A Grand Dame: Lobby of the Chicago Theater by taffy

A Grand Dame: Lobby of the Chicago Theater

The Chicago Theater was the site of a photography meet up group today, including a private tour of the interior -- from the elegant lobby to backstage with all the ropes, ladders, props, and signatures on the wall of all who have performed there (thousands of signatures -- Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton, Conan O'Brian, casts from major Broadway musicals, magicians, etc.). It was an amazing hour -- the guards had to chase us out as no one wanted to leave. I thought I'd be posting the onion all week -- thank you so, so much to your wonderful response to my simple shot. It was so encouraging since it was so unlike what I usually shoot. It even ended up on PP -- a huge treat! Today, it's back to the 'Oh, yeah, another structure shot' -- but the onion will be reappearing later this week!
Wide angle 14mm, three bracketed shots, processed in Photomatix.
Gorgeous!
March 23rd, 2015  
Awesome shot
March 23rd, 2015  
Wow, Taffy. I love the lines and curves on this. Wonderful!
March 23rd, 2015  
Oh, the onion was yours - I saw that on PP! Very nicely done with the white background. This photo is superb - what other words could you use! It would be all evening gowns and tuxedos to go to a show here! fav
March 23rd, 2015  
Gorgeous. Love old architecture. Fav.
March 23rd, 2015  
Such wonderful old architecture. Fabulous photo, you have captured so much.
March 23rd, 2015  
Fabulous composition! Fav.
March 23rd, 2015  
Now, that's a stair case we can all get into! Sorry... onto!
March 23rd, 2015  
so I just missed a meet up. oh well. :( And thank you for the info on your lens. I need a lens that will go wider than what I have... I learned that real fast when I was in Chicago this past week.
March 23rd, 2015  
Wow. Another structure shot? Fabulous and amazing is what it is. And I knew it was yours. Fav!!
March 23rd, 2015  
This looks such an interesting and opulent place. And great that you could join a photo group as well. I hope you can put some more up from that night.
March 23rd, 2015  
@jsw0109 It's too bad you weren't here for this. I think you'd have enjoyed it! Yep, Chicago requires a wide angle for almost everything -- it took me a few years to figure out how to use one, though!
March 23rd, 2015  
@888rachel Haha -- I think this whole week will be the theater, the flower show (maybe) and the onion which lives on!
March 23rd, 2015  
@maggiemae Thanks! Yep, we all looked a bit out of place in our jeans, yoga pants, down jackets, etc.
March 23rd, 2015  
@taffy Yes, I was wondering what other food might grow good sprouts! Haha.
March 23rd, 2015  
Gorgeous opulence - how do you get these shots without people? Do you go at a certain time of the day?
March 23rd, 2015  
Just amazing how you captured so much of this in one shot. It's a beautiful reminder of how things were. Must have been a wonderful day to see all this up close.
March 23rd, 2015  
Beautifully ornate :)
March 23rd, 2015  
Sounds like a fabulous tour! And what a fabulous shot! I would love to see that, but your shot makes it look like I am right there.
March 23rd, 2015  
Faulously ornamental shot
March 23rd, 2015  
@dibzgreasley It was tricky with all the photographers in the meetup group. I actually waited til they had all photographed the stairs and were off to another section...then I went back to get this shot.
March 23rd, 2015  
Beautiful
March 23rd, 2015  
Wonderful shot Taffy, I love theaters and would love to do a photo book on the details of these theaters.
March 23rd, 2015  
Gorgeous capture with amazing point of view.
March 23rd, 2015  
What a magnificent building, gorgeous photo!
March 23rd, 2015  
beautifully composed and processed shot ... fav
March 23rd, 2015  
Looks like a gorgeous theater. Beautifully captured too.
March 23rd, 2015  
This is gorgeous! What a neat opportunity!
March 23rd, 2015  
Such wonderful architecture, so elegant and stylish! Love the lighting:)
March 23rd, 2015  
beautiful ornate details.
March 23rd, 2015  
Wonderful composition. Good there are no people about, which allows you to see all the details better.
March 23rd, 2015  
what a fabulous looking building
March 23rd, 2015  
What a beautiful elegant building!! So lucky to have these tours!! Wonderful image Taffy!! Fav!
March 23rd, 2015  
What opulence !! so luxuriously beautiful !
March 23rd, 2015  
A classic (and, as always, superb) Taffy interior. I love how you handle these compositions with your WA-lens and your HDR-processing is spot-on natural here. Well done - I'm sure the theatre would want to buy this one from you!
March 23rd, 2015  
Stunning shot and a great place for a meet up.
March 23rd, 2015  
Opulence at it's best! Fabulous capture of this magnificent theatre. It must have been quite a treat to get the tour!
March 23rd, 2015  
What a stunning piece of architecture! Fave!
March 23rd, 2015  
Wow, I knew this was yours before I saw the name. It is just amazing. Fave fave fave. The processing is just sublime.
March 23rd, 2015  
This is beautiful I love bracketing. Having seen the results you, Chantal and others get have encouraged me to try it. I want to play with it more this spring.
March 23rd, 2015  
Amazing intricate architecture and you captured it wonderfully well. Fav.
March 23rd, 2015  
What an incredibly ornate and beautiful place. Beautifully captured and a fav.
