this image on Jerusalem Road. Shutter: 1/200; Aperture: f/7.1; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm

Winter

Pin Oak Road near Edwardsville, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Sometimes winter helps. I'm not saying this wetland just off Pin Oak Road isn't beautiful year round. I just think it's slightly more lovely frozen, and with a little snow. Otherwise it looks like a swamp. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Shutter: 1/125; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm

Depth of Field

Web. Photograph by Tom Atwood.

When you hear photographers talk about "depth of field," what they really mean is what is and isn't in focus in a photograph. Often, what's not in focus is just as important. In this photo of a tiny spider web along Fruit Road near Interstate 55, if the background grass and brush were sharp, it would be difficult to see the detail of the web. Opening the lens wide (the camera's aperture) creates a shallow depth of field, meaning not much will be in focus. Anything in front of the web (closer to the lens) or behind it (farther away) will be soft. That's often exactly what a photographer wants, so that the subject--in this case the web--stands out. Shutter: 1/125; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 200; Focal length: 42 mm.

Desolation

Pin Oak Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I wish I had taken more pictures on this particular winter morning, but there's a good reason why I didn't. My wife Sally asked me recently what photo equipment I might want for Christmas? The first thing that popped into my mind was gloves. The kind with the fingers cut out. Or maybe longjohns. I'm always impressed when I see snowy photos like this, because I know someone had to go out and stand in the wind, tears running down his cheeks until freezing, and fiddle with the camera settings, cursing. And then the lens fogs up when you get back in the car to warm up. But I'm not complaining. So, I'll take either an 80 mm f/2.8 lens for Christmas, or a ski mask. Shutter: 1/500; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 100; Focal length: 135 mm.

Numbers

Pranger Family Christmas Card
Designed by Patti Pranger
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Taking one person's portrait is easy. In fact, it can be downright fun. Two people gets more difficult. A family of four can be trying. But when you photograph a family of nine, the numbers are definitely against you. On this day in Calhoun County with the Pranger family, there was another number we all had to deal with - and it was 100. As in degrees fahrenheit. How did we manage to come up with a Christmas card on a day like this?  Lots of pictures (as in 100s) and a towel. One of my favorite shoots ever.

Details

Main Street, Du Quoin, Illinois, 1963
Photograph by Al Kennedy

The detail in old photographs is amazing sometimes. This picture, taken by Al Kennedy in my backyard in 1963, was printed from a 4 X 5 negative. My dad (standing, far right) had just built the swimming pool for campers who attended his Egyptian Music Camp. At least, that was his excuse. When I look at this photo, I don't really notice the main subject - swimmers posing for the camera. What I see are wonderful details: the Coke machine we had in our carport (also, allegedly, for campers), the Motorola radio on the patio table, an ashtray with my father's pipes, the slip-on "tennis shoes" my mom is wearing, two children walking down the sidewalk in front of our house. (Who are they?) And I remember the way my dad would stand when he was talking. It's all there. 1963. For more photos and information about Egyptian Music Camp, join the Egyptian Music Camp page on facebook.

Trespassing

St. Louis Riverfront, December 6, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

East St. Louis is one of my favorite places to take pictures, especially the banks of the Mississippi near the Eads Bridge. It's like a front row seat for one of the most beautiful and distinctive skylines anywhere. The problem is - it is slightly illegal to be there. To get to the East St. Louis riverfront requires crossing several railroad tracks and a gravel road owned by Cargill at its giant grain elevator where barges are loaded with corn. There are "No Trespassing" signs all over. But at night, those signs are difficult to read, especially in the blinding lights from across the river. Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/22; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm.

Your own backyard

Watershed Nature Center
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Sometimes I envy photographers who live near the mountains or sea, jealous of their dramatic photos. I live in Illinois, a state that is for the most part flat, and some might say, geographically undistinguished. But after taking landscape photos in and around Madison County during the past year, I have decided that this area is as photogenic as any other, you just have to look harder. And the advantage is the element of surprise. People expect photos of the Rockies to be inspiring and majestic, but are often shocked by the unexpected beauty of their own backyard. For example, the Watershed Nature Center, a nature preserve within the city of Edwardsville. As part of the Cahokia Creek watershed, it is 40 acres of wetlands, prairies and pictures waiting to be taken. Shutter: 1/60; Aperture: f/10; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm. 

