I hate to keep posting storm photos over and over again but I think that the one thing I love shooting as much as I love shooting Chicago is the infinite ways that weather has an impact on the way the city looks.  From sunsets to snow to rain to clouds, the weather can totally change your perspective of the same old locations.  And to keep things interesting and different, I touched up these photos with some fun effects….as much as I hate to do it…and promise not to do it too often.

As I was driving home from work today, I had a line of storms following me down 290.  As I got into the city, I was able to look around and take in the views.  As I was going through Grant Park, I noticed a huge cloud formation building behind the Aon Center.  So at the first stoplight I got to, I whipped out the iPhone and caught a few shots of the familiar skyscraper dwarfed by clouds that must have topped out at 30,000 feet.

I made my way up Lake Shore Drive and couldn’t help but watch the storm rolling east over Lake Michigan.  I’m always amazed to see the bands of rain as they connect the lake to the clouds above.  With the dark gray sky above and a deep navy blue lake below, it was very easy to get distracted.

When I made it to my exit, I took a little detour to Montrose Harbor.  There were quite a few people along the lake that were just watching the clouds roll out over the skyline.  I was surprised to see several groups of small sailboats racing as they often do just to the south.  I’m not sure I would have been out there given how windy it was by the time I got there.  But regardless, it was a nice sight to see after a long day at work. 

I also had a chance to make some friends!  There were about 30 or so seagulls just hanging out panhandling for scraps of food from the folks hangin by the lake.  Some of the more brave birds even decided get up close and pose for…or photobomb… a few shots.

One of the questions I get most often when I tell people I live in Chicago but work in the western suburbs is “Oh wow.  How do you put up with that commute?  Is it really worth it?”  And I will always say yes.  For reasons just like this.  Because after a long crappy day of sitting in a cubicle staring at a computer, I get to see things like this.  I get to take in the awesome skyline, drive past a beautiful lake and I can pull up to the harbor on the way home for 20 minutes to help me forget about everything that happened over the past 8-10 hours.  You just can’t do that outside of the city.