Some time ago I was in Chicago for business and also planned to add some time to do some architectural and long exposure photography. Since Milennium Park and the Cloud Gate sculpture (I prefer the more casual nickname, the Bean) had been built since I had moved away from the city, I had never seen either one so they were on my list for sure.

I expected them to be pretty crowded with people but when I first arrived the crowds were even more than I had anticipated. Since I am much more comfortable working without a lot of people in my images, I knew I had to budget several early mornings to hopefully get some images that would better fit the ideas that I had for these structures.

For the most part, that plan worked fine and I was there before sunrise each day which was made easier as I was staying in a hotel within easy walking distance. For this early morning image I had some clouds moving toward me from the lake and a 4 minute exposure gave me the effect I hoped for.