If the weather conditions are right, it’s possible to see the Chicago skyline from a distance of 50 miles—from Porter Beach, which is located at Indiana Dunes National Park. You can observe this on a clear day around sunset, as this is when the outline of the city is most visible.
If you can’t enjoy the view yourself, you can do that through the lens of photographer Lynda Myszkowski. She captured the beauty of the Chicago skyline and named the photo Bullseye. In her photo, the sun sets behind the city’s Sears Tower. “I’ve been wanting to get this shot for a while and was so excited that we timed it so perfectly,” she tells My Modern Met. “It was an amazing sight to see.”
Another photographer who also took a photo of Chicago from this location, Brandon Eicher, has a tip for anyone who wants to try the same thing. He recommends using a telephoto lens. “I only had a 200 mm lens with me, so I had to crop the final image to magnify the skyline,” he says. “I’d recommend a lens in the 400 – 600 mm range, if you have one.”
The best time to take a magical photo of the Chicago skyline is during the warm months from May to July. During this time, the sun sets directly behind the city’s skyline.
