Once again it’s been awhile since I’ve had a day to myself to shoot or pick one of those adventure cards. Since it was supposed to be ridiculously cold I didn’t so much “pick” a card as I strategically choose two cards! The first was the Magnificent Mile and the second was Walk and Shop. If you’re not very familiar with Chicago, the Mag Mile is a stretch of Michigan Ave from the river to Oak Street full of spectacular shopping! Along that mile is also an indoor mall in the Water Tower Place, hence the reason for pairing these two together.
I started my walk at the river and headed north. I was trying to come up with a creative way to photograph the shopping aspect of these cards. So, for the day I sort-of borrowed the style of another Chicago photographer, Aaron Leverenz. He does these fantastic photos of storefront reflections, definitely take the time to check out his work here! One of my first attempts was at the Burberry store—I just love this store! Such amazing lines and reflective surfaces, it makes for so many fun photo ops. I continued north and found some interesting reflections in the Ralph Lauren store as well.
The Walk and Shop card discusses the Water Tower, which was one of the few buildings still standing after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. By this time I was pretty much frozen solid so I headed into the Water Tower Place as the card suggested. This is basically a vertical mall, 7 stories tall. Honestly nothing too exciting, unless of course, you’re a young girl and a can’t get enough of the American Girl dolls and their many accessories! Having a 6 year old daughter, I have spent far too much of my life in here!
After warming up for a few minutes and getting a couple images I continued further north for some more high end (window) shopping and dreamt of spending my days shopping at Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Cartier…..aah, a girl can dream. Okay, back to reality and how freezing cold I was once again! Both cards suggested a stop at the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the John Hancock Building. I’ve been here many times, a fun stop with visiting friends or family, and I absolutely love the view up here at night. I grabbed a quick lunch and some moody, wintery shots of the city skyline while I was here.
Given my low expectations of the day, and the forecast, I have to say it turned out to be a pretty good day! And, woohoo…I made it halfway through the deck of cards!