Chicago Crosswalk

I grew up in Northern Indiana, spending my formative years (12-17) in Elkhart, close to South Bend and 100 miles east of Chicago. Both in Fort Wayne and later in Elkhart, I would do YMCA weekend trips to Chicago in the summer, taking in White Sox games and going to The Museum of Science and Industry.

As an adult, I have been to Chicago many times, both for business and for pleasure. The lakefront, the architecture, the restaurants, they are all a draw. And it is through Chicago that I usually travel to and from the visits to my former stomping grounds in Indiana.

This particular June day I was wandering on my own in the downtown area, feasting on the visual delights of the spectacular architecture, the patterns made by the late afternoon light shooting down the Chicago River, and the general hustle and bustle of the areas in close proximity to the river and Michigan Avenue. There are a couple of images from that day in my color gallery as well.

But this one, well, it was years before drones were an option. But I went up several floors on a parking garage to see what I could see, as they say. And the best view was looking straight down, to the patterns made by the street lights and painted crosswalk. I’m a junkie for patterns and textures, and here they were, right in front of me!

I waited, making exposures as different pedestrians came and went. And then, I finally got “the one,” the young lady who flouted the rules and strayed from the confines of the painted crosswalk., giving me a much needed center of attention. And in a lightly colored top, no less, standing out wonderfully against the dark asphalt.

What’s the famous line? “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”

It was my lucky day indeed.

This image was chosen by juror and well-known photographer, Jamey Stillings, for inclusion in the Texas Photographic Society Urban Landscape Exhibition.