Argyle St. Lunar New Year Parade

Last weekend I attended the Argyle St. Lunar New Year parade, on February 1st, 2014.  The year of the horse!  Argyle Street, or to be more official, The West Argyle Street Historic District, is the north side's version of China Town though with a slightly more diverse ethnic makeup.

This year's parade lacked the big firecracker explosion that I photographed last year, which usually kicks things off and is the main draw.  I overheard someone say that they forgot to apply for the pyrotechnics license.  Oooops!  There were a lot of photographers there who seemed pretty bummed by this, but I say boo hoo, photographers.  This was still a great event and I enjoyed it, and of course, we found an excellent Thai restaurant to have lunch at afterward.


"Game Face" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/800sec at f4.8, ISO200.

The parade marches west on Argyle St. in the photo above, with the Red Line L platform in the background.  Below you see what it looks like when a dragon tries to eat your camera:


"Nom Nom Nom" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/640sec at f5.6, ISO200.

A marching lion and dragon:


"Marching Dragons" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/400sec at f5.3, ISO200.

This woman just seemed super excited to be in a parade:


"I'm in a parade!" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/1000sec at f3.5, ISO200.

A Chinese lion is a two person operation:


"
Behind the Scenes" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/320sec at f5.3, ISO200.

Finally, not everyone was into the festivities.  This woman is giving the entire parade the side eye:


"Parade Skeptic" © Andy Marfia 2014 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/320sec at f5.6, ISO200.

Visit my Lunar New Year set on flickr to see photos from both this year and last year.

2013 Chicago Pride Parade Vignettes

I attended the Chicago Pride Parade again this year and I've added a set of photos to flickr.  I almost didn't go this year.  After also attending the Blackhawks parade on Friday (so many parades, so little time!), I was a bit worn out, but the pride parade is such a fun event to photograph and contains such a fascinating mix of people, I couldn't pass up another opportunity.  Please go to flickr to see the full set, but here are a few highlights:


"Balloon People" Copyright Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/500sec at f6.3, ISO100. This balloon company's parade entry was impressive.


"Raise 'Em Up" Copyright Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved.Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/400sec at f8, ISO100.


"I'm a Yes" Copyright Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved.Nikon D7100 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/640sec at f6.3, ISO100. Proponents of marriage equality, not surprising, had a huge presence in this year's parade.


"Toni" Copyright Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved.Nikon D7100 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/500sec at f6.3, ISO100. This is Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle.


"Friends Forever" Copyright Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved.Nikon D7100 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/400sec at f5.6, ISO100. I also took a photo of Benny the Bull last year. This year he brought a friend with him.


"Pride Bubbles" Copyright Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved.Nikon D7100 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/500sec at f5.6, ISO100.

I think of my pride parade photos as a series of vignettes-- small glimpses that reveal something greater about the event and the people attending.  My goal is to put you, the viewer, in the thick of things.

All photos were were taken along Broadway Ave, between Montrose and Irving Park Road.

2012 Chicago Marathon Photos

I stopped by the Chicago Marathon again this year to take a few photos.  Like my Pride Parade set from earlier in the year, I tried to focus on capturing interesting faces.  Of course, I took at least one establishing shot:


Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/640sec at f8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

That's the Marathon heading west on Adams.  I'm generally loathe to use selective color, but all rules are meant to be broken at least once, and I think it works well here.

Now, some people:


Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/1000sec at f5.6, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.


Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/1600sec at f6.3, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.


Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/800sec at f6.3, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.


Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/800sec at f6.3, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.


Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/800sec at f6.3, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.


Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/500sec at f6.3, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

Last but not least, no marathon set is complete without at least one discarded cup abstract:


Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/800sec at f8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

Would you like to see more?  You can find a few more photos in my flickr set, and I also had a set from the 2011 Marathon.

Note: All photos were taken as the Marathon heading west on Adams, or came east on Jackson, between Damen and Racine (approximately the 14-15 Mile point).

Photo of the Week: Sleepytime Red Line

Sony RX100, 1/30sec at f1.8, ISO200. Copyright Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo was taken on a CTA Red Line train.  This guy was sleeping for my entire time ride, from the loop up to Bryn Mawr.  The man was tired!  I don't take a lot of candids on the train, but hey, if you're going to block the entire isle like this, I think that's fair game.

