Not Just Gothic: The Glassy Side of the University of Chicago Campus

The University of Chicago is known for its ivy-lined buildings and gothic architecture, but next to the University's iconic quads lies an expanse of glassy modern buildings. From the University of Chicago hospital to Manuseto library, the newly-developed areas surrounding the quads stand in stark contrast to the center of campus. These photos portray the lesser-seen side of the University of Chicago campus, where glass and steel replace ivy and gargoyles. Enjoy!

a quickr pickr post

Winter and Sping

I've been a bit behind posting photos because I've been busy working on my senior thesis all year. That's done now, so here is are a bunch from the last six months all together. More to come soon!

Hyde Park's Promontory Point frozen over during the depths of winter.

The University of Chicago Quadrangles plastered with snow after a storm this winter.

Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

Wildflowers on the coast in Half Moon Bay, California.

A banana slug on the floor of a redwood forest near Half Moon Bay, California

The floor of a redwood forest near Half Moon Bay, California.

A one minute exposure of Bond Chapel on the University of Chicago campus. Used a piece of welding glass as an ND filter, which worked surprisingly well.

a quickr pickr post

Chicago Winter in Black and White

     Man it's cold out. After spending winter break in the Bay Area I just returned to Chicago - a massive downgrade in terms of weather. Chicago is being hit by a polar vortex full of ultra-cold air, causing temperatures to drop to around -40°F including wind chill. That means I just lost around 100°F of warmth compared to the Bay Area. Yeahhh, don't think I'll be doing much photography this week. Below are a series of photos taken during a comparatively warm snowstorm in December. At this point December's weather looks balmy....

A security guard at the University of Chicago stays warm by standing over a steam vent.

The University of Chicago quads dusted by a late-night snowfall.

The skeleton of the Institute for Molecular Engineering building at the University of Chicago.

a quickr pickr post

Spring 2013

A thin moon above the University of Chicago.

The Harper Center at the Booth School of Business

Rockefeller Chapel, The University of Chicago

Rockefeller Chapel, The University of Chicago

The glassy side of the University of Chicago

The top floor of a parking lot at the University of Chicago during a thunder storm.

Heavy showers at a parking lot at the University of Chicago.

a quickr pickr post

Winter White

It's 85 degrees in Chicago right now, so needless to say I'm a little late in posting this set of black and white images from the UChicago campus during winter. More comings soon!

A woman walks accross the Classics Quad at the University of Chicago during a snow storm.

The Theological Seminary at the University of Chicago. Shot from my dining room table.

The Classics Quad at the University of Chicago during a snow storm.

Rockefeller Chapel, The University of Chicago

A pedestrian near Rockefeller Chapel, The University of Chicago.

Harper Memorial Library during a snow storm.

a quickr pickr post

UChicago Fall 2012

Fall on the UChicago campus is gorgeous - it's hard to resist stopping between classes to capture images of the colorful leaves surrounding the gothic (and not-so-gothic) architecture. Unfortunately,  the leaves all pretty much gone now, so campus will be cold and bland until we get our first snow (when it will be really cold and really bland, but that pretty wintery sort of bland.)

a quickr pickr post

Three Seasons

This is a fun little photo manipulation I did earlier this month of Kent, one of the buildings on campus. I had a photo I took last year during the snowpacalypse, and another that I took from the same spot during the fall, so I figured I would just run out to the quads during sunset and get a third photo from the same spot and blend them all together. Blending them was a little tricky because I didn't do a very good job of lining the photos up perfectly, so I couldn't just split the photo into vertical thirds for each season. In any case after a little tinkering this is what I came up with and I'm fairly happy with the final result.

 

Quad Lamp Posts

I've been enjoying seeing the light hit the light posts on the quads during sunset for the past few months, so I did a series of photos focused on the light posts on the UChicago Quads. Enjoy!  

a quickr pickr post

UChicago Winter 2012

Winter has come again, meaning its time to pull out the boots, hats, and scarves. Surprisingly, though, the winter seems to have temporarily receded - temperatures reached the low-50s earlier this week. In any case, winter quarter has proven to be fairly busy for me - hence the lack of recent blog posts. I have been taking plenty of pictures, though. These images are from a few chilly weeks we had earlier this quarter and the warmer weeks we have had recently. I have a lot of photos of the Mansueto Library (the glass dome) because this winter is its first winter and it has been interesting to see what it looks like covered in snow.

 I have also been enjoying shooting with my iPhone. I even got one of the photos I took with my iPhone printed on the front page of the school newspaper (something I've been trying to do every since I got a new phone). Newspaper is a very forgiving print medium, but it still shows that the iPhone camera is very capable.

Enjoy the photos! More soon to come.

Flurries broke days of unseasonably warm weather, dusting the Mansueto Library with snow.

A gorgeous winter sunset in Oakland, California.

The garyole above the anatomy building at UChicago.

Max Palevsky Residence Hall at the University of Chicago.

The C Bench in front of Cobb Hall at the University of Chicago.

This is the Mansueto Library's first Chicago winter.

The snow-capped side of the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago.

Snow creeps up on the glass surface of the Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago.

Students make their way to class during a snow storm in Chicago. Taken from the third floor of Wieboldt Hall at the University of Chicago.

I wanted to get some macro shots of snowflakes, but the only place I could get them to stick without melting was my furry jacket. So I just shot them there. Taken with 50mm 1.8 + full set of macro tubes and heavily cropped.

The University of Chicago quads during a snow storm.

Rosenwald Hall in the midst of a snow storm in Chicago. Taken on the University of Chicago campus.

The glass top of the Mansueto Library emerges from the snow-covered landscape.

Rockefeller Chapel on an usually warm February day in Chicago.

Stained glass on Rockefeller Chapel is illuminated by the afternoon sun. 

a quickr pickr post