Being there

September, from the calendar, "Madison County 2011"
Strasen Lane
Photograph by Tom Atwood

The secret to good photography, in my opinion, is being there. Sounds simple, but it's not. By being there, I mean two things. First, you have to get out of bed, usually early in the morning, and go somewhere. You have to be there. In the case of this picture, I had to be on a dead-end county road at dawn on a fall morning with dense, patchy fog. Then, once you're there, you have to think about where to be specifically when you click the shutter. The sunrise on this morning was lovely, but the sun overpowered everything else, including the fog. So, I moved off the road, trespassed slightly, and put the tree between my camera and the sun. Sometimes even an inch can make a difference. Usually always.
Shutter: 1/800; Aperture: f/8; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm
(By the way, zazzle.com is offering the calendar, "Madison County 2011," for half-price today only. To order, click this link, and be sure to enter the promo code JINGLESALE73 at checkout.)

Think small

Smoky Hill Trail Monument
Denver, Colorado
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I was having a hard time photographing the Smoky Hill Trail Monument in Denver, so I gave up. At least I gave up on trying to shoot the entire monument, which is also known as Pioneer Fountain, on the corner of Colfax and Broadway between the Denver Post and the Colorado State Capitol. Instead, I began looking for smaller, unusual features of the sculpture by Frederick William MacMonnie. The result is a very different kind of photograph, one that raises questions, suggests a story, and to be honest, is kind of creepy. By the way, the fountain was installed in downtown Denver in 1911, as part of Mayor Robert Speer's "beautification of Denver" plan. The monument marks the end of Smoky Hill Trail, an ancient Native trail along the smoky river that provided the fastest route west across Kansas for thousands of prospectors making their way to Colorado during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush from 1858 to 1861. I imagine that from time to time those prospectors ran into this beast, or other beasts like it, along the way. Shutter: 1/160; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 1600; Focal length: 50 mm.

The Vanishing Night

Moraine Valley near Estes Park, Colorado
Photograph by Tom Atwood

When is the last time you stepped outside at night and saw something like this? My guess is - never. Skies like this one in Rocky Mountain National Park only exist in a few remaining, rare, truly dark places. As a photographer who specializes in long exposures at night, I see scattered light everywhere, especially near St. Louis where I live. The night sky really is vanishing, washed away by one artificial, unnecessary light after another. This picture is the cover (and the month of June) for the new calendar "The Vanishing Night 2011," featuring 12 landscape photos that capture the disappearing night sky. It is available at zazzle.com. Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/1.8; ISO: 800; Focal length: 18 mm.

Joni McCool

Gateway Arch, St. Louis
Photograph by Tom Atwood

This photo is dedicated to Joni McCool, an exceptional landscape photographer in Mississippi. Joni literally focuses her camera on the Emerald Coast, and the vast, almost endless Gulf of Mexico. But one of her best photos of the Gulf, in my opinion, is an extreme close up of drops of water splashing as a wave crashes onshore. A very tiny image illustrating an enormous seascape. Here's my Midwest version of a Joni McCool photo: one of the stainless steal welded seams holding together the Gateway Arch. A very tiny image illustrating an enormous architectural landscape. Thanks Joni. Shutter: 1/30; Aperture: f/3.5; ISO: 1400; Focal length: 18 mm.

Less is more II

Rocky Mountain National Park
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Sometimes less is more: in this case, less contrast, less color and even less clarity. The early morning low clouds take care of the clarity, leaving the distant mountains a vague and diffuse. The thick atmosphere, compressed even more by using a 200 mm lens, naturally reduces the contrast and color, too (and I did desaturate this photo a bit in processing). The result, hopefully, is a photograph that brings peace to all who view it. Ommmmm. Shutter: 1/60; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 400; Focal length: 200 mm.