joshua l smith

“Forest Spotlight”

I’d passed this scene many times; the singular shaft of sunlight in the forest skylight; however, there was nowhere to park & the road has a curb too. Instead I found the nearest spot and decided to walk to the scene.

I wonder if you could find a sacred sword in that spotlight?

"Ships & Masts"

#photography
#nature
#naturephotography
#keithfrenchphotographyworkshops
#shawneenationalforest

"Up River Flashes"
Back in 2023, I wanted to photograph the fireworks, but not from the normal location on Chicago Street. So I found this little hole in the trees along the river. I nearly dropped my tripod into the water because the hill was steep, but I really like the uniqueness of the photos.

"Second Chances"

#photography
#keithfrenchphotographyworkshops
#mushroom
#shawneenationalforest

In September, I captured photos of Kitchenware; now I'm following up with food. :)
#photography #monochrome #kitchenseries

“Classic Coupe” – British Car Festival

#photography #carshow #carphotography

“Turning Colors”
I’ve taken many photos along this theme over the years – I absolutely love the strong silhouette border and pop of colors in the sunlight.
#keithfrenchphotographyworkshops
#photography
#shawneenationalforest

“Lean Into the Morning Mist”
Sarah and I have also talked about taking a vacation down to Southern Illinois to see the natural beauty for years. By the time the trip was complete, we had hundreds of fantastic images.

#keithfrenchphotographyworkshops
#photography
#shawneenationalforest

"Spot of Color"
ECC has many locations where plants have been integrated into the buildings; rooftop gardens, between buildings, and even small court yards. As I’ve walked around looking at the architecture, the spots of nature leap out with their beauty and color.
#photography #nature #flower

"Passing By"

One of my photographer friends has taken images that are similar to this concept; what happens if you photograph while the crossing guards close? But what if you merge traffic, train, casino boat, and crossing guard?

#photography #lighttrails #metra #lights

"Evening Moonrise"

#photography #elgin #ecc #moonrise

“Concrete Film Noise”

#photography #monochrome #bahaihouseofworship #bahai

"Symbols of a City"
#photography #mural #Chicago

"Neon Liquid"
I want my next photo to be better than the last image; a better composition or representation, or maybe a different, unique view. So, what if I took my idea from holiday lights – spinning the camera during the photo – and tried it during a longer exposure of fireworks?
#photography

"A New Day"

At this particular corner at the southwest corner of Herrick Forest Preserve, there are two trees standing alone. They’re not full, in fact that they’re kinda odd, but they make fantastic silhouettes against the pre-dawn hues of the late summer.

#photography #sunrise #silhouette

"Peeking Around"

#photography #monochrome #bahaihouseofworship #bahai

Anyway, I simply love this photo. I’ve shown it to a few people, one of whom said that it needs more tonal range or the addition of another color (roll back all that yellow to get some blue into the image)…but I like that early morning punch of yellow.
#photography #story

I’d missed all of those (in my imagination) wonderful photos.

So, for the next week, I stopped at the same three locations and captured sunrise photos, attempting to recreate those images that in my memory were perfect.
#photography #story

I took a dozen photos that I was very excited about, & once I got to my office, I turned my camera back on to see the images that I’d captured. That was how I discovered that my Sony doesn’t have any alert when you press the shutter that there are not SD cards in the camera...
#photography #story

“Sunrise Sparkle”

There’s a bit of a story behind this photo:
In late August and early September, the sun is at the exact correct spot for wonderful sunrise photos on my drive into work. A couple of days before this photo, the mixture of sunrise and fog was perfect.

#photography #sunrise #story

“Monochrome Ornamentation”

#photography #monochrome #bahaihouseofworship #bahai

"Blended With Nature"

While the House of Worship is visible from a distance, the grounds are equally impressive, but really only visible when you are walking around the building. The immaculate gardens are gorgeous & incredible, an astounding ongoing task for the staff of the House of Worship.

"Redirected" & "Inside Out"

#photography #abstract #navypier

"Nature's Airbrush"

#photography #sunrise #orange #nature #fog

“Shadows, Lines, Reflections”

This may be my favorite of the Lotus abstracts; I love the contrast between the shadows and glimmers of reflected sunlight.
#photography #carshow #Lotus #yellow #auto

"Metal Band T-Shirt"

#photography #fire #flames #orange

"Floral Sunlight"

There is something mystical about the weather worn, end of season flowers lit by the rising sun, almost magical.

#photography #nature #sunrise #flowers #sunlit

“Cars & Wires”
– Blue Line Photo Walk, Trains

#photography #monochrome #streetphotography #CTA #blueline

"Jungle Gym"

#photography #abstract #navypier

"Original Roadster"

#photography #carshow #lotus #yellow #britishcarfestival