visiting chicago’s chinatown for a different view of the urban skyline

Do you keep a list of pictures or landmarks you need to shoot? How organized are you or do you not even have a plan? Living in Chicago, I mostly keep a list of places I’d like to visit by neighborhood. There’s been times when I’ll be on my feet all day and try to plan multiple shots out. The problem is balancing your planned images and keeping yourself open to exploring new ones.

set aside time for exploring when taking pictures

The last thing you want is to keep to a list and, almost like a schedule, stay on track from place to place. Curiosity can lead to greater places than your discipline. You already know what you get with discipline, that list you have. nothing more. Yes, the consensus of the internet makes everything easy. You’ve got a list of the top 10 places to shoot by looking at everyone else’s top 10. These were the most impressive. But when you’re looking at the supposed crème de la crème, aren’t you missing out on what everyone else is missing out on too?

On a previous post, Searching for the Canal St. Bridge, I headed to Chinatown with two shots in mind. The bridge as viewed from Ping Tom Memorial Park (which i never go to do), and the side view from the next bridge. That was it. That was going to be my morning. The plan was to get there for sunrise and leave with a few great shots. I left time to visit the Chinese Gate and a few shops, a bakery and just generally look around. Hoping to find the next great shot in the neighborhood.

However, as I arrived at the park, the Chicago skyline was visible. There’s a viewpoint from a park outfield house, which was across the street. I couldn’t believe it, clearly see Willis/Sears Tower and the 311 S. Wacker Building. The view was narrow, but the park worked as foreground. Then I walked around to see what else I could get.

never accept one great shot and go home

Take a look, walk around, and then keep on walking. Even if you get another great angle, keep going around until you’ve at least seen everything. Last thing you’d want is to have a great shot and see someone else’s even greater shot when you were just there and didn’t go around enough. Never know where there’s going to be a skyline.

That day the sunrise was coming but it was still grey out. This would’ve been right before 7am. Fog was an issue too, but it was like a transparent fabric, softening the lines of the buildings. I only had a few minutes because golden hour was reserved for the Canal St. Bridge. That was the whole reason I was there and a priority to me. This shot was essentially what i planned to get. And compare with the one below it for the better view of the chicago skyline that i happen to come across.

So why is this viewpoint not shared more?

But I was confused. This viewpoint wasn’t anywhere on the internet’s top 10 places to take pictures in Chicago. Not even top 20. Everyone was focused on the usual suspects found in beautiful neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, the Loop, the museum campus, and Hyde Park. Looking at lists after, I found two mentions and one came from reddit when specifically look for skyline views. And the funny thing is, the only time chinatown came up on an article, it was from the ground. Not the bridge like the one above, which is a greater view.

 I didn’t get it. I haven’t seen this shot even in gift shops, which I frequent often. It’s a shame since gift shops keep showing the same images over and over again. The skyline is beautiful, but the same daytime photos are beginning to blur. People prioritize getting the whole skyline from Lake Michigan, as complete as possible, versus something more interesting.

Yet, I hadn’t noticed this angle before and think it should be all over the place. The neighborhood isn’t young or a big secret. Yet, that angle of the skyline isn’t out there much.

I had to split my time between here and the bridge. The bridge was the priority, so I was racing the sun as it started to show itself. The fog was beginning to clear up, and the sun hitting the skyline on the right. There were so many shots, the skyline was surrounded by the park and its building, the Chicago River, a warehouse nearby. Do I focus on pure skyline? Got the park. Got the water.

The bridge was right behind me at this point, across a very large street. This was not a practical place to cross mid street. You can see by the pictures as to why.

Splitting my time between the two, I rush over to the bridge and take pictures every few steps. I spent 15-20 minutes of the sun rise at the bridge. And then swiftly moved back for more skyline views.

The too many angles dilemma was true here too. Moved just an inch, suddenly different image. Nabbed every one I could find. At the end of the day, I ended with a few hundred pictures as I mainly focused on the bridge. But looking at my pictures, I’m quite happy with what I got of the skyline. And I wonder if I made the right choice focusing on the bridge. The bridge was the plan, but the skyline might’ve been the better picture. I’ll let you decide.

I keep a few things in mind when I take photos.

Keep a list but never a schedule

It’s great to keep an active list of landmarks or locations you want to shoot. Just don’t add too many for one session and don’t be too disciplined to follow through. Allow yourself time to explore the area. I’ve gotten more images, and just like this example, better ones through spontaneously seeing a shot rather than something I planned out. If you don’t get everything you want that day, that’s okay. All that means is you found more images at a location than expected, which is great. You can always revisit the location. If you insist on completing your list that day, you’re taking away focus while photographing. And the satisfaction of following up on your curiosity, just so you can keep to your schedule. You’re automatically limiting yourself.

