Chasing the Perfect Sunrise: A Morning at Chicago’s Fullerton Beach

As an avid sunrise photographer, the prediction of a morning with 50% cloud cover promised the perfect conditions for a stunning sunrise shoot. Eager to capture the beauty, I checked in with my WhatsApp group to see if anyone was interested in joining. Summer sunrises are notoriously early, and catching the best light meant waking up at 3 AM to head into Chicago.

Luckily, my friend Vikas was up for the adventure. I picked him up at 3:50 AM, and we drove towards the city, aiming for the concrete beach near the Fullerton exit. We found free street parking on Cannon Drive and walked about ten minutes to our destination. The sky was already hinting at the beauty to come, with a soft glow lighting up the horizon.

Fullerton Beach, Chicago

Skyline looks beautiful before sunrise.

As the first light broke, we quickly set up our gear and took some initial shots. The early light was incredible, painting the sky in hues that seemed almost unreal. We then focused on refining our compositions and experimenting with long exposures using ND filters to capture the serene morning ambiance as the light grew stronger.

Leading Lines:

The wooden structures in the lake at commonly known as "breakwaters" or "groins." They are built to reduce the intensity of waves and prevent erosion along the shoreline.

Those are making perfect leading lines leading to the skyline.

After capturing some fantastic shots, we walked down to Diversey Beach. Along the way, we enjoyed engaging conversations, surrounded by the early morning energy of joggers and bikers starting their day. I decided to fly my drone to get some aerial shots, but the light had already changed, and those photos didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped.

Long exposure shots of 2 minutes make the lake look like a mirror.

Satisfied with our morning’s work, we headed back home, the memory of a beautiful sunrise and good company making the early start well worth it.