Behind the Scenes at One of the World’s Busiest Airports

With flight delays on the rise and a long winter leaving many stranded at the airport, TIME called on its readers to submit their photos from the terminals and tarmacs using the hashtag #TIMEairport. Many of you answered, but one Instagramer with an insider’s perspective caught the attention of our photo editors.

Joe Lammerman, or @lammdogg_photography on Instagram, has been a baggage handler with United Airlines for nearly 18 years, currently based at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. He first picked up a digital camera in 2006, quickly developed a passion for photography and has carried one with him ever since. Through a mix of cell phone and digital camera images, his Instagram feed gives us a behind the scenes look at one of the busiest airports in the world.

“I find beauty in a lot of different things, whether it be mechanical or natural,” he tells TIME. “I absolutely hate winter, it sucks the life out of me, but for as much as I hate it, it has produced some really cool, beautiful, bleak-looking pictures.”

For more, follow him on Instagram @lammdogg_photography.