Economy Class & Beyond

You are here: Home / Airplane Art / TRIP REPORT: More Pleasure, More Business – Airplane Art Extra from the 10th floor of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare

TRIP REPORT: More Pleasure, More Business – Airplane Art Extra from the 10th floor of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare

by

Airplane Art Extra from the 10th floor of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
More Pleasure, More Business.

More Business More Pleasure header

In this divided trip report

Part One: The Pleasure

Airplane Art Extra from the 10th floor of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare

For those who know, there’s one great feature about the Hyatt Regency O’Hare – and that’s the views you can get from this hotel of the City of Chicago, and if you enjoy watching planes arrive and depart.

There are a few things you’ll need if you want to go spotting here. First up, is your spotting platform

  • A room either facing towards:
    • The City of Chicago
    • Facing Rosemont Station
    • The other views are ok – but if you want your arrivals/departure traffic, this gives a good combination
  • A room in the main block.
    • Ignore the executive wing upgrades (least of all – you’ll be spending hours hiking back and forth from your room).
    • Do not go for the rooms in the turrets as well.
  • If you’ve done this, you’ll end up with a room with a balcony.
  • Try a high floor if possible. Lower floors work ok too

Camera Gear

  • A Camera with a decent frame buffer/frame rate is needed. Most cameras should do the job, but the more frames the better.
  • A lens with a decent length with at least 200mm at least at the telephoto end of the lens, 300mm ideally
    • If your lens is 200mm or less, expect to do a lot of cropping
  • Memory Cards

Finally

  • A copy of FlightRadar24 running on a computer or phone (I suggest a laptop) so you’re not running out to capture a picture of a regional jet.
  • A decent ear too so you can hear what’s coming in case your eyes are not glued to FlightRadar24

My set-up

If you’ve read my EOS R review, you’ll know it inside out – but for those who are new I’m using the following:

  • Canon EOS R
  • EOS RF to EF lens converter
  • Canon EF 100mm-400mm f4.5-f5.6 Mark I L Series Lens

Onto the pictures!

I’ll first show you why you need a decent lens on the camera. This was shot with my normal 24-105mm lens at 105mm

an airplane flying in the sky
Well it’s a plane.

Zooming into the crop at a 1:1 view, we can make out it’s a United Airlines Airbus A320.

an airplane flying in the sky

So, a bit more throw will allow us to capture more detail, and rely less on crops. Which makes life a lot easier.

With a 400mm lens, a bit of cropping helps – but we can see a lot more detail in this photo alone.

an airplane in the sky
American Airlines Airbus A321

Onto the pictures!

Bear in mind, winds change. As such, runway movements change. Later that same day, planes were departing eastbound from O’Hare. And again G-BYGC – the BOAC livered British Airways 747 plane was stalking me.

an airplane flying in the sky
Oh. You again.

Angle is everything. Departure angle shots can be tough, as you can end up with a lot of underbelly, and not a lot of the livery. It also doesn’t help this was shot in late spring in the evening.

a plane flying in the sky
JetBlue Airbus A320

Get the right turn, things can get a little interesting.

a plane flying in the sky
United Airlines Boeing 757-200

a plane flying in the sky
United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER

However, add a little light, and things become a lot easier, a lot faster.

an airplane flying in the sky
Skylease Cargo Boeing 747-400 Freighter.

a yellow airplane in the sky
Sprit Airbus A321  – the yellow of the fuselage really pos out here

a plane flying in the sky
This a lovely picture. With the downtown skyline of Chicago in the background, and an American Airlines Boeing 787-8 on approach to O’Hare

an airplane flying in the sky
And the Boeing 787-9 in question

a plane flying in the sky
Korean Air Boeing 777-300ER

a plane flying in the sky
Western Global Cargo Boeing 747-400 Freighter

Someitumes the stars align and you get the perfect shot line up. This was the case with this United Airlines Boeing 777-200 on final approach to O’Hare.

a plane flying in the sky
United Airlines Boeing 777-200ER

a plane flying in the sky
Nippon Cargo Boeing 747-8F

Overall: The Hyatt Regency O’Hare offers great possibilities for the aviation photographer wanting a range of traffic as well as some good angles to get photos (depending on the way the traffic is approaching or arriving into the O’Hare area). Use FlightRadar24 and your chances go up well for planning for your perfect photo.

Next: Back to O’Hare and the British Airways Terraces Lounge

Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.

Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!

Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to the European Frequent Flyer.