iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 02/10/2026

Took a (very) rainy walk through the Loop tonight. I was absolutely soaked, but my camera stayed dry enough.

The pavement in Chicago is wet from a day-long rain. Street and traffic lights reflect on the stored in vivid colors. In the foreground, a person with an umbrella is an out-of-focus silhouette

Calder's Flaming - an orange, abstract metal sculpture in Chicago stands in a wet, reflective plaza. The sculpture is reflected in the rain coating the plaza's stone pavers in the evening with buildings in the background

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 30/09/2026

Moonrise over the South Loop.

A nighttime photo of Chicago’s South Loop with skyscrapers with a bright moon (90%) rising over the city. Thin, hazy clouds soften the light creating a halo around the moon

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 28/09/2026

I caught probably a one-in-a-million shot of Air Force 1 leaving Chicago yesterday.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 24/09/2026

Almost-henge. I was walking home through the Loop on Tuesday, scouting some different perspectives for the Chicagohenge sunset later that night when I came across this scene of the Sears Tower and L tracks intersecting...

A photo looking up at the Sears Tower with L tracks in the foreground. A portion of a passing L train is visible. Between the CTA train and the skyscraper is a bright starburst from the sun beaming directly into the camera

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 22/09/2026

Around 6:00pm (~45 minutes before sunset) the HRDPS model shows clear-ish skies over Chicago. HOWEVER, to catch #Chicagohenge, we need to be concerned with the clouds ~130 miles away. Depending on altitude, coverage, and cloud type, clouds west of the line can block the sun as it nears the horizon

A map showing spotty cloud coverage over northern Illinois and eastern Iowa. A magenta dashed line denotes the approximate border where clouds interfere with sunset

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 22/09/2026

Happy #Chicagohenge, everyone! Astronomical fall officially arrives at 7:05pm CDT today. Happy shooting if you're out chasing the sun between Chicago's concrete (and steel and glass) canyons. The forecast is iffy this afternoon, but worth a shot.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 11/09/2026

Hundreds of millions of birds were migrating over the region last night. And - I believe - their flocks were picked up on radar. Looks like a major flyaway began near the marshy wetlands and shore along the southern tip of Lake Michigan.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 08/09/2026

When I saw that poster, I was fairly certain the buildings pictured were inspired by 860–880 Lake Shore Drive (POV captured in green V-shaped angle of view). my view (yellow) caught part of that building duo AND 900 Lake Shore Drive - both Mies van Der Rohe designs.

An overhear aerial image of the buildings 900/901 Lake Shore Drive and 860-880 Lake Shore Drive with colored v-shaped symbols depicting different fields of view.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 08/09/2026

You guys...I happened to visit a family friend's condo this weekend and had a view *similar* to the one in this travel poster.

Two black modernist, Mies van de Rohe designed high-rise buildings frame a view of Lake Michigan, with turquoise water, a lakeside path, beachgoers, and cars visible below. Boats and jet skis traverse the water visible between the buildings on a gorgeous late-summer afternoon.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 05/09/2026

Me when I’m watching something new-ish and suddenly see the exact scene a once-trending meme is from.

Leo DiCaprio sitting in a chair pointing excitedly

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 04/09/2026

Here's a high-altitude look at progress on phase one of the United Center's 1901 Project. The development broke ground in June as is expected to wrap in 2028.

An aerial view of the United Center with the Chicago skyline in the background on a sunny, late-summer afternoon. Construction and development around the stadium is visible.

An aerial view of the United Center. Construction and development around the stadium is visible.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 03/09/2026

I saw this one recently, by William Lawson (1954), and now I want to collect all the 50s Chicago travel posters

A travel poster from the 50's from United Airlines promoting "Chicago via Mainline" There's a stylized graphic of the Water tower in the foreground with a faded representation of the Palmolive Building with it's light beacon on in the background. An airplane soars across the top of the poster. The overall style looks like geometric, but realistic layers of airbrushed paint.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 03/09/2026

Today is #NationalSkyscraperDay! Aren't we lucky to live in a city with so many of them? I couldn't pick a favorite for this post so here's a bunch of them in one frame

An aerial photo of Chicago on a bright sunny afternoon. The photo was shot from a helicopter approximately 2,200' over the city. A blue-green Lake Michigan is in the background while a forest of Chicago's skyscrapers in the Loop dominates the foreground.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 28/08/2026

This is my iPhone lunar eclipse photo. There are many like it but this one is mine

