Photo Journal, March 2018. The unexpected Chicago Sampler

Published on: March 7th, 2018 | Last updated: July 18, 2018 | Written by: Joseph Anastasio

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As I mentioned last time, I took an unexpected trip over to Chicago at the end of January. It took awhile but I’ve finally gotten the 35mm film processed from this adventure. The results are really unexpected.

For this trip I tried out a few different rolls of film. The first was simple Fuji Superia 100 ISO. Below is a side by side comparison between this film and digital.

Film is on the left, Digital on the right. The angle is different but the colors are far sharper on the digital photo. The film version has more of an airy feel. Some of this might be a byproduct of getting used to vuescan’s software.

The subject of these photos is a former Burlington Northern E8 model locomotive. It was used in commuter train service around Chicago until the 1990s. This one in particular ended up in Maryland, powering trains around Baltimore, before ending up back here in Chicago, rusting away behind buildings in a suburban industrial park. All of the machinery inside has been removed, thus it is unlikely this locomotive will ever run again. As sad as it is to see such an elegantly designed beast rusting away, I’m still happy I got to photograph it.

Svema
Moving along, we get into the funky stuff. On the third day of this trip I synced up with Jon Rev & we headed to Gary, Indiana.

By this point I had wrapped up with the Fuji roll and moved on to some Svema 125 ISO. I had no idea what to expect, so I bracketed photos stuck mostly to well lit exteriors and outdoor subjects.

The Gary, PD demolition derby lot was one of the first spots we hit. I don’t know the story of this place offhand, as we just happened by it and found the gates wide open. Inside were at least a dozen demolished police cars. For a city with as litte traffic and as wide of roads as Gary has, this was an impressive collection.

I played with the scanner settings quite a bit before arriving at the above images. The results are nothing like those on the marketing page for this film, but I’m not complaining.

I finished the roll shooting various big abandoned buildings around town, as the sharp winter sunlight slid into the horizon. Gary is a city filled with abandoned buildings. Schools, bombed out looking churches, a large theater and post office… you name it. Gary does not disappoint in shear volume and variety of ‘bandos. It’s right up there with Detroit and East St. Louis.

I’m having a hard time critiquing these photos. They’re way more artsy than my usual schtick and I’m not 100% sure I’ve got the film scanning aspect of this project down 100%. But that’s kind of the point of this journal: to force myself to experiment, and leave it open to comments if anyone wants to drop feedback.

All of this said, Chicagoland is amazing. Big ‘bandos that are easy to find. It reminds me of NYC back in the early 1990s. Looking forward to returning here a few times in the coming years.

Comments

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2 responses to “Photo Journal, March 2018. The unexpected Chicago Sampler”

1. Gus Voulgares says:

   March 7, 2018 at 3:01 PM

   I used to do business in this area 25 yrs. ago and it was a rats nest then, can’t imagine now.

2. PegLegGuy says:

   March 7, 2018 at 3:32 PM

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   Good pics Joe.

   Looks cold!

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