Chicago Vistas?

[Frank Petronio]

I realize there are no mountains...

But do any locals know of a public location where I can find a grand(er) vista of Chicago? (I know it is all relative.)

I'm going there in a couple of weeks to shoot with a couple of good models and I'd like to do some scouting for locations that show something 'Chicago"ish --- besides Wrigley field, right?

Any tips are appreciated. Thanks for your kind offers to assist and buy drinks but, "No" lol.

[Jim Cole]

Frank,

There's a lot of famous architecture along the Chicago River downtown. Quite beautiful.

Jim

[John Jarosz]

Wolf Point, looking south down the river.

North Avenue beach (south, on the concrete wall) looking at the Hancock & Drake hotel

South Lake Shore Drive around 35th street looking north at the skyline.

From the far end of Navy Pier, looking south.

North side of the Adler Planetarium peninsula looking north.

HTH

John

[John Jarosz]

Oh, yeah:
"The Bean" in Millenium Park

john

[Ron Marshall]

As John mentioned, the Adler is good for a shot of the heart of the Loop (downtown) shoreline with tall buildings. It is out on a small peninsula.

For something a bit different, a few very nice Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Oak Park.

Millenium Park, the "Bean".

[Keith Pitman]

If you can get a look at Art Sinsabaugh's book, it should give you a few thoughts.

[Rick Moore]

If you have access to a boat (and there are some commercial tours available), the downtown lakefront from a couple of miles out in Lake Michigan at sunrise or sunset can be quite beautiful. The buildings, especially the AON (formerly Standard Oil) Building, appear to rise directly out of the water, and the white granite turns beautiful colors.

If you have time, the abandoned factories and mills along the Calumet River on the southeast side are good subjects. Again, for many of these sites, the best view is from a boat.

[falth j]

Frank,

here is a list of chicago landmarks, among them perhaps...

the Pullman district, and possibly some interior lobby architecture of banks, theaters etc.

http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/LandmarksWeb/landmarks.do

[Neal Wydra]

I'd like to add looking south from from pretty much any of the Brown Line elevated platforms between the Loop and Belmont.

Neal Wydra

[FrancisF]

There is a great view of the city from the top of the parking lot of Rush University Medical Center which is west of the loop. 1725 West Harrision. It is taller than the buildings around it

[Ben Syverson]

Actually self park buildings in general are great places to get some elevation and a different perspective on the city.

There are a bunch of good ones along Wabash and scattered around the loop.

[Frank Petronio]

Thanks for all the tips. What actually happened was this...

First the model friend who was supposed to pick me up at 11am was still comatose from the night before, so I took a train in. Then we met up, said our hellos and how-are-yous and walked around the hood to an outdoor bar, where three models and I ran up a couple hundred-dollar bar tab. At this point I started to get a bit nervous because I really didn't want to get stuck with the tab and I knew the girls were broke too.

No problem. Men being what they are, they had to be a bit competitive and prove their worth. First a separated hedge fund manager moved in. Then the divorced commodity's broker stepped up -- These girls can hear the jingle of German key fobs and Blackberrys... We all battled over the now $500 bar tab... but graciously... I backed down. Let the big boys win. The Hedge Fund guy paid.

The rest of the shoot took place at their place until the wee hours, sans the Hedge Fund guy. And I kept them inside the next morning, away from the bars, and even made the girl drive me to the airport through two hours of traffic as a penalty for making me ride the train earlier.

Shot 58 sheets of 4x5 and 800 digis and 10 rolls of Leica between 1am and 3pm.

Anyway, I didn't see much of Chicago.

[Jan Pedersen]

Frank, Now let's see some of that work.. Got to be something special.