This week, Patti is challenging us to pick a color and go from large to small for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. I decided on blue for the color and took Chicago as the setting. Plenty of blue in the big city beginning with blue skies reflected in the waters of Lake Michigan.
Overlooking the lake, on Michigan Avenue, the Roosevelt University building really stands out in the crowd.
Next up, the Evening Star, built in 2001, part of the Shoreline Sightseeing fleet, offers Architecture and Classic Lake Tours on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.
If you have ever visited the Art Institute in Chicago, you will probably have seen Marc Chagall’s ‘American Windows’ which debuted there in 1977 and were made famous 10 years later by an appearance in the film ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.’
The skies may not have been blue the last time I went to the Air & Water Show downtown but there were a few blue umbrellas to keep the rain off.
It’s always nice to see a swath of blue in the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park. I’ve really missed my trips downtown this past year but I’m hoping to make the trip again soon, once I figure out how the trains are running now that things are slowly returning to pre-COVID conditions.
No piece about The Windy City would be complete without mention of the Chicago Cubs and cubbie blue. Even long- time rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, were decked out in blue.

I’m now down to the smallest blue items for this topic which are paperweights at the Chicago Art Institute, some of the 1,400 paperweights in the Arthur Rubloff Collection.
Nice pictures all round but the paperweights are particularly lovely.
Thanks, Tom! The paperweights are always a favorite stop in the Art Intstitute but not the easiest things to photograph behind glass and with all the lights reflecting. Still, every once in a while I manage to come away with a shot worth sharing.
Terrific response to the challenge Sue! Loved that all of your images were local and you really showed us a range of sizes. Especially loved that you included the “cubbie” blue.
Thanks, Tina! The city has so much to offer and provides such a wealth of photo opportunities for all manner of subjects that it makes the perfect backdrop for many of these challenges. Go Cubs!!
Great selections, Sue. Love your blue series!
Many thanks, Amy.
Hi, Sue. You picked many of my favorite spots in Chicago. The Chagall windows are my favorites too, as well as the paperweights! A lovely collection in blue.
Great selections. Well done.
Many thanks, John!
Thanks for coming along on this trip to downtown Chicago, Patti. Despite some of the drawbacks, there is definitely something to be said for a day in the City.
I mean you, Sue.
Beautiful pictures…lovely series, Sue!! I like those paperweights 🙂
Thank you, Indira!
Great post Sue! I’m glad you gave the Brewers their due!
I have to, Chris! With one part of our family living just outside Milwaukee, and another just to the northwest, I’m duty bound to support both them and the Cubs.
Great selections – love the paperweights and Chagall.
Thank you, Ann-Christine!
love the garden photo for mood and the way you led us there from large to small
also – the paper weights sound like an interesting art display – 1,400? wow – I bet they look cool
Thank you so much for your comment! The paperweights are one of my favorite displays at the Art Institute, partly because it’s such a challenge trying to capture a halfway usable image with all the lights reflecting off the glass.
oh well you met the challenge and seem to have some nice pictures of them – 🙂
You’ve shown many of my favorite things from the Chagall window to the paperweight room to the air show along the waterfront and, reverent pause, BASEBALL. Oh how I love Chicago!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed these choices for the challenge. Nothing like a sunny day at the old ball-park, especially when the Cubs win.
Such fantastic images Sue. I love Marc Chagall’s window.
Many thanks, Rupali.
Wonderful selection, Sue!! Great shots!!
Many thanks, Jyothi.