A sunrise framed by nature at the Chicago Botanic Garden

 

 

Chicago Botanic Garden photographer Jeff Carrion set out to capture our version of Chicagohenge—a view of the sun perfectly slotted between natural skyscrapers at sunrise. He calls it Gardenhenge. Here’s how he found it.

I joined the Chicago Botanic Garden as photographer in August, and from my very first day, I was interested in finding what I like to call Gardenhenge.

The idea comes from Chicagohenge, something I photographed many times while working in the city. It occurs when the sun rises and sets perfectly framed between buildings, with unobstructed views along east-west streets. And it happens only twice a year— at the spring and fall equinoxes.

At the Garden, it’s different. The Garden isn’t built on a grid; it’s natural, malleable, organic. There are no tall buildings to frame the sun, and once you’re inside, the outside world disappears. That made it a challenge: Where could I find a vantage point that felt like our own version of Chicagohenge?


So, I started wandering. Each day, as I learned my way around, I kept an eye out for a spot where the rising sun might align with the landscape—somewhere symmetrical, somewhere the sun could frame itself naturally, the way skyscrapers do downtown. Without that kind of framing, a sunrise is just a sunrise, something that happens every day.


One morning, I climbed an overlook near the Sensory Garden. From there, I looked out and saw the Arch Bridge, tall trees standing in balance, framing it. Right then I knew: This is it. This is Gardenhenge.


The next step was all about timing. I pulled up an app that tracks the sun’s path and discovered the perfect frame would come on Friday, September 12, at 6:43 a.m. That morning, I was in place, camera ready, and captured the sun as it rose between two tree stands.


I hope visitors find this photograph inspiring and that it offers an opportunity to see the Garden in a way they never have before.