Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #170: Street Art

Published on by Yinglan

This week, on Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #170, Patti challenges everyone with the topic of Street Art, which I thought was especially challenging for me.

This topic has got my brain scrambling, searching for all the places I’ve been where I’ve seen street art. After reading and re-reading Patti’s post, looking for inspiration, a destination jumped out at me – Chicago.

I visited the Windy City in 2015 and it felt like a trip of a lifetime, at least by my standard. Mom protested at the time, saying it wasn’t a safe place but in her view, no place is safe for me unless she was glued to my hip. The trip wasn’t for leisure. It was a trip led by the chair of the Business School at my alma mater. It was a trip for educational purposes.

Before mom could further protest, I paid the $500 and signed up for the trip. I would be in Chicago for 4 days and 3 nights, officially visiting another State and metropolis in the U.S. The city-life was different and I felt like a country girl seeing the world for the first time as I walked the streets that first night.

The streets were noisy – full of traffic, cars honking one another, police sirens, fire sirens – for a moment, I felt so overwhelmed by the noise and lights but at the same time, there were so much to see.

After visiting Millennium Park on Day 2 and a large accounting firm on Day 3 along with a peek at the view from the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower, I finally was starting to get used to the city life. I actually could see myself living there, somewhere among the skyscrapers, working a steady job at an accounting firm, making a life for myself.

By day 4, there wasn’t many places left to go, at least not somewhere that would take less than a day. So we made our way away from the city toward Soldier Field. It was on our way to breakfast when I saw this mural on the side of a building. It was my first time seeing a mural anywhere and the mural was so cool.

After visiting Soldier Field, someone suggested we have a Chicago Hot Dog for lunch and while we were walking there, I saw this rock with intricate drawings on it. “What is this?” I asked the group. No one seem to know and I had no way of looking it up right then and there (I was still using a flip phone).

When Patti’s mention of Chicago in the opening of her post, it inspired me to take another look at my pictures taken at the time with a simple point-and-shoot camera. It was where I found this picture in my gallery. I must had forgotten about it.

18 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #170: Street Art”

  2. Chicago is a great city and a great choice for the challenge, Yinglan. I enjoyed reading about your first impressions of the city and how they changed as you spent more time there. I enjoyed the mural, too. Glad you joined us!

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  6. Loved your story about your mom’s concern Yinglan. I think it is the purview of moms everywhere! My mother once said “Oh No, you’re going to drive on that BUSY HIGHWAY?!?!?) I still remember it although it was many many years ago! Fun choices – love that the flying child was your first ever example of street art 😊

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  8. Pingback: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #170: Street Art – Nelsapy

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