An aerial perspective was crucial to showing Chicago’s hazardous air quality this week. On the ground, you can sense the smoke and maybe see hints of it in the distance, but you don’t grasp its full density until you take a step back and see it from afar. Framing the skyline behind the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier emphasizes the sheer thickness of the haze that people are walking through.
How did you get the photo?
I initially had to wait at Navy Pier for the heavy haze to clear enough to be safe and shift slightly before I could get a clear shot. I chose that vantage point specifically to frame the Ferris wheel in the foreground, using it as a point of reference aiming back toward the city skyline. By positioning the shot this way, I was able to capture the stark silhouettes of the buildings in the background, making the heavy layer of pollution and wildfire smoke sitting over the city immediately visible.
Technical details
Focal length: 22mm
Aperture: f 2.8
Exposure: 1/6400
ISO: 110
Plus, 12 more photos from Chicago Sun-Times photojournalists from this week in news:
On a hazy morning, a person swims in Lake Michigan near Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary on Thursday as smoke from the Canadian wildfires pollutes the city.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Buildings on Michigan Avenue are obscured by smoke from wildfires in Canada on Thursday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Chicago Teachers Union members rally after walking out of a Chicago Board of Education meeting at the Chicago Public Schools headquarters in the Loop on Wednesday.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Mosquitoes are seen inside a jar at the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Lizzo performs Giulio Briccialdi’s “Carnival of Venice” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by Chief Conductor Marin Alsop, at the opening night of Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on July 11.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Yunchan Lim performs Maurice Ravel’s “Piano Concerto in G Major” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by Chief Conductor Marin Alsop, at the opening night of Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on July 11.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at the Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi on June 26.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Mayor Brandon Johnson watches votes get counted Wednesday during a Chicago City Council meeting.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
Colin M. McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, speaks Tuesday about efforts to curb fraud during a press conference by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security regarding the Trade Fraud Task Force at the Channel Distribution Corporation in Bensenville.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Staff serves customers at Mikono, a Greek frozen yogurt shop in Pilsen on the Southwest Side on Monday.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Teens board buses outside of Harris Theater for Downtown Day on July 11.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
Valentina Rodriguez, 17, takes photos at the Shedd Aquarium during Downtown Day on July 11.
Air quality alert for Chicago, Day 2, as wildfire smoke from Canada shuts down beaches, venues Uncategorized Thick, acrid smoke still blanketed the Chicago area Friday, prompting closings and cancellations in the city and suburbs. An air quality alert is in effect through Saturday night, though the concentration of pollution in the air had begun to decrease by Friday afternoon. Chicago’s Air Quality Index hovered around “unhealthy”…
Air quality alert for Chicago, Day 2, as wildfire smoke from Canada shuts down beaches, venues News Thick, acrid smoke still blanketed the Chicago area Friday, prompting closings and cancellations in the city and suburbs. An air quality alert is in effect through Saturday night, though the concentration of pollution in the air had begun to decrease by Friday afternoon. Chicago's Air Quality Index hovered around "unhealthy"…
Canadian wildfire smoke turns air hazardous in the US Midwest. Officials say stay inside News By TAMMY WEBBER and PHILIP MARCELO NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy, pungent smoke from Canadian wildfires darkened skies in the U.S. on Thursday, from the Great Lakes to parts of the East Coast, reducing visibility for commuters and prompting warnings about air quality that made outdoor activities dangerous. Detroit’s air…
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