In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox marks the first day of fall in what are called the astronomical seasons. This event usually takes place on or around September 23 and creates a very photogenic spectacle in the city of Chicago. Thanks in large part to the foresight and wisdom of Chicago’s city planner, Daniel Burnham, the main downtown streets are situated perfectly east/west and north/south. This makes navigation very easy, and it also sets the stage for a remarkable visual phenomenon during the spring and fall equinoxes. One these two days the sun sets due west and the sunlight pours down the east/west streets. We Chicagoans call this “Chicagohenge” as a nod to the famous Stonehenge.
If you are lucky enough to catch this on a clear day, the effect is incredible. The giant fireball lands precisely between the looming skyscrapers that line the streets. It’s something that is best experienced in person, as any attempt to explain it in words seems to fall flat. My husband, Nick, has been capturing this solar event for over five years, and his photos are remarkable. You can check them out here. Up until this year, we had only captured this fleeting moment from the ground, and for a few years now Nick has had his mind set on trying to capture it from a helicopter.
This year was the year. The weather was right. The pilot was available. All variables finally aligned. I owe all of the planning and timing to Nick. He did the research to determine the exact time we needed to lift off in order to make it to the lakefront at the precise time to catch the setting sun flooding through the streets. We arrived to our aerial location a few minutes early so we could do one scout pass, and then it was show time. Shooting from a helicopter, in and of itself, comes with a long list of challenges. When you add on top of that a quickly setting sun, the level of difficulty rises exponentially. We took a total of three official passes over Lake Michigan, flying south to north, looking west. I was shooting with a 28/300 lens, so the variety of zoom was vast and also a challenge. Did I want the whole skyline with the lake in the foreground? Should I zoom in to focus only on the sun and street? Time was ticking and these decisions had to be made very quickly.
Once we realized the ‘henge’ effect was over, we flew west to try and capture the ‘reverse henge’. The idea for this shot was to position the helicopter in the western sky and shoot east towards the skyline. The visual we were after is the fiery glow of the setting sun as it reflects off the glass facades of the buildings. Again, this effect is fleeting. We only managed two full passes, but it was enough to capture the look we were going for.
I’m incredibly fortunate to have a partner who has a true passion for all things celestial – and an unrelenting desire to capture unique images of Chicago. In the end, I’m really just along for the ride and try my best to capture what I’m experiencing. This is not an attempt to diminish my work, but the fact of the matter is, without Nick, these images would never have happened. So credit where credit is due.
Hope you enjoy checking out what I was able to capture on this autumnal equinox flight.
