The photo issue 2008

We hail a cab, we climb on a bike, we hop on…well, we mostly wait for trains and buses. Whatever the means, we (eventually) get there. But sometimes getting from one place to another is more of a figurative journey—whether painting on glittery blue eye shadow and donning a blond wig to transform from regular guy to fabulous drag queen, or stretching tired muscles during ballet practice to become limber performers. Our photographers captured their interpretations of journeys, both literal and whimsical, for our third Photo Issue, and you’ll find our favorites on the following pages. Amateur shutterbugs also took the challenge to shoot people on the move for our annual photo contest. These photographic excursions illustrate that sometimes getting there is just a means from point A to point B, but oftentimes, it’s about so much more.

	Getting there: The view of Chicago from a helicopter at 6:30am
	From farm to market: The long trip to the dinner table begins
	From practice to perfection: For River North Chicago Dance Company members, getting to the stage requires taking a technique class every day at 9am
	From city to country: Rock band Cacaw packs up its gear
	From crash to burn: Tailgaters pack the parking lot at Illiana Speedway
	From actors to characters: The Black Ensemble Theater in Uptown prepares for a show
	From dude to drag queen: Stephen Bieniek transforms into a drag queen in front of a home mirror
	In transit: For TOC’s third annual photo contest, we asked readers to show us examples of Chicagoans “Getting There” by any means possible. These are the winners.
	Photo gallery: Take a look at some of our other favorite submissions to the photo contest in this gallery.