Anything along Miracle Mile. Chicago has wonderful architecture and you will see it around there. Also the El - Francine Hardaway from IM

We're also doing a photowalk there Sat. night if anyone's around. http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event... - Thomas Hawk

thanks Francine, I'm looking forward to Miracle Mile, that's on schedule for our Sat. night photowalk which I'm super excited for. Is the El the subway there? - Thomas Hawk

It only goes underground in a few places, mostly it's elevated. - Amyloo

Everyone shoots the Bean, and it can be quite cool playing off the colors of dawn or of the city lights. - RAPatton

yeah, definitely going to shoot the bean and play with the reflections on that sculpture. - Thomas Hawk

Just finished my trip there in late April. You will love it. Bring wide angle lenses. Take the architectural tour along the River and into Lake Michigan, Wrigley Building, Navy Pier, contrast the old and new architecture, night pictures from the top floor looking south east and west. Billy Goat's Tavern - the original of the curse on the Cubs. Night life around Rush Street and Carmine's Restaurant. Here are a few highlights http://bit.ly/fizvH - Alan Morris

Miracle Mile? What is that? Do you mean "Magnificent Mile"? - Hiro Asari

There's probably a wealth of great opportunities for moody B&W photos of blues musicians. - jcunwired

Top of the John Hancock Bldg is a restaurant and bar, the views are stunning. The tint on the windows requires a slow shutter speed but I was able to get acceptable results by just pushing the w/a lens flush against the glass for stability. It will be busy during dusk however so you'll be limited in your compositions since most of the windows will have people dining in front of them. - Rick Bucich

Wrigleyville is a must, take a cab from downtown. That old stadium is one great photo op. - Rick Bucich

The lobby of the Palmer House Hotel is stunning, a bit like the Palace in SF. Down that way is a black deco building with gold accents. Don't remember the name but if you could get a good angle on it it might be nice; the building is hard to miss. Also an open top tourist boat ride provides a surprisingly good perspective on a lot of architecture that can't be seen otherwise. - Rick Bucich

Tell Oprah hi - sofarsoShawn

To be honest, Thomas, you'd do better avoiding the touristy areas like Mag Mile if you want vintage neon especially. I'd suggest going to Wicker Park (take the Blue Line, get off at Division, walk up Milwaukee Ave towards Damen and make a loop back down Division). Lots of quirky businesses out there. Also the Pilsen area (Orange line takes you close, or the Pink Line), extending south to Bridgeport. Going north up to Devon/Howard area - full of Russian Jews, SE Asian, and Pakastani places - some excellent signage there. I'd volunteer to take you around, but probably will be in Milwaukee that weekend. - Seth Anderson

…I usually geo-tag my photos, here are a few Chicago neon you could look for http://www.flickr.com/search... - Seth Anderson

One final thought: if you take photographs of the Boeing building or the Daily News Building (directly south, very cool Art-Deco building), even from the sidewalk, you will probably be harassed by ignorant security guards. - Seth Anderson

i dont know if anyones said this already but... this weekend they opened the art museums modern wing its free i think i might check that out. - Wesley Robin Guerrero

I'd suggest a river walk. There is a walk along Wacker Dr that is good for some downtown shots. - ChiliMac

Chicago's Fest season starts this weekend. The Galiec Park Irish Fest my give you some great shot ops. http://www.chicagogaelicpark.org/Irish_F... - ChiliMac

See if you can get into Gino's to get shots of some of the walls. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

You mentioned the "El". I've taken some of my favorite shots there (http://www.flickr.com/photos...). I think I'm going to shot every stop I hit on the "El" as a summer project. Oh, this is very touristy but I think you'd get some cool shots fromt he Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier. - ChiliMac

Sorry for the post spam. One more thought. Be sure to bring your $2. You'll have lots of opportunities to ad to your projects while you're here. I'm looking forward to Saturday. - ChiliMac

Ok, my last post....for today. 2 more events to consider for shooting. The Randolph Street Market Fest (http://tinyurl.com/q72okh) is in the old meat packing district. I don't think you do many action shots but another event that might provide some good material is Bike the Drive (http://tinyurl.com/cqrtng). They shut down Lake Shore Drive from 5:30 am to 10:30 am. - ChiliMac

I'll see you there! My past visit to Chicago was so enjoyable that flying down for this was a no-brainer. In my walk around Chicago I kept going back to the bean just to capture it at different times of the day. Chicago also probably has the most impressive set of skyscrapers in the US. - Owen Byrne

