Jack Siegel is a Chicago-based photographer who traverses the streets of Chicago with camera in hand. Jack's practice includes architectural photography and urban landscapes.

Archive

All in Street

Jun 10

Jun 10 Trumpers

Chicago, Demonstrations, Street

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Today, I saw what I perceive to be my first pro-Trump rally in Chicago. Ostensibly the rally was to protest the possibility that Sharia law would be instituted in the United States, but at the end of the day, at least some of those present were Donald Trump supporters who were making a symbolic stand in front of the bronze statue of an 11-foot high George Washington on the northwest corner of Wacker and Wabash. Not surprisingly, a group of counter-protesters was in place at the northeast corner, which often serves as the locus for Trump protests in Chicago.

North Avenue Beach

May 29

May 29 North Avenue Beach

Chicago, Food, Street, Urban Landscapes

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Rain was in the forecast today, but on North Avenue Beach, it was nowhere to be found. Sunny, warm, but none of the July and August humidity was in the air, which probably kept beach attendance down a bit, but there were still plenty of people milling about. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Volleyball, touch football, castles in the sand, and the smell of a little reefer in the air.

Saturday Bridge Lift

May 13

May 13 Saturday Bridge Lift

Architecture, Urban Landscapes, Street

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Chicago is known for the sound of the electric blues, but long before Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, and all the others plugged in, Chicago was an industrial center, home to foundries, transportation hubs, and animals headed through shuts to their slaughter. In the words of Carl Sandburg, the City of Broad Shoulders. Emblematic of those shoulders are 27 or so bridges that tie one side of the Chicago River with the other.

Apr 22

Apr 22 Science

Chicago, Demonstrations, Street

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Today some 40,000 Chicagoans participated in the March for Science, a nonpartisan demonstration that had heavy partisan overtones. There certainly weren't Trumpians in evidence. It is hard not to be anti-Trump if you are scientist: Trump wants to cut funding for science; Trump wants to politicize scientific research in an effort to support his anti-science policies (anti-vax, anti-climate, anti-research); and Trump wants to rely on alternative facts.

Apr 20

Apr 20 Firecakes

Chicago, Architecture, Urban Landscapes, Street

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I decided to take a little walk today. Down Roscoe, down Broadway, down Clark, down Wells, down Franklin, and arrive three hours later in back of the Merchandise Mart.

Apr 15

Apr 15 6103

Demonstrations, Street, Urban Landscapes

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26 U.S.C. § 6103 Returns and return information shall be confidential, and except as authorized by this title, no officer or employee of the United States, . . . shall disclose any return or return information obtained by him in any manner . . . .

Apr 6

Apr 6 Reflected

Chicago, Architecture, Street, Urban Landscapes

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The sun continued to burn with intensity as the afternoon turned into twilight, spaying the the Chicago River with intense light. It was so intense that it lit the underside of the bridges, which is what caught my attention. You gotta love the clouds and that deep blue sky.

Apr 6

Apr 6 Shadow

Architecture, Chicago, Street, Urban Landscapes

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Here is one more from Thursday afternoon's excursions. The colors are gorgeous, if I don't say so myself. That the Fuji GFX 50s at work, handheld medium format.

Stone Container Building

Feb 26

Feb 26 Stone Container Building

Architecture, Chicago, Street

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It isn't raining, but it sure is a purple sky. I am standing in Maggie Daley Park, looking westward toward the strip of skyscrapers on Michigan Avenue.

Feb 20

Feb 20 Yawn

Chicago, Demonstrations, Street

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Today was "Not My President's Day" in Chicago and throughout the country. While I share the sentiment, it was a rather lackluster event in Chicago. Wabash and Wacker has become the regular meeting ground--directly across the river from the Trump Tower.

Street Musician

Feb 19

Feb 19 Street Musician

Chicago, Musicians, Performance, Street

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While waiting on the steps outside the Michigan Avenue entrance for Evelyn to finish her scone, I heard a terrific trumpeter who clearly knew his chops. I assumed he was a jazz cat, but when I went to put money in his bucket, he asked me if I would take his photograph. Happy to do it. So we tried a number of poses. Turns out he is a blues player with J.W. Williams & the Chi-Town Hustlers.

Feb 19

Feb 19 Resist

Chicago, Demonstrations, Street

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I left the house today looking for shadows and light in the South Loop, but when the bus turned the corner from Michigan onto Wacker Drive, demonstrators were spilling from the sidewalk into the street as a police horse brigade held the line.

Feb 5

Feb 5 Curvaceous

Chicago, Street

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On a sunny winter afternoon, there are some very nice reflections in the windows of the Art Institute of Chicago. This is not a photograph of the statue, but rather, a reflection projected onto filthy winter window glass. Not the most curvaceous butt, but it will do.

Feb 5

Feb 5 TaDa

Street, Urban Landscapes

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One thing I learned long ago: Don't start watching the Super Bowl until very late in the day. This young man apparently agrees. He was at the Millennium Park skating rink early today taking a spin around the ice. Looks cold, but the temperature was probably 32F or thereabouts. And the sky was blue.

Jan 21

Jan 21 Power

Street, Demonstrations

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Somewhere around 250,000 people gathered in Downtown Chicago today to take part in the Chicago Women's March, exceeding everyone's expectations. The crowd was peaceful and enthusiastic. The capacity crowd forced the organizers to cancel the "march" portion of the event. Participants were instructed to rally in place.

Jan 3

Jan 3 Murk

Chicago, Urban Landscapes, Street

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I was interested in the fog, so I headed north, took the underpass to North Avenue Beach, and then headed south. From that vantage point, Chicago was socked in. A great day for two friends to take a walk, discussing whatever was on their minds.

Jan 1

Jan 1 Unresolved

Architecture, Chicago, Urban Landscapes, Street

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The Year 2016 is now resolved, with 2017 totally unresolved. Lots of New Year's resolutions remain unresolved.

Nov 12

Nov 12 Caffeine

Chicago, Street

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This gentlemen should have ordered a Venti Triple Shot Expresso when he visited the Starbucks on Lake Street under the El tracks in Chicago's Loop.