Portraits from the Park

Thomas W. Harney — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Chicago’s old Comiskey Park, home to the White Sox until 1990, is as essential to the city’s cultural history as it is to baseball’s. From the first day that Thomas W. Harney set out to photograph fans in the ballpark, he felt at home there, owing to memories of games with his father and grandfather. It became his ongoing subject, as well as a setting that would inspire his growing reputation as a street photographer.

The sequence of portraits Harney took of White Sox fans between 1973 and the last game played at the park—September 30, 1990—captures the essence of baseball fandom: pregame excitement, exploration of the ballpark, the quiet moments in between plays, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. Most importantly, these portraits capture the aura of “Old Comiskey,” a ballpark that looms large in the memories of Chicagoans and baseball fans alike.

Born to Run

Albert Lewis — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:00:00 GMT

It’s a familiar image: a line of dogs surging through snow along the Iditarod trail. It can be easy to forget that each team is made up of individual dogs, each one bred and trained to perform at the pinnacle of canine ability.

Albert Lewis, a professional photographer and dog lover, was skeptical of the race when he first moved to Alaska, but after seeing the dogs’ excitement at the Iditarod starting line and experiencing the mushers’ deep connection with these athletes, his perception of the race was forever changed. Determined to show the world the heart and soul of these animal athletes that run thousands of miles, he took his camera and set out to revolutionize our image of sled dogs.

In Born to Run, Lewis stops the dogs long enough to spotlight them as individuals, letting their personalities shine through. Lewis draws on his experience as a fashion photographer, capturing unique moments of stunning beauty and stoic grace, emphasizing their athleticism even as they're standing still. Additional photos show the dogs interacting with their mushers during care and training. The full-page photos are finely detailed, and readers will find themselves nearly reaching out to stroke the dogs on the pages. Accompanied by just enough text to provide each dog’s name, age, and trail miles, the photos are left to speak for themselves.

The hundreds of thousands of Iditarod fans across the globe have made the race a historic event, and race fans and dog lovers alike will be drawn to this book.

University of Chicago Press: New Titles in Sport and Recreation

Portraits from the Park

Born to Run