Michigan Avenue

Michigan Avenue is a street with a magic all its own, and standing in the median with a tripod-mounted camera provides a unique perspective. One thing I have never been able to understand, though, is the curious onlooker asking me if I am taking pictures.

Do they honestly doubt that a woman with a tripod, camera and a cable release in hand is doing something other than taking a picture when standing in the median for 10 minutes? Though sorely tempted at times to respond with a sarcastic and witty reply, I keep the tongue sheathed.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy talking with bystanders interested in photography. All I ask is for a better opening question.

Bridge over Troubled Water

While the politicians and elected (did we really?) representatives of Illinois are making national headlines and getting air time in Leno's and Letterman's monologues, life goes on in the Land of Lincoln. (Is Abe rolling over?)

The Chicago River bisects the downtown area of the city in an unusual way, as the river runs east/west from Lake Michigan to Wolf Point where the three river branches converge. Then the river turns south and flows into the Illinois and Michigan Canal and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. From there the water flows into the Des Plaines River and eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River.

Legend has it that the name of the first American settlement site arose because that is where a wolf was last sighted in Chicago. Fact or fiction? Originally the river emptied into Lake Michigan, and it is fact that the flow was reversed in an engineering feat that rivaled the building of the Panama Canal.

Many movable bridges crisscross the river including the one pictured here.

Chicago's Water Tower

One of the most recognizable buildings in Chicago, the Old Water Tower presides over the north end of the Magnificent Mile and a lovely urban park. Constructed in 1869 of Joliet limestone, the Water Tower and the Pumping Station located directly across Michigan Avenue, were the only two public buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

Originally constructed to conceal a standpipe used to equalize water pressure from the Pumping Station, it is currently the home for City Gallery which features Chicago photographers and photographs. Buskers and street entertainers perform in the park surrounding the Water Tower while shoppers revive weary feet seated on benches near a fountain. Carriage horses still drink from a specially designed watering fountain on the park's west side and wait patiently for couples and families to hop aboard for a city tour.

Chicago's LaSalle Street

LaSalle Street, the heart of the financial district in Chicago, is lined with numerous imposing edifices featured in numerous movies including the The Dark Knight - and rightly so. The stately columns of the Federal Reserve Bank and the art deco Chicago Board of Trade building form the southern end of the money district and the light often bounces from one to the other in an interesting way.

It's one of the best locations to shoot in the Windy City at mid-day as the light reaches the street in the canyon of buildings. After a year of maintenance, the clock on the CBOT building has been repaired and the scaffolding removed, so it's a prime point of interest once again.

Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River Bridge

Speak the words, "Michigan Avenue" and thoughts of great shopping come to mind. From Tiffany to Nordstrom to H&M and Borders, the Magnificent Mile has them all. Several architectural landmarks such as the Water Tower, Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower are located along this thoroughfare as well.

Another highlight is the double-decker bridge over the Chicago River with the second level below street level and providing access to Lower Wacker Drive. The bi-level street was made famous in chase scenes in the "Blues Brothers" and "Batman Begins" movies.

The scene above is a view of the Chicago River bridge taken from the center median across from the Wrigley Building and looking south toward Millennium Park and the financial district.

Chicago's Picasso

While the Art Institute of Chicago has more than 20 of Pablo Picasso's paintings in its collection, ask a Chicagoan where the Picasso is and they'll more likely point toward the Daley Plaza than Michigan Avenue.

Dedicated in 1967, the untitled steel sculpture originally a subject of controversy has now become a well-loved Chicago icon.

Chicago's Summer Festivals

Each summer the Mayor's Office of Special Events in Chicago hosts several festivals including Taste of Chicago, jazz, blues and gospel fests in Grant Park. When the weather cooperates the evenings can be magical.

Pictured above is a crowd enjoying the Jazz Festival on a balmy summer evening on the lawn. When lights in the skyscrapers surrounding the Grant Park come on and the sun sinks low behind the Sears Tower, a special ambiance spreads over the area as the musician's notes waft through the air.

Fencing Tournament

This past weekend, some 1200 fencers converged on the Rosemont (IL) Convention Center for a United States Fencing Association tournament.

