Our Favorite Chicago Photos of 2023

Dec 26, 2023 · 5:05 p.m. ET

This year, I’ve traveled to more neighborhoods to try new restaurants, see new artists, and to take photos. Here are some of my favorites of the year.

Red power puff at Lincoln Park Conservatory Feb. 26. (Jacoby Cochran / City Cast Chicago)

I stopped by the Lincoln Park Conservatory’s spring flower show, “Cooler by the Lake,” and I love the bokeh — the circular blurred effect on the out-of-focus parts — in this pic.

A turtle pokes out at the Garfield Park Conservatory March 5. (Jacoby Cochran / City Cast Chicago)

Just weeks later, I popped over to the Garfield Park Conservatory. I mean, who doesn’t love a picture of a sleepy ninja turtle?

Dee McGee at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash Fest in Bridgeview in June. (Jacoby Cochran / City Cast Chicago)

I’ve known Dee since college and this summer we officially felt too old for the music festival grind — a realization that hit us at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash Fest in Bridgeview.

Danielle Sanders at the Silver Room Block Party at Oakwood Beach. Block party organizers have said the 2023 event is the last. (Jacoby Cochran / City Cast Chicago)

After organizers announced it’d be the last Silver Room Block Party, the Triibe contributor Danielle Sanders shared her love for the event with us. Capturing her soaking up that final day was special.

In a packed pit, Weyes Blood performs at Pitchfork July 22. (Jacoby Cochran / City Cast Chicago)

Sometimes the best photos come out of the worst conditions: rainy, packed, final battery life, hard to see, and rushed. This photo of Weyes Blood at Pitchfork is one of my fav pics of the year.