March 23rd, 2015  
Incredible interior shot. They are your specialty, that's for sure! What a treat to get to tour this fantastic place with your camera in tow. I imagine you have dozens if not hundreds of great pics of this theater now.
March 23rd, 2015  
What a grand building, no wonder they had to chase you out. Must have been lots of photo opportunities in here.
March 23rd, 2015  
VERY POSH
March 23rd, 2015  
Great HDR processing.
March 23rd, 2015  
Simply stunning Taffy. The HDR is wrought just perfectly. That lengths works so nicely with your D610. The Nikkor 12-24 by any chance?
March 23rd, 2015  
March 23rd, 2015  
Fabulous shot, perspective, lines, light, golden tones
March 23rd, 2015  
Beautiful shot Taffy. The owners could use this as part of their marketing!
March 23rd, 2015  
@frankhymus It's the 14-24 Nikkor -- a wonderful lens and perfect for situations where a tripod isn't allowed since it's a pretty steady lens.
March 23rd, 2015  
Beautiful shot of this elegant theater! I can imagine women descending the stairs in stunning evening dresses!
March 23rd, 2015  
Wow what a place, feel I would like to relax there now!!
March 23rd, 2015  
Wow! Totally gorgeous! FAV!
March 23rd, 2015  
Taffy when you do your 3 shots do you use a tripod? This has wonderful detail and dynamic range
March 23rd, 2015  
What amazing Place and achitecture! How are you Taffy, how is the housing coming along?
March 23rd, 2015  
@susale Thanks, Suse! And for asking about housing...the contractors are making progress, slowly and steadily. Drywall is almost up so I'm guessing another 2 months and we'll be back in our place...just in time to leave for the summer! And very sad to leave our current place.
March 23rd, 2015  
Very elegant decor. A beautiful shot. Fav!! 😃
March 23rd, 2015  
@tosee I use a tripod whenever possible, and an external shutter release. But, for a lot of my indoor architecture shots, I'm in places (like this one) where I can't use it. So I do things like lean against a wall and brace my camera that way, or set it on a ledge (holding it tightly) or a table or something to steady it. My 14-24 is my best lens for hand-held shots of any kind and I even will use it on the DX mode rather than use one of my other lenses, if WA isn't right for the shot. It gives me a 21 - 35 range in DX.
March 23rd, 2015  
@taffy I am glad to hear things are moving along and that you are enjoying your current living arragements. But as always I am looking forwards your exciting journey in the island
March 23rd, 2015  
Fabulous image, great details and light throughout the shot. - fav
March 23rd, 2015  
What an rich and elegant scene, very well composed a always.
March 23rd, 2015  
Amazing place and photo. Nice description too. fav.
March 23rd, 2015  
Wow Taffy this is just gorgeous! Love that interior and you did it justice with the HDR!
March 23rd, 2015  
Wonderful shot.
March 23rd, 2015  
exquisite!
March 23rd, 2015  
Very plush, I love the detail and colours. Stunning shot
March 23rd, 2015  
Gorgeous!! Wow
March 23rd, 2015  
Stunning capture!
March 23rd, 2015  
Amazing shapes and lines
March 23rd, 2015  
The HDR treatment works very well on this image, plus I love al the curves.
March 23rd, 2015  
This is fantastic, you've caught all the detail perfectly
March 23rd, 2015  
Wow the interior design is amazing!
Love this wide angle shot Taffy.............someday I will have to invest in one!
FAV
March 24th, 2015  
Magnificent theater and a very lovely shot of it!
March 24th, 2015  
An awesome shot and processing!
March 24th, 2015  
Love the complexity of this shot. Old theatres are architectural splendours. Fav
March 24th, 2015  
The lighting, the color, and the interior design is simply marvelous!! Awesome shot!
March 24th, 2015  
simply spectacular
March 24th, 2015  
Awesome picture and perspective. Congratulations on making the Trending Page and the PP. Well deserved.
March 24th, 2015  
Wow! Great curving lines
March 24th, 2015  
Stunning!
March 24th, 2015  
Fantastic shot
March 24th, 2015  
Just perfect!! The wide angle and the HDR serves this shot so well.....I cannot believe you did this handheld! Is this one of those places where they do not allow the use of tripods? The colors and the curves on this are just so wonderful...FAV!! Oh, and congrats on PP!
March 24th, 2015  
Totally gorgeous! Amazing processing...almost 3D.
March 25th, 2015  
Amazing staircase!
March 25th, 2015  
Wow, this is so beautiful, Taffy. I love all the detail you captured and the angle of your shot. Sure is beautiful inside. FAV
March 26th, 2015  
Gorgeous!
March 26th, 2015  
Beautiful capture on a lovely building! Congrats on making TT!
March 27th, 2015  
Beautiful subject and nicely edited! Congratulations on making the Top Twenty Taffy! FAV!
March 27th, 2015  
gorgeous shot of a spectacular grand dame!
March 27th, 2015  
Fabulous image!
March 27th, 2015  
Wonderful. fav.
March 28th, 2015  
Completely beautiful and FAV!
March 28th, 2015  
Awesome capture, fabulous building so beautiful.
March 29th, 2015  
Wonderful !!
March 30th, 2015  
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