Isaac Adler is drawn to photographing the moment people cross the street in Chicago, producing striking images that present the city in a new light

“I feel like someone’s stride can tell a lot about the way they feel at that specific moment while walking through the middle of the road,” explains Isaac Adler, a digital project manager and keen Chicago Instagrammer. Admitting his bias as a resident, Adler says that Chicago is one of his favourite cities to photograph. “Each neighbourhood captures the city in such a distinct way. I tend to stick to street photography and there is never a dull moment while walking around.”

Chicago is famous for its grid system, which creates a lot of cross streets – and pedestrian crossings. “I’m drawn to crosswalks as I really enjoy trying to isolate a subject and cross streets happen to be an ideal location to capture this. The downtown elevated train system as well as nearby buildings create these vibrant pockets of light and shadows, which is really fun to play with from different perspectives. I tend to focus on isolating a single subject because it can give off the eerie feeling of a bustling city appearing empty.”

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