Advice on greater Chicago area locations

Richard

I'm going to be in Chicago for a couple of weeks and was wondering about photo ops outside the city itself. I'll be based in Evanston and anything that's not more than a 90 minute drive is fair game. Suggestions?

Thanks,

mwgrice

rsinmadrid wrote:

I'm going to be in Chicago for a couple of weeks and was wondering about photo ops outside the city itself. I'll be based in Evanston and anything that's not more than a 90 minute drive is fair game. Suggestions?

Thanks,

On a bad day, a 90 minute drive could be Skokie.

But I'm useless, I can't think of anything outside of downtown worth photographing.

David_S85

A couple places...
Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette. Quite the landmark. No photos allowed inside, but what's outside is amazing. Along the lake. Easy to get to and lots of parking around. Free to walk the grounds, and the museum/info/gift shop is inside the lower floor.

Chicago Botanic Gardens. Not actually in Chicago, but in the suburb of Glencoe. You will find this is quite the photographer's dream. There is an entrance fee.

System

Really depends what type of scene you're looking for: rural, naute, urban etc.

The Botanic Gardens as mentioned are a nice place for plants and some birds. Also try the Morton Arboretum as it's much larger than the Botanic Gardens. The lakefront in general offers unlimited photo ops as far as you can go north or south of Evanston. Further north along route 41 are some very nice wetlands if that's your thing.

For me Chicago itself is the main attraction. It is in my opinion the most appealing big city in the US and offers a boundless supply of buildings, people and light to play with. Interestingly the mid day hours are often the best for shooting in the heart of the city deep in the canyons of skyscrapers.

The main issue I see facing you is weather. October and November can be pretty cold, gray and wet in these parts. When you get into town feel free to ask some more specific questions.

Richard

Thanks, guys. Having grown up in Chicago, I know the area fairly well, at least the North Side. I shot the Baha'i and Botanic Garden last year, and--of course--downtown, Millennium Park, Michigan Ave., etc. I will revisit some of these--can't wait to shoot The Bean with a new wide-angle lens I'm picking up--but just thought there might be something worthwhile that doesn't occur to me. I wasn't into photography when I lived there so I see things differently now.

One thought I had is that it might be interesting to look for old, abandoned factories. Brick, rusty iron, weeds...that sort of thing. Don't know whether there are any left or if they have all been turned into yuppie condos. Or if it is too dangerous to hang around them carrying expensive gear. Any ideas?

System

For industrial relics the south and west sides offer many options. For legal and safety reasons you need to be careful. Tresspassing is a concern, but most of these sites are in marginal or downright dangerous areas of the city. Not the kind of places you want to be wandering around with several thousand dollars worth of camera gear. For safety's sake I'd start with the areas around the south loop, near south west side (pilsen) and maybe even North Chicago around the Great Lakes Naval Base. Further south between East Chicago and Gary, IN there are a ton of options but those areas are really bad and not places you want to be getting lost in.

Richard

Thanks for the tips, Truth. I appreciate it.

Regards,