Category Archives: Chicago photographer

Chicago Christkindlmarket, a Holiday Tradition

For those who rarely venture into the Loop during the holiday season, these photos are for you.  Since 1997, the city has been sponsoring Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza.  This outdoor market which features German crafts, jewelry, clothing, toys and lots of food attracts over a half million people from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve.  Inspired by the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany, which began in 1545, the Chicago version stays true to its European roots.  In fact, most of the vendors actually travel from Germany to work the booths, or at least are German-speaking.  Appropriate winter food is also available, including wurst, sauerkraut, potato pancakes, lots of pastries, and German beer and traditional “Glühwein”, a hot spiced wine that is served around the holidays.  The market closes on Christmas eve, so there is still time to investigate this Chicago and European tradition.

In memory of Terry Callier

I just learned of the death of Terry Callier, 67, a blues-folk-jazz musician whose career spanned 50 years.  While he was relatively unknown in this country, he had a thriving career in the UK.  He may not have gained wide commercial fame, but among musicians he was greatly influential and respected.   Ten years ago I had the privilege of photographing Mr Callier for a Canadian jazz magazine, and we went straight to one of his favorite local venues, the historic Green Mill Lounge in Uptown.  He struck me as being soft-spoken, polite, and eager to please, not the persona of a performer with a long-career and huge following around the world.  In the early 80s he put his music career on hold to raise his daughter, and became a computer programmer at the University of Chicago; ten years later his music was rediscovered and he began performing and recording again. Callier was born in Chicago and grew up in the Cabrini-Green housing project, becoming friends with Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. Here are some photos that offer a glimpse of the man I met in spring 2002.

Photo of the Day: Fulton Market

Fulton Market in Chicago West Loop
Just west of the downtown Loop area is Fulton Market.  For decades, this area was home to countless meat processors and warehouses, and several still operate today.  Come in the pre-dawn and early morning hours and the streets are clogged with trucks picking up provisions for local restaurants.  In recent years, Fulton Market has seen upscale shops, galleries and several cutting edge restaurants open.  Just a few blocks away on west Randolph is the more established Restaurant Row–with the addition of Fulton Market eateries, Chicagoans have countless gourmet options just minutes from the Loop.

 

Photo of the Day: GAR Rotunda

The Chicago Cultural Center (previously the main branch of the Chicago Public Library) houses two eye-popping domes.  This one is the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Rotunda, and the other was designed by Louis Tiffany.  This room is a memorial to the Union soldiers who gave their lives in the Civil War; it’s one of the most beautiful and peaceful rooms in Chicago.

 

Photo of the Day: Special Effects

This is a test photo for a client, they needed something different and creative. The end product would be a print in a hotel.  So many possibilities with Photoshop–maybe I got a little carried away, but it was fun.

 

Photo of the Day: Crown Fountain

Crown Fountain is a fun place to hang out. Where else can you be drenched by a powerful stream of water bursting from a giant pair of video lips while admiring the stunning architecture along south Michigan Avenue? These teens weren’t admiring the historic architecture, they were just chillin (literally) on a hot summer day.  Now we know where all the students were during the recent public school strike.

 

Photo of the Day: Painting a Mural

When does graffiti become a mural or a work of art? I came upon this artist one morning in Rogers Park, on the far north side. I’m really not sure if his work was sanctioned or condoned by the local authorities, or perhaps they just didn’t see him because of the camouflage jacket he was wearing.  And I guess I will never know.

 

Photo of the Day: Wicker Park

Wicker Park on the northwest side is one Chicago’s most colorful neighborhoods.  Teeming with artists, students, hipsters, hippies, and members of the 47% that Romney says are sponging off the government, the area surrounding Six Corners (Damen/Milwaukee/North) has more tattoos per capita than anyplace in the known world.  Funky shops, funky restaurants, funky bars, and funky bookstores–this area can only be described as funky.

 

Photo of the Day: North Avenue Bridge

My so-called “photo of the day” has proven to be inaccurate: it didn’t even take one week and already I forgot to post a photo to my blog.  I will rectify that oversight by posting two photos today.  This is a night view of the North Avenue Bridge over Lake Shore Drive.  It was taken a month ago on a very warm summer night; we won’t be having too many of those again for a long long time.

Bridge over Lake Shore Drive at North Avenue

 

Photo of the Day: Greek Fest

Mid-August means Greek Fest, and this year was the 63rd annual festival of feta, olive oil, spanikopita, and Greek dancing.  To the uninitiated, the dancing looks like a Greek version of the hora: people dancing in a circle, people pretending to know what they are doing but really just faking it, and people dancing after eating too much food and trying not to be sick.  If you like to eat delicious Greek food with 50,000 good friends, this is the place to be.

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