Polar Plunge #1

Today over 4,000 brave soles (including a few celebs) immersed themselves in Lake Michigan in order to raise money for 'Special Olympics Chicago'. Once again bulldozers had to dig through the ice to make a space for plungers to delve into the murky cold water of Lake Michigan. They are crazy, but crazy good because they raised over $1 million dollars!

[Kim D]

Great shot! Great cause! Crazy people! ;)

[Rosie Kerr]

I heard about this on the radio today and wondered if you were out there, shooting wild people with big hearts! YAY! :) Super fun shot.

[Ukandie!]

@rosiekerr I missed the celebs (Vince Vaughn/ Chicago Pd and Fire cast, along with Gaga...I could have been 365 paparazzi!) but to be honest not too worried about that, it was fun watching everyone else...they all rock!

[Rachel]

$1 million dollars is huge. Good on them for their craziness!

[Rosie Kerr]

@ukandie1 I heard that Vince Vaughn, Lady Gaga and her boyfriend were out there... good for them! I don't think I would wear a bikini if I were jumping into Lake Michigan today... maybe a wet suit, instead. ;)

[Denise (lyndemc)]

What a shot! That is one crazy, passionate gal to be taking a dip in such frigid waters. Neat that you were there to capture a bit of the action.

Thank you for the comment and fav shared on my B&W "painting". Appreciate your dropping by.

[Ukandie!]

@rosiekerr It was fun, there were so many great costumes, people were very inventive . I should have bought my longer lens, but that said I was still happy with what I got.

[Graeme Stevens]

Great shot...but madness! Pure madness!

[Nancy]

Such a super capture of the moment. Great contrast of her in her bikini and everyone else completely bundled up. Think this is my favorite of the three.

[Sofia Naznim Farhan]

Great shot and cool photo!

[Warren Mullett]

I like this the best of the three you posted as it show how cold it is, how crazy these people are and the rescue crew shows its dangerous too !

[Lisa Villella]

Love this too! Fantastic!

[☠northy]

ooowheeee! crazy indeed! i bet hot toddies were served all around after this :) have to say, it kinda looks like fun - in a batshit crazy kinda way ;p

[~~JT]

I'm so glad to see some of the results of my donation! :) I usually get a thank-you card and a snapshot of the person(s) I sponsor. I love that there are ppl willing to do this to raise money for Special Olympics. Little known fact: Illinois has the largest Special Olympic organization in the country. The boy will swim later this week in his regional tournament to determine if he will go to the State Games in June. He'll complain about the water being cold. It'll be 80-82F. It's all relative, it seems! Great shot.

[Kareen King]

Such a unique capture! Fav!

[vstap]

I like them both, but really like the color, discarded clothes, and men on call here. Tells a story . . . A very cold one! Fav

[Leigh Anne Sanderson]

What a wonderful cause! Great capture!

[Marc]

Only 25 to go! I'll be there every night I wont miss one until you reach your goal. xx

[KWind]

Wow... what a brave woman! Fabulous shot! FAV.

[👑 AnaZad]

Good for them and for the cause. Great capture as well as the results of the fundraising.

[Shepherdman's Wife]

Wow! I don't know how they do it. Great that you captured it. Fantastic amount of money raised

[Shirley]

Great shot. Great cause. Fav!

[john morley]

I saw some celebs at this event on line. they were posed . you have caught the madness of the whole thing beautifully

[Margaret Obey]

Definitely crazy, but caring.

[Pam]

Wow! Amazing considering the cold we have had. That is such a great cause. I cannot believe so many participated! Love this shot!

[Carl Thomas]

nice shot, and wonder if she was smiling after coming out

[Yeshanghai]

Amazing shot with good action!

[Joyce]

great action shot but I'm afraid I'd rather donate and spectate.

[Helen K]

Original capture!

[Clare Gadsby]

I hope they raised a whole load of money after putting themselves through this. Great shots all of them in different ways

[Denise fuller]

it looks just as cold in colour

[Andy]

This looks like one mad bit of fun!

[Rob Moles]

Another great capture. Are these people mad or what?

[Amy Toon]

fab capture. I liked all of the discarded items

[Ukandie!]

@daneau You might have to hang on for 10 days longer, I have 35 more to go not 25 :)

[Julia]

Crazy cold! Brrr!

[Marc]

@ukandie1 Wow, ten more days of pleasure :)

[Tanja R]

That ooks like fun! :D

[Richard Sayer]

This is the one that I like the best because the obvious delight of the very pretty girl just sums up the whole ethos of the event.

[Bill Fenske]

Crazy. Great shot. Was it deep enough to get submerged?

[Tammy]

BRRRRRRR! Crazy! That's what they are! Very cool shot - pun intended!

[David]

You'd just have to keep moving, wouldn't you? I do like to see people doing crazy things!

[Vijay]

Fav-ing for the craziness and you capturing a crazy moment so well :-)

[Marnie Jones]

omg too cold!! fab shot :-)

[Osia Strasner]

I am just catching up to your album, and this is one crazy picture!! Wow, really? I was just in NYC last week, and it was so cold my fingers almost froze everytime I took the gloves off to take photos.....I cannot imagine jumping into the frozen waters of Lake Michigan! Love the contrast of the bikini clad woman and the totally bundled up bystanders!! Great capture.....probably a lot of fun to watch!!

[Steve Angell]

They can crack on...good for them...looks freezing!
Great shot!

[Laur]

WOW!!!!! I'm so sorry I haven't been commenting lately. Trying to change!!!

[Ukandie!]

@creativeaddict Don't worry about it. It is so hard to keep up with commenting some times, that is one of the reasons I took a break.