recommendations for chicago spots

[masao]

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hi all, i'm looking for any cool things/places to photograph while i'm in chicago this week for lollapalooza. i'm taking my m8 with 24/35/50. i'm definitely checking out millenium park and wrigley field. appreciate any other ideas, thanks!

[panganibanMD]

If you like cityscape shots, you may want to try one of the architectural boat tours. There are a few different tour companies, but the easiest ones to find are at Navy Pier, which is also another location that you might want to check out. I went on the tour when I was in Chicago last week and it was great. You can check my Flickr page if you would like to see some of the shots I took.

 

Edit: Sorry, my Flickr doesn't seem to be showing up on my sig.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47699488@N02/

Edited August 4, 2010 by panganibanMD

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[sanyasi]

I live in Chicago. Here are a couple of fun places. Take the 146 bus (museum bus on Michigan Avenue) to either the Adler Planetarium or the Shed Aquarium for nice night landscapes of the city. Lots of park land and people around. You will get good harbor and skyline views. Also you can shoot landscapes from the North Avenue Beach--just north of the Drake Hotel on Michigan Avenue. For good city shots, go to the outdoor bar on the 16th floor of the Trump Tower (Michigan and Wacker--well just north of there, but you won't miss it). They didn't mind me taking photos when I went, but I ordered drinks and appetizers (spouse was with me) and I think you will have to do the same. Tripods are probably a "no" If you are adventuresome, take a cab to Milwaukee and North--just west of the city. This is the more bohemian part of the city, but don't go to far west or too late at night (we had a big incident this spring, where one guy beat two women coming out of a bar with baseball bats).

 

Another nice thing to do is to ride the L in the Loop. The CTA web site says you can take photos, but no tripod. You get a great view of classic Chicago architecture with "trains and track." I did this for the first time about a month ago and I will continue to repeat the process. Just get off at a stop and get back on when finished photographing.

 

Street photography around the Art Institute is good--also Printers Row, River North (which is the art gallery district) which is just South of the Loop, but be careful at night in the South Loop and Printers Row.

 

I hate to say this, but if you are not from Chicago, there are some neighborhoods you should stay out of for safety sake so know where you are. This summer, we seem to be averaging somewhere between 20 and 50 shootings each weekend.

 

Also good "street" photography on Navy Pier and the Lincoln Park zoo.

 

As for the music festival, I thought of going this year, but just got back from Australia last night and don't have the energy. Nevertheless, I would be curious about your experience in getting your camera in. If I recall, the rules say no zoom lenses--SLRs. I think they are after what they consider to be professional cameras. Obviously, the M8/M9 is a "professional" camera, but with prime lenses, you would meet the letter of the rule. You might think about only bringing the lens on the camera, which will let you pass it off as a point and shoot. You may know more than me about the rules, but had I gone, that is what I would have done after reading the rules.

 

Best of luck and feel free to ask more questions.

 

And don't forget, the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit opened at the Art Institute in late July so you should check that out between Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire sets. I forget, but it is open in the evening on one night--might be Thursday.

 

Jack Siegel

[sanyasi]

By the way, you must be a music fan. For CDs and vinyl, you should check out the Jazz Record Mart, which is a Chicago institution and the home of Delmark Records. This is a unique speciality retailer--the type that is disappearing these days. If you like jazz and blues, you will find stuff here that you won't find anywhere else. Jazz Record Mart Web Store

 

If you are into alternative, stop in at Reckless Records, which is another Chicago institution.Reckless Records Chicago: New & Used LPs, CDs, DVDs, games & more - index.php I haven't been to the Michigan Avenue store--relatively new, but have been shopping at the Broadway store for years. Very good on alternative music and lots of used stuff.

 

I would stay away from the blues clubs on North Halstead--drunk college students, suburbanites, and tourists singing Sweet Home Chicago and Got My Mojo Working. Buddy Guy has just opened a new club in the South Loop which I haven't been to yet.

 

You might check out the Double Door and Metro (get a copy of the Reader--free weekly paper with music listings) and for jazz the Jazz Showcase and the Green Mill (be careful at night in the Green Mill neighborhood--best to cab it).

 

I hesitate to start with food, but you might want to check out XOCO if you are foodie. It is Rick Bayless' Mexican street food place, next to his much more expensive restaurants. You can get a good meal for $20 bucks. Can't beat the churros and ice cream. There are always lines and it is open until 10PM.

XOCO: Restaurants - Rick Bayless | Frontera

[prk60091]

Take the purple "L" line to the end and go to the beautiful Bahai Temple Baha'i House of Worship for the North American Continent | Bahai Faith | Baha'i Faith (it is an easy 3 block walk east from the "L" stop) and then walk across Sheridan Road to Gillson Park and beautiful Lake Michigan and WIlmette Harbor (go into the harbor shoot the Temple through the boats)

[sanyasi]

Take the purple "L" line to the end and go to the beautiful Bahai Temple Baha'i House of Worship for the North American Continent | Bahai Faith | Baha'i Faith (it is an easy 3 block walk east from the "L" stop) and then walk across Sheridan Road to Gillson Park and beautiful Lake Michigan and WIlmette Harbor (go into the harbor shoot the Temple through the boats)

 

Great suggestion.

 

By the way, just was down on Michigan Avenue. Haven't seen the city so zooey in a long time. The music fans have descended. They spent the afternoon at the North Avenue and were last seen headed down Michigan Avenue to Grant Park for Lady Gaga.

[tobey bilek]

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Stay out of bad neighboods. Chicago is full of gangs having gun battles over turf, drive by shootings, shooting random people for purposes of gang initiation etc.

 

It would appear the government does not want the problem cleaned up for whatever reason. Their solution is to disarm the honest citizens who are the only ones who obey the law. Drug dealers and gangs don`t care about gun laws which are rarely enforced.

 

Chicago and Ill is one big corrupt political machine so stay where there are pleanty of people, still no guarantee.

[prk60091]

Stay out of bad neighboods. Chicago is full of gangs having gun battles over turf, drive by shootings, shooting random people for purposes of gang initiation etc.

 

It would appear the government does not want the problem cleaned up for whatever reason. Their solution is to disarm the honest citizens who are the only ones who obey the law. Drug dealers and gangs don`t care about gun laws which are rarely enforced.

 

Chicago and Ill is one big corrupt political machine so stay where there are pleanty of people, still no guarantee.

 

All major cities have "bad neighborhoods" none of the areas mentioned in this thread are anywhere near those neighborhoods. When in doubt ask your concierge or the friends you are visiting.

 

I have lived in the Chicago metro area all of my 50+ years, and while I have no doubt that the locall politicians are corrupt, but where aren't they?