The bridges that cross the Chicago River are all lift bridges, so boats can get from the lake to their harbors or Winter storage or wherever they go when they aren’t out on the lake for a while. The bridges are lifted on a very regular schedule, and if you forget and end up stuck on the wrong side, it sucks to be you, because each disruption is just a little less time than trudging down to the next bridge crossing and going around the one that was annoying you. You may as well just wait it out.

But whichever side you’re on, it’s kind of a cool sight, and if you’re waiting and some worker is observing the boats’ progress underneath from above, at least you can get a fun picture out of it.

October 12, 2022. Samsung S24+ cell phone, 6mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 28mm), f/2, 1/640, ISO 25.