Shedd Aquarium, Chicago – Wild Reef with Giant Pacific Octopus Chicago’s neoclassical Shedd is reborn inside: beneath its vaulted domes, the Wild Reef exhibit unveils a living Philippine coral garden. Floor-to-ceiling acrylic panels stagger light, magnifying swaying corals—brain, elkhorn, and rare bubble coral. A sleek marble walkway leads young adults to a transparent tunnel where spotted eagle rays soar overhead and a school of mandarin dragonets flicker past in iridescent swarms. A crowd gasps as the charismatic giant Pacific octopus expands, tentacles blossoming around a faux reef. Nearby, reef sharks and flamboyant cuttlefish skirt a technicolor maze. The architecture’s ornate lines frame vibrant underwater drama, while a 50mm lens—channeling Candida Höfer’s architectural grandeur—captures friends pressing hands to glass, bathed in marine jewel-tones and shimmering reflections