Chicago: Seeing and Photographing the Windy City
by Steve Geer
Photography with Prose Narrative ~ 96 pages
6 ½ x 9 ¼
Price: $25.99
Publisher: America Through Time
ISBN-13: 978-1-63499-622-8
To Order: Amazon.com
Reviewed by Michael Escoubas
In his legendary poem “Chicago,” Carl Sandburg sets the stage for Steve Geer's pictorial masterpiece by the same name. Sandburg writes:
Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:
The poem goes on to describe this robust metropolis with unforgettable words … Chicago is:
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding.
In his stunning new release, Chicago: Seeing and Photographing the Windy City, photo artist, Steve Geer puts photographic “flesh on the bones” of Sandburg’s poem.
The work is printed on top grade glossy stock and published by America Through Time, an imprint of Sutton Publishing Incorporated. No expense has been spared to produce a truly high quality product which anyone would be proud to display. The type font is Gotham, an easy-on-the-eyes sans serif, perfect for captions and supportive text.
Features
Chicago works for a range of audiences. These include: The casual audience, (your reviewer), who enjoys flipping through the pages while sipping coffee, the potential visitor who may be planning which parts of the city not-to-miss on vacation, as well as amateur and professional photographers. With photography aficionados in mind, Geer features “Photographer Tips” which apply to the book’s various segments. The tips note optimal times of day where light might be a concern, activities of special interest, when these activities happen, seasonal events, and more.
Structure
Chicago is structured into nine segments: The Loop, The River, The Lake, The Parks, Other Places, The L, Industry, Go High, and People. “Seeing” is a key word in Geer’s title. Geer is an artist. A defining trait of any artist is his powers of observation. Geer loves Chicago. He sees Chicago not as hunks of steel or mountains of concrete. Geer's photographs reveal an artist's heart. I sense a strong “pathos” for the town, for its people, and for creating a medley of pictures that sing Chicago’s praises with evangelistic fervor.
Geer sets a tone for the entire work, from this passage excerpted from the introduction:
If you enjoy taking photographs this is great, but better still is to see the city with fresh eyes and take photographs that show things beyond the guidebook images.
Each segment is preceded by an informative narrative that overviews that segment’s history, changes over time, and special features of interest. Together, let’s do a flyover of Steve Geer’s Windy City:
THE LOOP
South Michigan Avenue. May 2025.
THE RIVER
The river dyed green for the St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations. March 2025.
THE LAKE
Breakwater and the Chicago Harbor Light. January 2025.
“Captain on the Helm.” A sculpture at Navy Pier honoring Captain Streeter. December 2024.
THE PARKS
Saturday morning exercise class on The Great Lawn in Millennium Park. May 2022.
OTHER PLACES
Tribune Tower reflected in the windows of 500 Lake Shore Drive. March 2014.
THE L
The L crossing the river on the Lake Street Bridge. March 2018.
INDUSTRY
Industrial barge on Lake Michigan viewed from Monroe Harbor. January 2025.
GO HIGH
Skyscrapers at dusk. Equitable Building (left) and NBC Tower (center). June 2025.
Skyscrapers at sunrise. The KPMG Building, Equitable Building and Gleacher Center beside the Chicago River. June 2015.
PEOPLE
Wacker Drive. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. March 2025.
Michigan Avenue. October 2024.
Window cleaner, Near West Side. October 2024.
While I have no idea whether or not Steve Geer, the artist, is familiar with Sandburg’s poem, I can’t help imagining that they would be kindred spirits:
“Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth,
half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Rail-
roads and Freight Handler to the Nation.”
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