Wielding weapons in the epee, saber and foil competitions, women and men from youth to the 60+ veteran division stepped and lunged up and down the 30+ competition strips arranged throughout the room.

Electronic lames, scoreboards and weapon tips recorded the touches with referees officiating each bout.

Viewing the competition offered me a chance to step back in time and imagine swashbuckling battles raging in a castle or two men dueling for a lady's hand while having a 21st century digital camera along to capture the action. Which is a challenge!

Swords are flying faster than the eye can see, the lighting is sodium vapor blended with fluorescent which turns the white uniforms a lovely blend of red and green, the concrete floor is mighty hard, and the multiple strips make a clean background nearly impossible.

Still, my Canon 70-200 2.8L IS lens was fast enough so that I could stop the action and the zoom options gave me a range of close--ups shots to full strip action. Are you a sports shooter looking for a new challenge? Search no further than your nearest fencing tournament. Touche!

Bat Column Sculpture

One of Chicago's less talked about sculptures is the "Bat Column". Ready for play outside the Harold Washington Social Security Center on West Madison street, this giant column is less likely to be seen by casual tourists and visitors to the city. Venture west of the Loop to view this steel and aluminum structure designed by Claes Oldenburg.

Could the Cubs win with this bat?

Chicago's Hidden Treasures

Hidden between Chicago's Millennium Park and Lake Shore Drive lies a Cancer Survivors Garden with wonderful flowers, benches and an ornate metal open-air structure.

One late summer day I stumbled upon this quiet place of respite and wondered how it had escaped my notice for so long.

For a moment of quiet amid beauty in the midst of big city hustle and bustle, walk due north from Buckingham Fountain through Grant Park or head across the BP Bridge from the Bean sculpture.

Who are the Flowers For?

While waiting for the traffic signal to change on Michigan Avenue, I noticed this young man with the bouquet of flowers staring resolutely ahead and wanted to capture the moment.

I wondered who the flowers were for, what was the occasion and why was he looking so serious? Was he going to pop the question to his girlfriend? Make up after a fight?

Hope it turned out well for him...

Sears Tower through a Fisheye

Finding a new angle or perspective for a frequently photographed landmark building can be challenging. The Sears Tower in Chicago is one such edifice.

One day while out shooting on the west side of the Loop, I pulled my fisheye lens out of the proverbial bag and saw the Sears Tower and surrounding buildings in a new light. Now it appeared that the surrounding skyscrapers were bowing to the mighty giant and the hubbub of Wacker and Jackson Streets could be included.

Photo editors aren't often fond of fisheye lens photos because of the distortion, but the unique perspective can help in recharging the creative batteries - one of my resolutions for 2008.

Magic comes to Chicago each winter in the form of the animated displays in the State Street retail store windows. Children and adults pass from window to window to view an unfolding story whose theme changes from year to year.

For 2007 the theme of "The Nutcracker" is displayed in nine windows of Macy's State Street store in celebration of the Joffrey Ballet's 20th anniversary production. Fortunately Macy's is keeping alive this Marshall Fields tradition ensuring fond memories for another generation of children.

Be sure to bundle up!

Getting Away from it All

Chicago's lakefront sets it apart from so many other large cities in the world and gives it an openness and sense of spaciousness. Time spent gazing at the quasi ocean expanse of Lake Michigan proves relaxing, and a perch on the concrete wall north of the city provides a great view of the downtown melange of skyscrapers and Oak Street Beach.

Head south from the North Avenue Beach along the lakefront path to find your get-away spot.

West Randolph Street

On Chicago's near west side, just west of the Kennedy Expressway, red brick buildings along Randolph Street that were formerly home only to wholesale food vendors now contain trendy restaurants with sidewalk dining mixed in with the butcher shops and wholesale produce sellers.

On warm summer and fall evenings, red coated valets hustle to find parking spots for diners at Red Light, Dragonfly, Vivo and Marche. Only blocks away from Harpo Studios, home of the "Oprah Winfrey Show", West Randolph Street offers an array of dining options with views of the Sears Tower along with a neighborhood feel.

Where's Waldo?

