Chicago’s 2006 Gay Games may have happened over a year ago, but that doesn’t mean people are done reflecting on the event’s success. A recently published photo book, “Gay Games VII: Where the World Meets,” documents the seven-day event, from the rainbow-colored opening at Soldier Field (the shot of 11,600 athletes waving their light-sticks is depicted prominently on the cover) to the closing ceremonies at Wrigley Field. “We had some amazing professionals working for us,” says Tracy Baim, who wrote the accompanying text for the book. “They weren’t told where to take specific shot angles or positions or anything like that.” After 60,000 pictures were submitted, a mere 1,000 were selected, a process that Baim says was based on providing a well-rounded view of what took place. “What are trying to do is provide a balance of the cultural and the athletic…to show what the Gay Games were about and what it meant to Chicago.”
