CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Navy Pier
Chicago, IL
Feb 2014

2014 Snow Days Chicago by Paul Sager, on Flickr


Snow sculpture is comparable to sand sculpture or ice sculpture in that major events are practiced outdoors, and often in full view of spectators, thus giving it kinship to performance art.

2014 Snow Days Chicago


Snow sculptures are usually carved out of a single block of snow about 6 to 15 feet on each side and weighing about 20 - 30 tons. The snow is densely packed into a form after having been produced by artificial means or collected from the ground after a snowfall.

2014 Snow Days Chicago


The Saint Paul Winter Carnival (St Paul, Minnesota) is the oldest annual winter carnival in the world, with the first one being held in 1886.

2014 Snow Days Chicago


In 1885, a New York reporter wrote that Saint Paul was, "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation" in winter. Offended by this attack on their city, the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce decided to prove not only that Saint Paul was habitable but that its citizens were very much alive during winter, their most dominant season

2014 Snow Days Chicago


The U.S. National Snow Sculpting Championship, Winter Fun USA, is held during the annual Winterfest, in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, just a bit north of Chicago.

These images from the 2014 Snow Days Chicago were captured with an EOS 5DIII and EF 28-70mm f/2.8L. The RAW files were processing in Adobe Lightroom 6.

2014 Snow Days Chicago by Paul Sager, on Flickr


These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.

John from gpwmi Loc: Michigan

Amazing snow sculptures, Paul. Beautifully captured.

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

Amazing skills from the sculptors and the photographer. Thanks for the share.

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

Nice job capturing the details of the snow. Not the easiest thing to do.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you John, Tomfl101, tradio! We ended up with just 10 inches this past weekend, a healthy amount, but nothing like the NE. I remain on my film kick, B&W for the past few weeks, so I found some unprocessed RAW from days past yesterday in LR. Glad you enjoyed.

Farm Boy Loc: Mendota Illinois

very nice Paul, kind of reminds me of one held in Lake Geneva Wisconsin where they built things from snow and ice. then on the lake raced ice boats with sails.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Very nice. Obviously, someone copied all the snow sculptures I made on my front lawn. : )

junglejim1949 Loc: Sacramento,CA

Paul you certainly showcase these talented sculptors!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Great work capturing these sculptures. Additionally, you exposed some incredible talent in the snow sculpturing category.
--Bob

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you Farm Boy, Jerry, junglejim1949, Bob! A sad development in Chicago is that Navy Pier has been closed since last September and won't reopen until maybe Spring 2021.

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

That's cool!

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

I like 1 and 4 the most.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Beautiful set, Paul. I have seen many ice sculptures but I think your post is my first snow sculptures.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

I really admire the sharp detail in all that white snow, Paul!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you Wallen, Karin, Joe, Mike! This week we had the first appreciable snow in Chicago this winter. I'm still working in B&W film. Maybe some will be developed before the winter ends.