May was the start of 1on1 workshops for the year. Just before Memorial Day weekend I spent a full day with someone visiting from London. His first time in Chicago so he wanted to check out as much as possible during our time together. We covered a lot of ground, walking about 9 miles and exploring from Lake Point Tower to the Calder Flamingo and so much in between. Here are some images from a few of our locations.
We first stopped by Vista Tower, which is still under construction. I didn’t really get anything I liked this time but I need to get over there to explore and find the best vantage points. We headed over to Lake Point Tower from there.


Then we stopped by Burberry, might be the first time I didn’t get any keepers. I think I made up for it at our next stop, the Michigan Avenue Apple Store, situated right along the river. In this first shot I went wider than I have in the past. This corner is still my favorite part of the building. The city’s reflections and the way the glass meets the ceiling, creating these great curves, makes it a fun area to photograph.

Or getting a little closer and minimalistic.

Then we stopped by Aqua, the BP Bridge, Pritzker Pavilion and the Bean. This is about all I came away with this time around.

After lunch, we stopped by the Washington/Wabash station. I liked how the light was interacting with the very linear black building in the background.

Then a quick stop at the Palmer House Hilton visiting my favorite staircase there. I went super detailed and minimalistic this time around.

We then spent some time at the Calder Flamingo. Shockingly, no real keepers this time. Onto the Sears Tower from there.

And 235 Van Buren.

Next, we stopped by Union Station. My first time checking it out since the restoratins completed. It looks so good in there! So much brighter. I focused my attention on the ceiling between the main hall and the train terminals. I liked both the vertical and horizontal shot…


A few more stops with 540 West Madison, the views of the ‘L’ from the Lake & Wells Parking garage, Thompson Center, Marina Towers, Trump Tower and the Wrigley Building. I have to thank my student for this perspective!

On our way to our final location, the Cultural Center, we stopped by the Hampton Inn, which used to be the AAA Headquarters. I haven’t been in here since an Open House Chicago where they were doing all the restorations of this Art Deco building. I think that was, maybe, 2012 or 2013! The staircase is still a fun one to shoot. But aren’t all spiral staircases?! Plus, the tones in here are really pretty.



Despite some pretty gray weather we had a great workshop and saw so much of this city’s incredible architecture! If you’re interested in a 1on1 sometime, just send me a message, angie@angiemcmonigal.com. Or check out the workshops I’ll be leading with Michael Muraz at Photography Unfolded. We only have a couple spots left in each of our fall workshops: NYC & Chicago.
There are a few more shots from this full-day workshop if you’d like to see them here 🙂