Photo of the Week: Washington Crossing the Internet

Sony RX100, 1/50sec at f3.2, ISO200. Copyright Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo is a reinterpretation for the digital age of Roy Lichtenstein's "George Washington" which itself was a reinterpretation of a portrait done by Gilbert Stuart.  I took this while meandering through the Chicago Art Institute's superb Roy Lichtenstein retrospective, which ended on September 3rd.  The title is a play on the famous painting: "Washington Crossing the Delaware".  I couldn't resist.

A bit of advice about taking photos in museums: leave the clunky DSLR at home.  A camera phone or compact camera is a better option, as it will draw less attention from other patrons and museum security as well.  It's also nice when walking through quiet rooms to have a camera with no shutter sound.

For more Art Institute photos, check out my Art Institute set on flickr.

Photo of the Week: Balloons!

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/640sec at f8, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

This lady is the Voltron of balloon vendors.  Or, as someone on flickr mentioned, the Katamari of balloon vendors.  (I had to look that one up).  I found her walking near the Montrose Ave beach in Chicago.  If this shot doesn't make it clear, she wasn't just holding a large bunch of balloons-- I believe she literally has them strapped to her body!  I kept thinking she would float away, but thankfully remained earthbound for me to take this photo.

Faces of the 2012 Chicago Pride Parade

I stopped by the 2012 Pride Parade with the intention to take just a few photos and post them by Monday or Tuesday of the following week.  Here it is Saturday and I'm finally writing a blog post about it.  Needless to say, I found myself with a lot more shots than expected, which is a good problem to have. 

Here's a set featuring 25 of my favorites:


All photos taken with a Nikon D7000 and either a 16-85mm or a 70-300mm Nikkor lens. Copyright Andy Marfia 2012 All Rights Reserved.

Since Flickr is still using flash for these slideshows, those of you on iPhones and iPads probably can't see a thing.  Follow this direct link.

This set includes the usual mix or parade subjects-- from politicians to spectators to a guy in an over-sized dog outfit-- but I did try to focus more on faces this year.  The thing that I've realized after going to this event for many years is that I really don't care about the floats, at least not in and of themselves.  It's the people sitting on them or walking along side them, and the emotions they reveal as they soak in the day-- that's what's interesting to me.

All of these photos were taken on Broadway Ave between Montrose and Irving Park Road.  The city of Chicago changed the route of this year's parade, extending it to Montrose and removing the hairpin turn that used to exist at Halsted, Broadway, and Grace.  Overall, I think this was a very good change and it was notably less crowded where I was. 

You shouldn't need to be a CEO to matter in politics

Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f1.8 lens, 1/1600sec, f1.8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

The photo above was taken during a visit to the Occupy Chicago protests on Sunday, October 16th.  I was down in the loop for Open House Chicago, and made a detour to take these photographs.  It was a fairly sparse crowd on this particular afternoon, with no more than 75-- highly enthusiastic-- people holding signs and congregating at Jackson and Lasalle.  I like this photo because it's both a portrait and a candid-- the man with the sign noticed me and was smiling for the camera, where as the "security" guy seems to be looking off at who knows what.

I don't intend this post to be a discussion of the merits of Occupy Chicago or the Occupy movement at large.  There are other places for that.  This is a photography blog, and my job as a photographer is to document interesting things happening in my city.  This certainly qualifies.  That said, I support everyone's right to peacefully protest their government, regardless of ideology.  I believe the ability to do so is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy.

A couple of additional photos:


Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f1.8 lens, 1/1600sec, f1.8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.


Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f1.8 lens, 1/3200sec, f1.8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Photo of the Week: Megaphone Man

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Micro Nikkor lens, 1/800sec at f2.8, ISO100.  © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I'm trying to work more candid shots into the mix of what I do.  This week's photo was taken at last weekend's Pitchfork Music Festival.  If I remember correctly, this guy was in charge of the free water bottles.  An important job on a hot summer afternoon.

If you're interested, you can find more photos from Pitchfork on my flickr account.  Still a work in progress.