Street in Chicago

[PatrickT]

What's the best (or your favorite) section of downtown Chicago to shoot some street photography? I'll be heading down there this weekend and will only have about 2 hours to shoot.

Suggestions?

 

[t.s.k.]

Bring a long zoom -- the Air and Water show is on this weekend along the lakefront. 🙂

2 hours isn't a whole lot of time so I'd go to where the people are. If the weather is nice, you generally get lots of people hanging around the Art Museum, the Modern art wing and adjoining Millenium Park. Wabash St, underneath the CTA tracks, also can create some interesting but challenging light conditions. And of course there's The Bean. People seem to love that thing. 😉

Have fun!

 

[PatrickT]

Thanks Tony. Didn't realize that the show was going on down there this weekend. Now parking will really suck!

Is Navy Pier a good spot to shoot? Typically crowded?

 

[t.s.k.]

Navy Pier? Funny, I've never had a desire to shoot there although it could be more interesting with the A&W show happening. Personally, I'd avoid it like the plague unless you like sitting in your car searching for parking. Much of Lake Shore Drive will be jammed with traffic much of the day so I'd avoid that as well. I do believe there's a trolley and a bus that goes straight into the pier so it might be worthwhile to look into that.

I will say that the show may divert many more people to the the lakefront so the other popular sites may carry less foot traffic than usual. It's tough to predict how it will all play out.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

What Tony said is fairly reliable. Navy Pier... it's a bit too gentrified and artificial to me.

The South Loop can offer some interesting choices, but then, if you're after street shots, go for the area around the Art Institute, which is Millenium Park. That spot, however, gets old pretty quickly, so head North via Michigan Boulevard or Avenue all the way to the Water Tower, which may offer some nice opportunities.

As for urban scapes... you'll find them along the Michigan Blvd as well. Some are in the Chicago River area, around the bridge by the Wrigley building and the Chicago Tribune tower. Before the construction of the Trump Tower there used to be a nice spot near the bridge that offered a nice view of the buildings along the river. There may be something left, but I cannot recall.

Check my M4-2 blog for ideas about street scapes and shots in Chicago. I've posted a few... from years ago. They're in entries from late last year.

Take care!