Chicago After Midnight — The Lakefront at Blue Hour

Chicago’s skyline is one of the most architecturally significant in the world. After the Great Fire of 1871 levelled much of the city, Chicago rebuilt with ambition, pioneering the steel-frame skyscraper and establishing the vocabulary of the modern city.
The Willis Tower, completed in 1973, held the title of the world’s tallest building for 25 years. Lake Michigan provides the city’s eastern edge — a 58,000 square kilometre inland sea that keeps Chicago’s summers mild and its winters brutal.
Blue hour photography in Chicago rewards patience. The 20-minute window between civil and nautical twilight produces even, diffused light that brings out the full depth of the skyline without blowing out artificial lights or losing shadow detail.