How we captured a photo of the Obama Presidential Center despite restricted access
This week’s top photo comes from visual journalist Candace Dane Chambers.
What makes this photo important?
The Obama Presidential Center has been a much-discussed construction project in Chicago for the better part of a decade. It’s finally taking shape, and I was able to get an early glimpse at its progress alongside architecture critic Lee Bey. The centerpiece of the 20-acre campus is the museum building with a distinct concrete and granite exterior. Many feel the style is incongruent with the surrounding Jackson Park neighborhood, and our reporting on an exclusive site tour, led by co-lead architect Billie Tsien, offers some insight to the design rationale.
How I got this picture
The three-hour tour covered multiple portions of the campus, but our access — and my image making — was restricted. The 225-foot museum tower was a challenge to photograph in its entirety while keeping up with the tour and simultaneously recording video footage. After capturing a few obligatory wide shots, I decided to lean into studying the interplay of structure and silhouette created by the hot sun of the day. Rather than trying to expose the whole building evenly, I zoomed into a high point on the building where the sun was particularly reflective and dropped my exposure to exaggerate the shadow on the dark side.
Technical details:
Equipment: Canon EOS R5 with an RF 28-70mm f/2 L USM lens
Focal length: 51mm
Aperture: f/4.5
Exposure: 1/6400
ISO: 100
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Ingrid Guanume holds her month-old baby at her home on Nov. 7. Guanume’s husband was recently detained by ICE and is in Michigan awaiting a court date.
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A woman plays with her dog at Union Park located at 1501 W. Randolph St. on Nov. 10.
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Deangelo Tassin, 6, plays with a leaf near the memorial for Paul Hardwick, a Black waiter at the Palmer House Hotel who was fatally shot while being chased by a mob of white men, during a walking tour organized by the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project in the Loop on Nov. 8. The memorials were placed in different areas in the Loop to mark the approximate location where people were killed during the riots. The riots began after police failed to arrest a white man, who threw a stone at Eugene Williams, a Black kid, when he was swimming in Lake Michigan and led to his drowning.
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A resident yells at U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino and federal immigration enforcement agents during a stop near Fulton Avenue and Catalpa Street in Waukegan as Bovino leads a caravan, making several stops to question residents on their immigration status, in Waukegan and neighboring northern suburbs on Nov. 7.
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U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino stops near Fulton Avenue and Catalpa Street in Waukegan while leading a caravan of federal immigration enforcement agents, making several stops to question residents on their immigration status, in Waukegan and neighboring northern suburbs on Nov. 7.
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A driver with children in the back seat react to a federal immigration enforcement in Park City while U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino leads a caravan, making several stops to question residents on their immigration status, in Waukegan and neighboring northern suburbs, on Nov. 7.
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Flanked by U.S. Border Patrol officers, U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino leaves an office building at 566 W. Adams St. in the West Loop into a waiting SUV on Nov. 7.
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Gov. JB Pritzker walks away from Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) after a verbal dispute at an American Legion Veterans Day Ceremony at Manuel Perez Jr. Plaza at 4345 W. 26th St. in Little on Nov. 11.
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Theater director Robert Falls sits in the library at the Steppenwolf Theater in Lincoln Park on Nov. 4. Falls is directing his first production at the Steppenwolf, “Amadeus.”
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Activists are reflected in a Broadview police officer’s sunglasses during a protest on Beach Street near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Nov. 14.
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An Illinois State Police trooper returns a detainee’s eyeglasses during a skirmish with protesters on Beach Street near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Nov. 14.
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Residents watch a standoff between Chicago Police Department officers and protesters at 23rd Street and Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on Nov. 8.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams #18 celebrates as he walks off the field after the Bears beat the New York Giants 24-20 at Soldier Field on Nov. 9.
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Chicago Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. #99 celebrates with teammates after defensive end Montez Sweat #98 sacks New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart #6 during the first quarter at Soldier Field on Nov. 9.
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Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds #49 forces forces an incomplete pass from New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson #3 during the fourth quarter at Soldier Field on Nov. 9.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chicago Bears defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka #93 prepares to run onto the field for the New York Giants game Soldier Field on Nov. 9.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Rafael Veraza holds his young daughter, Ariana, during a press conference decrying federal agents’ use of force in Little Village on Nov. 9. Veraza and Ariana were pepper sprayed by CBP and ICE agents while grocery shopping the day before.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A woman walks across the street in Wicker Park on Nov. 10.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Rowan Ravine holds a poster as they picket with Starbucks workers and their supporters at 1901 Dempster St. in Evanston on Nov. 13.
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Patty García gets emotional as she hugs her sister after a news conference at Food Market La Chiquita in Cicero to announce her candidacy for the 4th District congressional race on Nov. 12. U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia announced earlier this month that he would not seek reelection and endorsed his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, as his successor.
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Chicago police investigate the scene where a stolen Cicero Fire Department ambulance struck two police vehicles during a pursuit in the 4800 block of West Chicago Avenue in the Austin neighborhood on Nov. 7.
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A large American flag waves with the Chicago skyline in the background on Nov. 10.
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Chicago rapper Adamn Killa is handcuffed while attempting to film a TikTok at East Randolph Street and North Michigan Avenue downtown on Nov. 10. Killa has recently gone viral for videos of him approaching police, ICE and National Guard members and saying “arrest me daddy.”
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Dozens of people watch as the Northern Lights shine over Lake Michigan near Montrose Bird Sanctuary on Nov. 12.
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A woman checks her phone before riding her bike through a stand of trees in Grant Park near the Art Institute on Nov. 7.
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Snow sits atop The Bean after Chicago’s first major winter storm of the season on Nov. 10.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy takes a selfie with some fans of his before speaking to reporters at Terminal 2 at O’Hare International Airport on Nov. 11.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
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