I can't wait to see my city through your eyes!!! - David Cook from fftogo

Wrigleyville is an ok place to shoot as long as Cubs season is over. I'm going to request that day off and join the photowalk - Outsanity

of course I am jealous... can't wait to see what you get... - Paula W

Plug2 grew up in Chicago, ive asked her to email you with some suggestions. Jealous of your trip, man -- Chicago is a really great city! - Plug1

Too bad the "Magikist Lips" are gone. - Fred Yankowski

thanks all for so many great suggestions. I'm super excited about the trip! Some great suggestions in here. Appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing folks on the photowalk on Sat. http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event... - Thomas Hawk

Not really a photo opportunity (other than maybe standing in line which could be an adventure in itself), but I highly recommend that you attempt to see Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind while you are there: http://www.neofuturists.org/ - Rachel Lea Fox

I second Rachel's advice. It's a lot of fun, and different every time. - Kevin Fox

Thomas, you'll see the El train just West of the Bean meet up Saturday night. For the most part, it's a loop around downtown. - Michael

I skimmed the thread and didn't see mention of Millennium Park... There's no vintage neon nearby (that I know of), but the Cloud Gate is a fascinating thing to photograph, IMO. I'd be very interested to see the Thomas Hawk treatment of the Cloud Gate! :) The LED fountains are also fun to photograph, or at least the kids playing around in the water make fun subjects. Pity that we're actually leaving the Chicago area on Memorial Day weekend for my cousin's wedding; I would've loved to go on a photowalk around here, since I'm always wondering about new places in the city to shoot. Have fun! Chicago is a great city for photography. - Cheryl Jones

There's a great lil sports bar that has the absolute best burgers in town at Madison and Clinton called Dylan's. It's just one mile west of Millenium Park, about 10 blocks. - Michael

Ok... Turns out I can't go Saturday but have fun in sprit! - Outsanity

++ Blue Division stop. Less photo ops north of North at Damen. Try Lincoln Sq or Logan Sq for older neon and authentic Chicago charm. Wrigley may be annoying if there's a game, but pretty in the morning and bfast at Common Ground is good. - Sarah Miller

The L is underground by Mich. Ave. If you end at the river, walk into the loop to Clark & Lake. If you end North of where you start, walk west. The brown line is 100% elevated. - Sarah Miller

I'll be there! Billy Goat Tavern has a cool neon sign. - Mark Williamson from BuddyFeed

The John Hancock now has an open-air portion in the viewing platform. It does have metal bars nut that might be better than tinted glass - Robert Felty

skimmed the thread and didn't see mention of Buckingham Fountain. It and the people at night are lit. - moon_shadow70

look forward to seeing the pics. you always have great ones - (jeff)isageek

Really excited to be heading to Chicago tomorrow. Mark, that Billy Goat Tavern is on my list. Thanks all for such great suggestions. Keep them coming if you know of other cool stuff. I think I'm going to go up into both the Hancock and the Sears Tower observation decks. They seem to be the two main ones. Millenium Park, the river, Navy Pier. I'm making a map and am hoping to hit as many things as I possibly can in four days. - Thomas Hawk

Hey TH, I should be there for the photowalk as well. Great that you are coming to my home turf! One spot that is a must at night is out by the Adler Planetarium. Great spot for skyline shots. Rush Street is a must for some neon. Seth Anderson had some really great ideas beyond downtown you should check out via the El. Downtown the Chicago Board of Trade is a classic. Of course Marina City is the most photographed and a must. When down by the Sears Tower there are a bunch of great modern skyscrapers that are not shot much but so worth it. The weather looks great for this weekend too so you timed it right! - Jim Porett

cool. Yeah, I've got Marina City on my list as well. Will add the Adler Planetarium at night as well. Thanks! - Thomas Hawk

While you are there, go to Hot Dougs. Opps, it's most likely closed this weekend. hotdougs.com. Tell him Andy Bakun sent you. He'll claim he doesn't know me. - Andy Bakun

A challenge. I'll be at the bean before 7 am Saturday: http://www.flickr.com/photos... - Owen Byrne

My office has a 7th floor roof deck in the West Loop (warehouse district) with fantastic views of the skyline to the east...If you look at a map, it's near Lake & Halsted. I'll be at the photowalk tonight and I'll try to mention it if you're interested. - Tom