Over the years as my wife and I have made our occasional trips to Chicago, I’ve used Google Maps to try to find good rates on hotels in the Loop. In Millennium Park, something large on the ground always reminds me of a pineapple.

It’s the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a bandshell. On the first night of this trip, we saw the Grant Park Orchestra play three popular selections here. The concert was free if you wanted to sit on the lawn — and I didn’t, because at my age sitting on the ground for more than about five minutes sends me right to the chiropractor the next day. So we paid $25 each for seats.
A side note: I love going to the symphony. I have since college, when I was once invited to see the Terre Haute Symphony play. I’m no connoisseur of fine music, but I thought they did a smashing job.
I’ll never forget the conductor’s unusual name: Orcenith Smith. When you have a last name as common as Smith, only a first name as out-there as Orcenith will compensate. Orcenith is still with us; he is a Professor of Music at DePauw.
Anyway, as much as I enjoy live orchestral music, I manage almost never to go. I guess I just like staying home.
But we were unfettered and at large in Chicago. This opportunity presented itself, and we went. As my phone led us to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, I didn’t remember that it was the giant sky pineapple. But when we arrived, it was clear that it had to be.
We went back the next day for some photographs. As with all of the photos from this Chicago trip, I used my Nikon Df and the cheap 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6G AF Nikkor lens that came with the Nikon N65 film SLR I used to own. That cheap lens ain’t bad.





Get more of my photography in your inbox or reader! Click here to subscribe.