The Other Side...

Chicago Botanic Garden

My Impression: It is really a nice place to spend a day. Even though Spring is the best time to visit, you can go till fall because there is always something in bloom.

This place offers many opportunities for you to take good photographs. However watch for people getting into your photos. This will not be a problem when taking macro shots of flowers and butterflies (yes, I know you always wanted to do that!) but should be a thing to be careful of when you want to shoot a rows of flowers.

Plan on taking a tripod (and use it). This would be really useful if the sky is overcast and the shutter speed is not high enough to give sharp photos. Review your photos on the LCD screen by zooming in to make sure that what appears to be a sharp photo, is really is. Take a spare, unused set of batteries. I learned it the hard way when my 4AA batteries died right in the middle of the Rose Garden. I check the spares but none of them had enough juice in them. I finally turned to my film SLR which I had (fortunately) in my bag. The batteries lasted for only 71 photos even though I sparingly used the LCD,...Coming to think of it now, I guess that was because I had turned on the Beep Sound option.



Anand's Tip: If your camera has threads for attaching external lens/filters, do yourself a favor and buy a Circular Polarizer filter. This filter helps you avoid distracting reflections and improves colors.

I plan to post some before and after photographs using the Circular Polarizer and information about where to buy them soon.

Practical Info: The admission to the park is free. A parking fee applies. There are Trams that you can board. More info here Tram Tours

Out of the three tours offered, avoid the Grand Tram Tour. This tour takes to the periphery of the garden and you don't get to see anything up close.

More information about the garden can be found on the official website. See this for more practical info Index. See some of my photos from the garden and feel free to leave a comment.

Water Lilly.

Chicago Botanic Garden.

Chicago Botanic Garden.

Taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden. A strong sidelight created a nice contrast for the flower to stand out from the background.