The best iPhone picture ever? Frequent flyer takes stunning Chicago skyline cloud shot

An amateur photographer captured one of the best iPhone shots ever taken when he managed to snap a sunset skyline from a plane window.

Plane enthusiast and amateur photographer Mark Hersch was on a Chicago-bound flight when he photographed the city silhouetted against Lake Michigan.

The late-afternoon image, taken as the plane made a final approach for the city, shows the low sun casting a golden glow on the water, which is visible beneath cloud cover.

The skyscrapers of the ‘Windy City’ cast long shadows into the water, while those who look closely will spot another passenger jet near the centre of the picture.

Mark said he was flying to Chicago from a business trip when he took the change to get the amazing picture on his iPhone.

He said: ‘I looked down and through a narrow break in the clouds, I saw the shadow of the Chicago skyline projecting onto the lake. Oddly enough, I am a very frequent flyer and almost always sit in an aisle set, but on this flight there were only window seats available.

'I grabbed my iPhone and snapped off a single shot, hoping I captured the scene. When I got home I opened the photo on my computer. Not only was I amazed at the shot, but I noticed I also captured another plane on a parallel approach - which you can see if you look closely at the clouds above the skyline in the centre of the image.

'My only regret is that the image is not as sharp as I would like; it's merely an iPhone capture, after all. Ironically, I am a very avid amateur photography enthusiast, with some pretty expensive pro equipment.’