A partial lunar eclipse showing some orange on the bottom 90% of the moon with a bright highlight on top. The moon appears suspended in a dark sky speckled with a few clouds

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 28/08/2026

Today was picture-perfect in Chicago. Here's what it looked like from about 1,600 feet while scootin' over the Gold Coast in a 🚁

A high-altitude aerial photo of Chicago on a bright late-summer day. Lake Michigan is visible on the left side of the frame while the city dominates the rest of the scene. In this photos we'r hovering in a helicopter at approximately 1,700' above the Gold Coast looking south towards the Loop

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 26/08/2026

I like this one. It's like a ghost

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 22/08/2026

Good morning from the LondonHouse rooftop

A view of the Chicago River from atop LondonHouse in the morning while puffy blue clouds decorate the blue sky. Marina City, and other skyscrapers line the river bisected with bridges.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 17/08/2026

Just 10 days later and the sunset reflection has shifted so far south it wouldn’t have even been in the previous frame. Fall is coming….

The sunset reflects off of a skyscraper in the South Loop of Chicago with a brilliant orange glow in the windows

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 17/08/2026

Perfect concreach weather post Air & Water Show

The “concrete beach” near North Avenue Beach in Chicago is packed with people on a perfect Sunday afternoon.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 12/08/2026

Another day, another shelf cloud sweeps into Chicago #ILwx #WXsky

A thunderstorm approaches Chicago as seen by a shelf cloud behind the Chicago skyline. Looking southwest from Navy Pier

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 12/08/2026

Well, another day another round of storms (8:39am). BUT, this one is further south and moving south-southeast, so it *might* miss the city, but we might still et clipped. However, it looks to traverse across many of the sam areas hit by yesterday's derecho #ILwx #WXsky

Radar return showing. sting line one begins storms moving she across northern/central Illinois. A blue lone shows its relative motion possibly missing the city.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 11/08/2026

Not out of the woods yet, but strongest winds are well to Chicago’s south. Seems like downtown dodged a bullet #ILwx #WXsky

Radar velocity scan showing 100+mph winds along the Illinois/Indiana border. Less strong winds over Chicago

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 11/08/2026

New Chicago achievement unlocked: Tornado siren and the L. Listen to the sound change as the siren spins

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 11/08/2026

Heads up Chicago. The storm complex to the west is organizing and gathering steam. Strong to severe winds expected. The front edge is only about 60 miles away from the city #ILwx #ChicagoWX

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 11/08/2026

Six years ago today, an incredibly destructive derecho swept through #Chicago on its 770 mile path. It lasted 14 hours, spawned 26 spin-up tornados, dropped 2” hail, winds topped 126mph, and caused $11 billion in damages. #ILwx #WXsky

A massive shelf cloud approaches the city of Chicago from the left side of the frame. Photographed on 8/10/2020

A massive shelf cloud approaches the city of Chicago from the left side of the frame. The skyline is to the right. just out of frame, as a wall of rain and wind approaches. Photographed on 8/10/2020

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 11/08/2026

Feels like Groundhog Day, but #Chicago (and most of Northern Illinois) could be in for another big day of sever, windy storms tomorrow. I've seen a few real meteorologists suggest a possible derecho set-up, so be weather aware tomorrow #ILwx #WXsky

A Severe Weather Outlook Map for Tuesday, August 11th, showing the wind outlook with Chicago within the border of the 30-44% probability for sever wind.

A Severe Weather Outlook Map for Tuesday, August 11th, showing Chicago within the border of the enhanced rise region. Enhanced is 3/5 in terms of risk. 1 Being the lowest, 5 being the highest risk.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 10/08/2026

Heads up, night owls, some big, slow-moving storms are moving towards Chicagoland. #ILwx #WXsky

Radar return from the RadarScope App showing large storms west of Chicagoland at 10:23pm on Sunday, August 9th

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 09/08/2026

The second round of storms had over 10 mile tall cumulonimbus clouds pass over the city 😱

A screengrab from the weather radar app, RadarScope, showing 55kft (55,000’) tall storms over Chicago

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 09/08/2026

As the first deluge tapered

A near-monochromatic look at the Chicago skyline as a first band of a strong thinderstorm moves through revealing parts of the city.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 09/08/2026

Still unsettling. I can see the subtle 'structure' of this ribbon of smoke when I look the North. The sky should be totally clear right now

