![]() ![]() Just seeing the patterns, it's just…whoa. But actually, winter is pretty amazing when you get to see the frozen water on the lakes and rivers. Probably fall because you still have some green, but you can just see those bright brilliant reds and oranges…and it’s only for a week. What's your favorite season during which to fly? There are some baby bison over by Fermilab that I love checking out. There’s a bald eagle nest over by O'Hare, so I always try to creep on them and see what they’re doing. My favorite thing to do is look for animals. One time we got to film these geese that shut down the highway. I like doing New Year's Eve just to see the fireworks. It’s almost like looking at a waterfall-there’s a straight line then the clouds are just dipping and rolling. Weather-wise, I love seeing shelf clouds because they are so unique. This is probably a tough question to answer, but what’s the best view you’ve ever seen? And I used to work for American Airlines. My grandpa had his pilot’s license, and he had a small little Cessna plane, so I would go in that every now and then. Not really! I feel it was a natural calling to do this. The wind creates a weird little vortex, and it knocks us around everywhere.ĭid it take you a while to find your air legs? And I’m always like, Noooo don't you understand the waves are there because of the wind? Then if we’re downtown, we always end up getting turbulence because of the way the wind hits the skyscrapers. The station always wants us to go up to film the waves on Michigan. But I have flown through storms, and it’s been crazy. We can’t really do it when the clouds are super low-so when it’s foggy or misty-or when there’s lightning. It can be tricky when you're filming a car chase because you have to follow them, especially when it’s super windy and bumpy. There are these knobs that go left and right then up and down, and I use those to focus on the subject. Then I'm using…think of an Etch A Sketch. It’s hot, so imagine carrying a hot pizza in the car as you’re driving home. The camera is on its nose, and I have this laptop. So I’m not leaning out a helicopter door gathering the news. Other times I'll be living in the helicopter, and I have to make sure I bring a snack because the only time we’ll land will be to refuel.Ĭan you describe your setup in the chopper? There can be a week where I’m not flying at all, which kind of stinks because I have to get really dirty helping the mechanics clean stuff around the hangar. We don’t have a set schedule-it’s kind of like a firefighter's schedule, where you go into the hangar and wait for whoever is at the assignment desk to call and say, "Check this out for us." And they decide how long they want us to hang out. ![]() What does a typical day look like for you? I spoke with her over the phone about what it's like to nestle in a whirlybird and scrutinize Earth's surface for a living. Today, the photog is part of a shrinking force of helicopter camera operators across the country-and one of just a handful of women in the field. This year, she celebrates her fifth anniversary at this sky-high position, which she says she "kind of got by accident." A radio broadcasting major, Malina previously reported on traffic before a friend alerted her to this job, which is based at the Schaumburg site of the chopper agency U.S. "I want to show people that Illinois is pretty awesome." "I just want to show people what is actually out here," Malina says. ( Chicago's Whet Moser credited the latter with keeping him sane last year.) Her Instagram and Twitter accounts are wondrous feeds, featuring unparalleled views of the city, the suburbs, and the exurbs during all seasons. While her videos of breaking news (which largely show crises like shootings, fires, or traffic accidents) surface on television, she also often shares her own aerial photographs online. The Skokie native operates a helicopter camera, flying over Chicago and beyond to record footage for CBS Chicago and FOX 32. It's a tight space-and there's no WiFi-but Jessyca Malina's workplace has views no office building can offer. ![]()
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