Feng Liu Chicago | Feng Liu Street Photography

Why I Stay in Chicago

Many of my friends have encouraged me to travel across the country for my photography—to see more places, meet different people, and photograph America beyond Chicago. I understand the appeal. But I have chosen to stay.

There is something about Chicago that keeps me here. To me, Chicago is a melting pot, a miniature America. Its neighborhoods bring together people from different cultures, backgrounds, histories, and walks of life. Here, I see the diversity of America, but also its shared values, struggles, dreams, and contradictions.

Sarah Bernhardt once said, “I adore Chicago. It is the pulse of America.” I have always loved that sentence because it expresses what I feel when I walk through the city with my camera. Chicago feels alive. Its streets are constantly moving, changing, colliding, and revealing something unexpected.

For me, street photography is not simply about finding beautiful places. It is about witnessing life as it happens—people, gestures, chance encounters, neighborhoods, light, architecture, and all the small moments that might otherwise disappear. Chicago gives me an endless supply of those moments.

I don't feel that I need to cross the country to find America. I can find America right here: on the streets of Chicago, in its people, and in the countless stories unfolding every day.

I adore Chicago, too. It is the pulse of America. And for my photography, it is enough.