A close up of the southern tip of Lake Michigan showing a dense plume of smoke in the upper atmosphere

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 08/08/2026

Another punch of wildfire smoke inbound. This plume is from the Pacific Northwest

A satellite view of the central United States showing diffuse, light grey smoke blanketing much of the midwest.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 07/08/2026

Minute Rice tape measure in dramatic, morning light Digital photo, 2026

Minute Rice tape measure in dramatic, morning light sitting on a counter. The tape measure is pulled out about 8 inches and curves into its resting position with a dramatic shadow

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 06/08/2026

I know Boston Ivy is a vine, but it looks like hanging vines of another variety are coming out of the "normal" ivy. I'm not sure what sort of pruning the grounds crew does during the season, but this looks...different.

A view of Wrigley Field's ivy covered wall in the middle of the frame showing patches of bright green ivy/vines that look fluffier and more overgrown than the surround, darker, ivy

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 06/08/2026

Correction. In this top-down diagram I made, the azimuth wouldn't be ~180° - it's almost always greater. The matching AM/PM positions occur when the sun is the same angular distance from due east and west (green arcs). Then, the altitude is the same, causing the reflection to align with the sunrise

Top-down conceptual diagram showing an observer (a pink star), a reflective building (black square), and the Sun (orange orbs) at matching morning and evening positions. The altitude cannot be shown in this view so the diagram assumes the sun is at the same elevation above the horizon in both positions, allowing the building's reflection to align with the sunrise position. A orange ray of light emanates form the sun and bounces off the building back to the observer

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 06/08/2026

I set the augmented reality tool to show the sunRISE path on 7/27, and again on 8/5 then pointed it at NEMA. My goal was to show how the sun rises at an angle, not up and down. Interestingly, the point where the sun passed behind NEMA at sunrise is almost exactly where the sunset reflected (2/x)

Photopills augmented reality sun track gin app showing the sunrise path thing the sun behind the top of NEMA, a skyscraper in the South Loop on 7/27

Photopills augmented reality sun track gin app showing the sunrise path thing the sun behind the the middle-lower portion of NEMA, a skyscraper in the South Loop on 8/5

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 06/08/2026

Maybe an interesting thing to a couple of you. After someone asked a question on Threads, I pulled out Photopills (a sun tracking app) to illustrate why the same reflection couldn't be achieved on the same day just a few minutes earlier, but I found something interesting...to me anyway (1/x)

A side-by-side comparison of the sunset reflection being lower on NEMA (right) than on the similar photo taken 7 days before (left)

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 06/08/2026

Look how much lower the sun reflects off NEMA after just seven days.

NEMA, a skyscraper in Chicago, reflects the orange sunset brillliantly off the windows of its low-middle floors

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 06/08/2026

Big block of glass block on my block

A photo of glass block filling the frame. Red brick runs up the left and right side of the image framing the blocks

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 04/08/2026

Small personal win: Some of my @obamafoundation.bsky.social photos were featured in Architectural Record. It means a lot that the architects felt my images helped tell the story of this project. A few photos are in the digital feature, and I’m looking forward to seeing the August print edition

A screengrab from Architectural Record's website of the "The Obama Presidential Center Opens on Chicago's South Side" article featuring one of my dusk drone photos of the Obama Center.

https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/18268-the-obama-presidential-center-opens-on-chicagos-south-side

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 31/07/2026

Neither does the reflecting pool for that matter.

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 30/07/2026

In honor of #Bears training camp starting, here's an extremely niche football take: I think "round ear hole" helmet graphics [left] probably look almost as ancient to Kids These Days™️ as the 2-bar helmet graphics [right] did when I was growing up.

A 'vintage' Riddell VRS-4 styled football helmet popular in the 90s-2000s with a round ear hole and classic standard facemask.

A graphic with an extra-vintage Chicago Bears helmet showcasing a simple, "2 bar" face mask popular in the 60s and 70s

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 30/07/2026

Opened up Linked, and immediately found the perfect post (ad) to try it on. Yup, that function is real. Seems like there's a "We're All Trying To Find The Guy Who Did This!" joke in here.

A screengrab from LinkedIn showing the "Seems like AI slop" selection

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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 29/07/2026

The sunset reflecting off the top of NEMA is a subtle sign - for me - that the days are getting shorter and the sun is getting lower in the sky as summer starts to wane.

NEMA, a skyscraper in Chicago, reflects the orange sunset brillliantly off the windows of its uppermost floors.

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