Our workshop has yet to officially begin, but that doesn’t stop us from getting up well before dawn and catching a taxi down to Navy Pier to get some shooting in. Navy Pier is a “festival marketplace,” to use the term coined by the Rouse Development Company—the same company responsible for designing Quincy Market in Boston and Harborplace in Baltimore—and although it’s overrun with restaurants and eccentric attractions (such as the Amazing Chicago Funhouse & Maze Adventure), there is also a public walkway accessible even when the attractions are closed… Which they are, at 4:45 in the AM.

Here are my favorite shots from this morning. Off to a good start, I would say!

The Ferris wheel at Navy Pier is one of its most remarkable features. Here, it is reflected in the shallow pool surrounding the (currently closed) Wave Swing.

More after the jump!

This bench near the Wave Swing is surrounded by roses. Pretty, no?

A sculptural anchor stands at the tip of Navy Pier, which was named in honor of its service to the Navy during World War II. Previously it had been known simply as Municipal Pier #2.

This switchback walkway caught my eye with its angles and contrasts.

Finally, a cityscape is hovered over in the dawn hours by a nearly full moon.