Walk around (a lot!) and don’t accept the first proud shot

People will keep a long list of things they want to shoot because after several minutes of shooting, they feel like they got everything. Don’t accept one great picture you feel confident about and move on to the next item. You may not realize a great shot when you’ve taken one and feel overconfident about another. Make sure you’re walking around and taking a good look behind you. Is there another angle? Can you go to higher ground? What’s on the other side? If something is too far, at least walking further down in each direction while still facing the front.

If you see a potential viewpoint, at least check out the view for yourself! The skyline for instance was something I can only get a front view of just from different spots. The bridge was close enough that I essentially could walk the perimeter from the bridge. Just remember to stay safe and be aware of your surroundings.

I was able to see the bridge from the side with an entry point, although I didn’t get anywhere near the entrance. I’ve seen others’ pictures actually get to the bridge itself but it was extremely isolated from what I could tell. And I’m not exactly clear if that was allowed so I kept my distance. But I continued walking around until I found another bridge that had a different view of the skyline with the canal st. Bridge but also with docks. Again, something I wouldn’t have found if I didn’t explore.

Look for “ugly” views

Usually everyone looks for picturesque viewpoints and try to photograph around things that are “in the way”. But ugly can be interesting or refreshing. It could also provide an industrial or more rustic look. Think warehouses, railroad tracks, and manufacturing plants. Blue-collar workers keep cities running and it can also bring a different element to an urban skyline view. Chicago isn’t just a city of skyscrapers and white-collar workers.

Make sure to cover your bases

After a few minutes of shooting your landmark, make sure to intentionally shoot with more space around each side. Get more background in one shot, more foreground in the other, and hit each side. If there’s a building, try to capture it in a way that works with your original focus. If there’s a crowd, work the crowd into the picture. Force yourself to include those things. Even if it doesn’t work out. when it does, you’ll have an easier time working with it in real time down the road. You can always crop things out.

The trick is not only getting those things on camera. Frame it in a way that it’ll work with your focus. Not everything’s going to be a winner, but I think it’s good practice to work with what you’ve got. Over time your skills will improve and you’ll learn to at least make it look good. On an earlier post, Visiting Mythical Snow Sculptures in Lake Geneva, I avoided taking images of the crowds when the focus was a snow sculpture. But one of my favorite pictures was of the crowd looking at the sculpture. The crowd better supported the sculpture than just getting a clear center shot of sculpture itself. Let the world in.

Take pictures as you go – in two ways

Having photos of only your targets can end up being a letdown years later. Make sure to document your day as you go. Almost like a making-of.  It’ll work almost as sneak peeks to your final image. Also, selfies and video when you’re feeling good about your images. I provide notes for myself about a location or how the day is going. Years later, I’m happy I kept that.

Also, get different stages of photo coming together. As you pass by, even if you get just a slice of the landmark, take it. You can start seeing your picture building up. Sometimes you’ll think that’s the shot, then a slight move, and now, that’s the shot. It’s fun to see the stages you went through until you finally get to your proudest image.

Watch your back AKA don’t forget to turn around!

In this case, the Canal St. Bridge and the Chicago Skyline from Chinatown are across the street from each other. Two great shots at essentially the same location. At a single location, one landmark can take all the attention when there’s so much more to see. Another example was at the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

I normally take lots of shots on the bridge since it’s overlooking the Chicago River and lots of beautiful architecture. I’ve been there lots of times. But while exploring, intentionally looking for something new, I was going to get shots from the riverwalk. On a whim, I took a different set of stairs than I had planned. There was a landing, so I stopped to take a picture of the bridge. I also took more pictures of the Tribune Tower and Wrigley Building. I felt pretty good about getting the bridge itself since there were more physical characteristics than I had ever noticed. Giant round windows that made me think of a ship. I like to think that in some of these images, the bridge almost looks like it’s wide-eyed and smiling.

Then before going on my way, I noticed what was right behind me. A view of the riverwalk, which is what I had seen and taken a picture in the past. But at the landing, it felt different. Closer. And more aligned with the riverwalk than simply looking at it from above. This image ended up being the footer on this website. It was taken on a whim; I just noticed it and took a few photos before getting down to the riverwalk. If something internally makes you say, oh, wow, then take that shot. It was a better image than what I had taken from the bridge or the riverwalk. And that image, alongside my photos of the bridge are what I look back at the most from that day.

Now do some exploring!

So go ahead and make your plans. But keep the list short and save lots and lots of time for exploring and better examining an area. If there’s only one great shot to an area, I would rethink the photographer. You should be able to see and appreciate more things than any other person walking through. I’ve had a local who worked in the area walk past me and give me the side-eye thinking I was a tourist. This was at the Chicago River. I was taking lots of shots. This person continued walking only to look at what I was looking at, take a quick photo, and go on his way. I consider that a win.