Chicago’s favorite skyline photographer will release a calendar in November: Here’s a sneak peek inside

Soldier Field sits before the Chicago skyline. | Barry Butler Photography

You may not know Barry Butler’s name, but you’ve likely seen his work. His high-definition photos often feature cotton candy sunsets, city lights sparking on Lake Michigan’s surface or frozen, deserted beaches.

His cityscapes have been featured on virtually every local TV station and news site, and on national websites like The Huffington Post and Thrillist. On Instagram, he has 27.2K followers. On Facebook, he has nearly 64,000.

The Chicago-based photographer, originally from Ireland, has become famous over the years for capturing the city’s beauty in every season — even winter.

“When the polar vortex came, I was one of the happiest people in this city,” Butler said. “I love winter because the landscape changes hourly thanks to the snow, the ice.” he said. “I had no problem being out there for hours.”

In November, he’ll release a 2020 calendar, his fourth project compiling 12 stunning skylines and city scenes.

My office today.

Posted by Barry Butler Photography on Saturday, August 17, 2019

His prolific photography career started 20 years ago when Butler broke his collarbone playing hockey and started searching for something to keep him busy during his 8 months of recovery.

“I bought myself a tripod because I only had one arm to work with and I just taught myself,” he said.

Ever since then, he was hooked. He now wakes up every day an hour and a half before sunrise and shoots for six hours. That’s on top of his other full-time job in sales for iHeartMedia.

Each page of the calendar will feature a photo taken during that month. January through October were taken this year and November and December were taken in 2018, he said. The calendar, which sold out last year, will be shipping in November and costs $20.

His annual calendar project used to be something he did just for family and friends, but when he had extras one year, he asked his Facebook friends if anyone wanted a copy. They were gone in three minutes.

For Butler, the perfect shot comes from patience and diligent planning. He knows about 24 hours ahead of time where he’s going to shoot depending on what’s topical, the weather and which way the wind is blowing.

The rest he credits to Chicago’s natural camera-readiness.

“We do without a doubt have the prettiest city in the nation,” he said.

Here’s an exclusive sneak peek at some of the photographs Butler plans to feature in the 2020 calendar: