How we photographed the Pride Parade

This week’s top photo comes from Visual Journalist Candace Dane Chambers.

What makes this photo important?

The 55th Annual Chicago Pride Parade brought a huge celebration to Lake View last Sunday. This year’s theme, “Free to Be Proud,” encouraged the massive crowd to lift up the LGBTQ+ community in the face of increasing discrimination under the current presidential administration. Gov. JB Pritzker has countered that national agenda, recently signing three new bills into law that offer protections for queer people in Illinois. Sunday’s parade showed how Chicago excels as a largely inclusive space in the Midwest.

The parade included people from all walks of life and many of the 155 participating troupes made it a point to include and honor queer elders. In the midst of all the glitz and glamour, I was struck by those more seasoned faces who endured even more hostile political climates of the past. Their pride and freedom was palpable in a sense that felt well-earned and hard-fought. They moved with a self-assured joy and ease that I found magnetic. This photo captures one of those many faces.

How did you get this photo?

I walked the full 20-block route and did my best to hang toward the side to not obstruct participants or the crowd’s view. I stepped directly into the action only when I saw a uniquely expressive frame to capture. I was shooting the Macy’s troupe from the perimeter with my 70-200mm long lens when this dancer spotted my camera. He lit up and I knew that was my green light to walk directly in front of him. I quickly switched to my 28-70mm wide angle and he made direct eye contact with the lens as he continued to “flag” – a uniquely queer dance style that emerged in gay clubs in the late 1970s and 80s. I walked backwards, careful to be aware of my surroundings while cranking my shutter speed high in order to perfectly freeze his motion. The silk flags glided across my viewfinder and I tried to capture a shot that wrapped him in their iridescent rainbow of color.