Contributed by the Photography Features Group. Get to know us – see below.

Chicago Interiors

Hello and welcome to our second year of the Photography Features! 2022 was fantastic and we appreciate all of your comments that we’ve received. It is crazy to think it’s already April of 2023! This year is already on the move. As a group we decided to focus on some interior photos from Chicago for all of you to enjoy. Winter seems to drone on for quite some time and most of us spend that time snow-birding or huddled up in a blanket. We wanted to keep you all warm with these photos. We really hope that you continue to enjoy our posts and leave us comments. Have any suggestions for a topic? Please feel free to send in and we will do our best to deliver! Here’s to a beautiful Spring here in Chicago!

 CLICK HERE FOR THIS MONTH’S PHOTOGRAPHS.

Note: Click the photos to enlarge. Each of us uploads photos, but some say the photographers name on them in the event they were uploaded by someone else. There’s a headshot attached to each photo group, too. Enjoy!!

Here’s a snapshot of our photographers.

David Ferguson, Docent class of 2020 (Go Roaring 20’s!) Photography ran in my family. My father was a professional photographer prior to WWII and worked in the commercial photo finishing industry for his entire career. He gave me my first ‘real’ camera, a Pentax S1a, for my 14th birthday and helped me set up a basement darkroom. I consider myself an ‘urban landscape’ photographer, emphasizing the sights of the city. Without current access to a darkroom, my photography is now more limited and exclusively digital, using primarily a Fujifilm X-T2. However, I’m looking forward to pursuing a hybrid approach that modern technology has fostered: film negatives, processed commercially, scanned and edited in a digital suite such as Lightroom and finally, printed on an inkjet or laser printer.
Priscilla Gil, Docent Class of 2019 (Go Bovines!) While I grew up just outside the city of Chicago in a friendly suburb known as Plainfield, I never truly experienced the city until I went off to college at DePaul University. Ever since that moment, the city had my heart. Just as DePaul had a profound effect on where I lived, it also encouraged me to expand my horizons and my study abroad experiences led to a fascination in city and place – what makes a city, how it influences people and vice versa. This propelled me into the world of photography, and I made it my mission to attempt to capture a city’s essence, one moment at a time. I primarily photograph cityscapes. To this day, I’m trying to decide whether my love of architecture grew from photography or vice versa. It’s a: Which came first, the chicken or the egg conundrum! In the meantime, I’m a volunteer docent at the CAC and lead two walking tours: Historic Treasures and Walk Through Time. In my day-to-day, I work full-time in marketing. I’ve been dabbling in amateur photography since 2014.

Marisol Kelly, Docent Class of 2015 I enjoy taking pictures with a sincere passion for all things photography and inspiring objects, people and spaces, plus taking photos is a good excuse to get out and explore.

Kelly Manteck, Docent Class of 2020 (Go Roaring 20’s!) I grew up in a suburb of Chicago called Lyons. I began college wanting to become a neurosurgeon but took a class at DePaul University called Burnham in Chicago which studied The Devil in the White City. I fell in love with architecture and thought I wanted to become an architect, but took a darkroom class and realized that architectural photography was my passion. I graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2013 with a BFA in Photography. I interned with Geoffrey Baer at WTTW and worked on ‘10 Buildings That Changed America, photographing the Robie House and doing research for the show. One of my Robie House photos is on permanent display in the Chicago Gallery at the CAC, as well as several of them being published in the ‘10 Buildings book. I’ve since completed two Masters of Education and currently teach digital art at Plainfield South High School, as well as being the head bowling coach. I own a business called KAMera Chicago Photography and sell my work. In my spare time, I enjoy hanging out with my dog, aptly named Burnham, leading Must See Chicago and Walk Through Time, and the River Cruise.

Nancy Schwab, Docent Class of 2011 After retiring as a Speech/ Language Pathologist I became docent. I really enjoy taking photos in Chicago and wherever I travel. i got the photography bug from my dad. He was an amateur photographer in several Chicago camera clubs. As a kid I remember watching him work his magic in his darkroom. Some of his photos won awards and some were donated to the Chicago History Museum and the Illinois – Michigan Canal Archives. Unfortunately, I never rose to his expertise. I currently have fun with my iPhone SE.

Robin Simon, Docent Class of 1997 Robin has lived in Chicago since 1987, coming here for grad school and staying. She has her own consulting practice, SimonSez Consulting, doing marketing analytics and forecasting for consumer products companies. Prior to that Robin worked at Kraft Foods from 1990 until 2002, here in Glenview and on an ex-pat assignment in Toronto. In addition to being a docent since 1997, she is an active volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association, Lakeview Pantry and Booth Alumni Nonprofit Consultants. Robin is an amateur photographer and enjoyed her Kodak Instamatic as a kid/teen and received a 35mm camera with a couple of different lenses as a college graduation present (in 1985).

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