The Nature Blog

The relationship between humanity and the natural world includes many facets — these are a few perspectives that I find interesting.

Cleaning Up the Chicago River

I’ve been documenting Great Lakes Plastic Pollution for a while now, providing information and resources about the environmental impact of plastic on our local ecosystem. In May of 2019, I reached out to Friends of the Chicago River, who were hosting a cleanup event along the North Branch of the Chicago River (at River Park,

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Baby Duck

This was taken in the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond in Lincoln Park, Chicago. I spent roughly a half-hour being as patient as possible. When I left the house, I had no intention on shooting baby ducks, so I didn’t bring my telephoto lens. All that I had with me was the 50mm and 35mm prime

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Tim Mack attempts to drink Lake Michigan in Chicago on January 9th, 2015 - Event photography by Michael Courier

Tim Mack Drinks Lake Michigan

This is Tim Mack. He attempted to drink Lake Michigan from Montrose Beach in Chicago on Saturday, January 9th at 2pm. Friday night I came across a DNAinfo article that stated someone was going to drink Lake Michigan. Not from Lake Michigan, but to drink all of Lake Michigan. Intrigued, and laughing, I thought this

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Confessions of a P.I.M.P. - Written and Performed by André De Shields at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago - Directed by Samuel G. Roberson - Music direction by Doug Peck - With Kimberly Lawson, Donica Lynn, Tony Mhoon, Doug Peck, Robert Reddrick - Performace photographs by Michael Courier

Confessions of a P.I.M.P by André De Shields

On July 16th I photographed the opening night of the Ignition Festival of New Plays at Victory Gardens Theater. The performance was by André De Shields and featured Kimberly Lawson, Donica Lynn, Tony Mhoon, Doug Peck, and Robert Reddrick.

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Explore: The World of Marie Antoinette - Fashion event by Steppenwolf Theatre Company - Event photographs by Michael Courier

Fashion Event for Marie Antoinette

Steppenwolf Theatre Company held a fashion event for Marie Antoinette and I was there! I photographed the pre-show festivities and these are a few of my favorite photographs. The event was a Project Runway style, with the designs being presented and then the designers having a turn to talk about their design choices. There were

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Performing Arts Photography by Michael Courier Photography - Matter Dance Company at Stage773

Dance, Magic, and Music

Water Ballet by Matter Dance Company for the June 2016 performance of Page Turner at Stage773. Matter Dance Company for the June 2016 performance of Page Turner at Stage773. Matter Dance Company for the June 2016 performance of Page Turner at Stage773. Pillow Fight by Matter Dance Company for the June 2016 performance of Page

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Performance photography of Rest at Victory Gardens in Chicago - Photograph by Michael Courier

Rest at Victory Gardens

In early fall I had the privilege of being able to work on variety of photographic endeavors for the show Rest at Victory Gardens Theater here in Chicago. The show was written by, now MacArthur Fellow, Samuel D. Hunter and directed by Joanie Shultz. The show was set in a retirement home, that was about

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Death and the Maiden at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago - Starring Sandra Oh, Raul Castillo, and John Judd - Performance Photography by Michael Courier

Death and the Maiden

Toward the end of July, Death and the Maiden wrapped up at Victory Gardens Theater here in Chicago. During the course of the run I was fortunate enough to take the photographs you see here (and many more that are not on the site). In order of first appearance: Sandra Oh, John Judd, and Raúl

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Chicago Fight for 15 protest and civil disobedience taken place on September 4th, 2014 - Event photographs by Michael Courier

Chicago Fight for 15 Protest

Please note: I am not a trained photojournalist. My background is performance and event photography. The selection of photographs you just saw were only a fraction of the work I produced during the day. These selected images, my favorites, portray a fairly accurate picture, pun intended, of the events that I witnessed. A few paragraphs

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We Must Breathe: A Response from Chicago Playwrights and Poets - Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago - Performance and Event Photography by Michael Courier

We Must Breathe

On Thursday, December 18th I (and my camera) was in attendance for the event at Victory Gardens Theater titled We Must Breathe: A Response from Chicago Playwrights and Poets. The response was to “the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, Sean Bell, Rekia Boyd, and countless others have brought

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