More than 1,000 images in new four-color book
The excitement and joy of the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago are captured in a new 208-page four-color glossy photo book available online from the Web site www.lulu.com . The book features more than 1,000 images of the sports, culture and ceremonies of Gay Games VII, held July 15-22, 2006.
Several dozen professional photographers donated their services to cover the Gay Games, contributing more than 60,000 images to the Gay Games photo archives. These images were then culled to 11,000 and were made available in 2006 as downloads on the Gay Games Web site. Now, the best of those images are in the book 'Gay Games VII: Where the World Meets.'
The book is written by Gay Games VII Co Vice-Chair Tracy Baim, who is also publisher of Chicago's Windy City Media Group ( WCMG ) . WCMG and its weekly newspaper, Windy City Times, coordinated the Gay Games photo project, and WCMG Art Director Kirk Williamson designed the book.
The featured photographers in the book are Steve Becker, Kat Fitzgerald, Amy Moseley and Patsy Lynch, who took the majority of the images. There are dozens of other professional and amateur photographers included, with images from all 31 sports and dozens of cultural events and ceremonies of Gay Games VII.
The book includes an overview of the past seven Gay Games, including images of the first event in 1982 with co-founder Dr. Tom Waddell. There are also special photos taken by internationally renowned photographer Victor Skrebneski of amateur and professional Gay Games athletes, including Esera Tuaolo, Leigh-Ann Naidoo and Matthew Cusick.
Especially memorable are images from the Opening and Closing ceremonies at Soldier Field and Wrigley Field. There are photos of the featured performers and speakers, including Mayor Richard M. Daley, Cyndi Lauper, Megan Mullally, Margaret Cho, Andy Bell, Ari Gold and many more.
The Gay Games decided to go with an online publishing format to allow for more creativity and flexibility. In using www.lulu.com, the process is similar to ordering any book online, and takes just a few days. The book is $49 plus shipping, or is $19 as a PDF download.
Order at www.lulu.com/content/1179609.