Between the Wrigley Building towers Minolta Maxxum 5 35-70mm f/4 Maxxum AF Zoom Fujifilm Fujicolor 200 2022
I’m fascinated with the Wrigley Building in Chicago. You’ll find it on Michigan Avenue, on the west side of the street, just north of the Chicago River. The building has two towers connected by an arched pedestrian walkway. This creates a courtyard of sorts, one of concrete rather than of grass, between the towers. I find this to be a stunning view and I love to photograph it.
While I was in Chicago in early January, I made a whole bunch of photographs along the Chicago River on the north end of the Loop. I shot a Minolta Maxxum 5 with a 35-70mm f/4 Maxxum AF Zoom lens. I shot some Kodak Ultramax 400 and some Fujifilm Fujicolor 200, and as I share the images I’m not going to bother telling you which photos were shot on which film. I can’t tell which photos came from which roll just by looking at these scans; can you?
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.
single frame: Lake Shore Drive Nikon Df, 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G AF Nikkor 2021
Lake Shore Drive is a busy Chicago artery that, as its name suggests, follows the shore of Lake Michigan. It’s also US 41 along the majority of its length, as this sign reminds.
On our recent Chicago trip, on Sunday morning we found a few blocks of State Street closed for a street party. There were games, and public art, and food, and some pop-up shops with various wares. We didn’t stay too long but we did walk through a few times to make some photos.
This guitarist was way up in the air in an enormous dress, right in front of the iconic Chicago Theater. Another young woman was busy drawing some sort of mural on the skirt.
When I walked around behind her, it was apparent how all of this works. The guitarist climbed a stepladder up into her perch, and poked her head out the top! Somebody surely had to hand her guitar up to her.
It’s the laziest kind of street photography: sit in a spot with your camera aimed in a direction, and press the shutter when something interesting enters the frame.
We were in Chicago, sitting next to the Chicago Lakefront Trail where it passes by the Ohio Street Beach, which is adjacent to Navy Pier.
I set my Nikon Df to Live View so I could compose using the screen, and held the camera at belly level. My 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G AF Nikkor lens was attached, allowing me to zoom in and out as I pleased.
