Springing to Chicago – Airplane Art Special: From a balcony at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Here we go… again (in more ways than one)
- Off to Heathrow
- Terminal 3 Oneworld Lounges (Cathay Pacific and American Airlines)
- AA87 London Heathrow T3 to Chicago O’Hare International
- The joy of US immigration
- Intercontinental Chicago – Magnificent Mile
- Travel Tech: Life with a Canon 50mm f1.2 (yes, it’s another walk around Chicago)
- Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Travel Tech: SkullCandy Ink’d Wireless Headphones
- Airplane Art Special: From the Balcony of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare ** BONUS **
- Back to O’Hare, The British Airways Business Class lounge
- BA296 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow
- Delayed Arrivals and Homeward
- Short and Sweet
One of the reasons why I stay at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare – as well as for seeing my friends – is for the vantage point of where the hotel is if you enjoy watching planes.
Put it bluntly, the Hyatt Regency O’Hare is slap bang in the middle of a two arrivals/departures paths for planes to arrive and depart.
Of course using a tool like FlightRadar24 becomes invaluable so you can track movements in and out of O’Hare (so you’re not racing to the window for an ERJ or another United 737… but when something interesting is flying by.
The Hyatt is near the blue dot – data – FlightRadar24.
There’s two decent vantage points for plane watching – either overlooking the Kennedy Expressway (good for close-ups on one of the arrival/departure paths) or a City View – which should cover two arrival/departure paths (but you’re going to need a decent zoom lens).
As usual, I’m using my Canon 6D, matched with a Canon 100-400mm F4 to F6.3 L Series lens. Whilst some use it for bird watching or papping, this lens excels at airplane photography. Just make sure you have either a decent tripod to hold it, or your arm muscles are good.
In terms of picture edits, in most cases, I’ve applied some crop correction (Except in the night ones). So let’s get to some pictures.
The standard view of a plane departing – an American Airlines Boeing 737-800.
Pretty much as a plane sneaks from up above, an Aer Lingus A330-300 climbs out.
A shocking pink WOW Air Airbus A321 passes on by.
United Express (GoJet) Bombardier CRJ-700
United Airlines Boeing 767-300ER …. without winglets…
And with winglets.
Alas, the angle can be quite tight… so you’re half the time looking at bellies of the beast. Like this Airbus A330-200
Of course, A Boeing 747 can be graceful… like this British Airways Boeing 747-400
Of course, the new comes to chase after the old… like this American Airlines Boeing 787-8
Long plane for long haul – A Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER
And something more colourful – a A Hainan Airlines Boeing 787-9 featuring Kung Fu Panda on the side of it
Remember what I said about the Belly of the Beast. Cue a KLM Boeing 747-400
Everyone loves an Aer Lingus A330-300 in green don’t they?
And even Eurowhite can be attractive… when there’s a decent background and a splash of red
Of course – O’Hare is a heavy cargo field too – and there was plenty of Cargo Traffic to go along with it
Air France Boeing 777F
China Eastern Boeing 747-400F
Atlas Air Boeing 747-400F… who needs paint on a plane?
Maybe on this one.. Better…
Night time photography is a challenge – and with ISO6400 being less than smooth, a lot of post-production is needed. In these examples, I’ve increased the exposure, increased Noise reduction, as well as bit of cropping, for some rather pleasing results.
Air Bridge Cargo Boeing 747-8F
China Southern Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
British Airways Boeing 777-200
My friend and I watch planes at the hotel – not because she’s an avid plane spotter – but because on busy weekends like the ones we have in Chicago, it’s a perfect thing to wind down to… as well as the white noise effect of the engine sound.
There’s something soothing about it.
NEXT: Back to O’Hare
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