Chicago's Wacker Drive exhibits a split personality. One section paralleling the Chicago River runs east/west past the Marina Towers, Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist, Trump's construction project, the Merchandise Mart, along with several hotels and restaurants. The street then curves into a second section which runs north/south past the Sears Tower, the Lyric Opera, the Merc and numerous skyscrapers housing corporations and businesses.

The east/west section pictured above provides a great location for afternoon photography as the open space and lack of skyscrapers to the west permits the sun to shine brilliantly.

Afternoon rush hour on a weekday can be a madhouse on any Chicago street. Place a few taxis, an el train, a city bus, several pedestrians, a double-decker tour bus, numerous cars and a motorcycle on the same street and voila!, "Where's Waldo?".

Store Windows

A male security guard stands and waits at the door of an exclusive Chicago boutique while a headless mannequin sits patiently in the store window.

Store windows can be fascinating photographic studies. From reflections to window shoppers to displayed items to passers-by completely ignoring them, shop windows frequently intrigue me.

Humor - A Dollar Store for Sale

Photographs that portray something quirky, ironic, misspelled or humorous are some of my favorite shots. So when out and about, I keep on the lookout for images that will illustrate one of these concepts. Well, at least they make me think of one of these concepts.

While passing by a strip mall in the Albany Park neighborhood on Chicago's north side, the "Dollar Store for Sale" sign caught my eye and pushed the "humor" button for me.

Dare I guess the sales price? ;-)

Ups and Downs of Construction

Recently an out-of-state client contacted me requesting an updated photograph of the Chicago River looking west from the Michigan Avenue bridge. She supplied an example of the image they had used previously and asked if I had a more recent image.

I proceeded to explain that an updated photo from that particular vantage point would show the construction progress of the Trump International Hotel and Tower building (shown above). The Chicago Sun Times building next to the Tribune Towers which featured prominently in her sample image had been torn down a few years ago and was now replaced with construction cranes and the first floors of the Trump Tower construction project.

Such construction projects are a mixed bag for a photographer. Shots of the skyline and the general vicinity must be carefully composed and construction can render certain shots impossible as the updating of the Chicago River scene example above. Who hasn't traveled and found the landmark buildings they planned on shooting covered by scaffolding and plastic tarps?

But prominent new buildings mean skyline pictures and photographs of the new skyscraper or museum or whatever need to be updated.

As a photographer based near Chicago and Milwaukee, I seek to keep abreast of proposed and under construction building projects so that I can provide my clients with up-to-date images. For example, the 2,000 foot high Fordham Spire that would dwarf the Sears Tower has been proposed for a location along the Chicago lakefront. Such a building would immediately transform the city's skyline and become a tourist draw and icon for Chicago -- and photographs of the changed skyline would be needed.

I am able to provide clients with current and up-to-date photographs and to also explain why a particular vantage point is impossible at this time. On a few occasions my familiarity with Chicago has saved a client from embarrassment. Recently a client was viewing several images I had submitted for consideration for a book project. As they reviewed my photographs, they realized that a photograph from a prominent stock agency they had planned on using was outdated and the sculpture that was prominently featured was no longer in the same location.

I was pleased to be able to assist the client and to make two additional stock sales!

Millennium Park Bean at Night

In 1997 construction began on a new park to be known as the Millennium Park. Planned for the north end of Grant Park along Michigan Avenu, the blueprints included plans for a pavilion, garden, fountains and a kidney bean shaped sculpture officially named, "Cloud Gate".

While originally skeptical of the giant stainless steel sculpture designed by Anish Kapoor, I have since changed my mind and find the shiny structure to be mesmerizing. Visitors to Chicago throng to Millennium Park to see what has since been nicknamed the "Bean".
Though I have photographed the Bean from dawn to dusk, the evening hours remain my favorite. And from the many sales of my night photographs of Millennium Park and the Bean at night, I can see that others agree with me.

Polishing the seams on the Bean kept the sculpture under wraps for much of 2005 and frustrated many visitors who had hoped to catch a glimpse of themselves in the mirrored surface of the sculpture. In May of2006, the Bean was completed for a total cost of nearly $23 million in private funds.

With the surrounding highrises along Michigan Avenue and Randolph Streets and the open space of the plaza area, the Bean is a fabulous photographic subject.