On October 3, I posted a photo of the entirety of Midway Airport and mentioned that it was pretty hard to get a photo of the entirety of O’Hare Airport. It isn’t impossible, though, and here we are. We were approaching from the west with a strong tailwind, and pilots fly into the wind on the approach so they can slow the plane down faster. That meant we had to fly past O’Hare and keep going for about three miles over Lake Michigan, then turn around and come back. That was a real pleasant surprise. I admit that as we got to this point, I was a bit startled to realize our path put us in a position where my phone’s telephoto camera could capture it all. It was a bit humid and we were at a higher altitude than I was when I took the Midway photo, so the colors here are adjusted some to get rid of the haze, but otherwise, it’s a pretty good shot of the entirety of O’Hare.

October 20, 2025. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 13.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 70mm), f/2.6, 1/850, ISO 50.