Hasselblad 500CM, 10 January 2012

Why yes, I do have more color photos to share with you…for now. I need to finish editing the rest.

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Photo Information:

Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: Carl Zeiss 50mm f/4 Distagon (Photo 1); 80mm f/2.8 Planar (Photo 2); 250mm f/5.6 Sonnar (Photo 3)
Film: Kodak Portra 160 (120)

Photo 1:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Streeterville Neighborhood

Yes, the Wrigley Building (left; completed in 1924 and designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst, & White) and the Tribune Tower (right; completed in 1925 and designed by Howells & Hood) at the south end of the Mag Mile. Don’t they look nice in the evening light?

Photos 2 & 3:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Lincoln Park

Yup…sunrise shots. Note: I have no idea what that object on the Lake is (it’s clearly visible in Photo 3, to the right of the Sun); there are a couple of these at various points offshore, and I’ve seen one of them up-close. I still don’t have a clue what they are…they’re too big to be navigation buoys, but they don’t appear to be large enough to be manned platforms – at least, not for any significant length of time (I think). They’re a mystery.

Enjoy.

Hasselblad 500CM, 04 January 2012

Oh yes…more color film scans!

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Photo Information:

Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: Carl Zeiss 50mm f/4 Distagon (Photo 1); 80mm f/2.8 Planar (Photos 2 & 3)
Film: Kodak Portra 160 (120)

Photo 1:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Chicago Loop

This is a view of the Chicago River from the Lake Shore Drive Bridge, facing west; the Loop is on the left, and the Streeterville Neighborhood is on the right.

Photos 2 & 3:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Uptown Neighborhood

These two photos are of the Uptown Broadway Building (completed in 1927 and designed by Wwalter W. Ahlschlager); I’ve photographed this building before, but not in color…which is why I’m posting these shots! As you can see, the terra cotta detailing is mostly rendered in pale yellow with sky-blue highlights.

Enjoy!

Hasselblad 500CM, 02 January 2012

Hey look…first post of the new year!

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Photo Information:

Location: Chicago, Illinois; Edgewater Neighborhood
Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: Carl Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 Planar
Film: Kodak Portra 160 (120)

The subject of these photos is the Belle Shore Hotel (completed in 1929 and designed by Koenigsberg & Weisfeld) in the Edgewater Neighborhood; it’s located in the Bryn Mawr historical district. I’ve photographed this building before, but that was in black & white, which of course, doesn’t do justice to the phenomenal green stone and yellow brick façade, or the polychromatic details. Oh, and check out that magnificent sunburst over the main entry door.

Enjoy.

Hasselblad 500CM, 30 December 2011

Hey look…more color film I processed at home!

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Photo Information:

Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: Carl Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 Planar (Photo 1); 50mm f/4 Distagon (Photos 2 & 3)
Film: Kodak Portra 160 (120)

Photo 1:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Edgewater Neighborhood

This building is located at 1055 West Bryn Mawr in the Edgewater Neighborhood; I am not aware of any historical significance to the building, but I like the rounded corner and polychromatic cladding.

Photo 2:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Uptown Neighborhood

As with the building in the previous photo, I am unaware of any historical significance to this building, which is located at 5020 North Sheridan in the Uptown Neighborhood; this is, of course, unsurprising in a city of Chicago’s size and age – there are plenty of interesting buildings around town that are not historically significant in any way other than being reminders of past styles of building. In this case, there’s a definite mid-30s Art Deco feel to the building, with its clean geometry and polychromatic cladding. I especially like the corner on the left-hand side of the photo.

Photo 3:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Chicago Loop

This is the former Oriental Theater, now the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (completed in 1926 and designed by Rapp & Rapp) in the Theater District of the Chicago Loop. The theater is one of many around the city designed by the firm, Rapp & Rapp, for Balaban and Katz; though it is now used for live touring Broadway plays, like many other local theaters, it was originally designed as a movie palace – early in cinematic history, there were both fewer movies made each year and the viewing of them was a much more “formal” affair.

Enjoy.

Hasselblad 500CM, 29 December 2011

Yes, I know…I’ve been away a while…holidays and such. To make up for it, here are some holiday-themed photos for y’all!

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Photo Information:

Location: Chicago, Illinois; Chicago Loop
Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: Carl Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 Planar
Film: Kodak Portra 160 (120)

All of these photos are of the annual Christkindlmarket that takes place in Daley Plaza in the Loop – and yes, these are also from one of the rolls of C41 film I processed myself.

Enjoy.

Hasselblad 500CM, 15 December 2011

Recently, I decided to learn how to process color film (C41 process); I already process my own black and white film, and one of the main reasons I do so (apart from, y’know, just enjoying it so very much) is that it costs less than half what a lab would charge for the service. The same is true of color processing, and I found that the procedure itself isn’t that much harder than black and white – different, of course, in terms of temperatures and such, but not difficult (kinda messy, though, what with the water bath and such). Below are some of the first results I got from doing so…I think they worked out well.

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Photo Information:

Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: Carl Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 Planar (Photos 1 & 3); 250mm f/5.6 Sonnar (Photo 2)
Film: Kodak Portra 160 (120)

PHoto 1:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Streeterville Neighborhood

This is one of the side entry doors to 999 North Lake Shore Drive (completed in 1912 and designed by Marshall & Fox) in the Streeterville Neighborhood. This building is part of the East Lake Shore Drive Historic District; as an added bonus, it’s subtly decorated for the holidays (yes, that one wreath next to the door).

Photo 2:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; North Loop

This is another of my favorite buildings in the city, the Carbide & Carbon Building (completed in 1929 and designed by Burnham Bros.) – one of the few Art Deco designs in the city that isn’t just plain concrete / limestone and bronze panels.

Photo 3:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Lakeview Neighborhood

This is the Salt ‘N Pepper Diner in the Lakeview Neighborhood, shot during early evening when their sign is lit up. As I’ve probably mentioned before, I like these sorts of old-faashioned signs.

Not bad for my first efforts at processing color film, eh?

Enjoy.

Leica IIIf, 06 December 2011

Yes, I’m back in business with a computer, so now I can get back to playing around with my film scans and such. No, it isn’t a new computer, but it works, so I’m not complaining.

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Photo Information:

Camera: Leica IIIf
Lens: Leitz 50mm f/2 Summitar (Photos 1 & 2); 35mm f/3.5 Elmar (Photo 3)
Film: Kodak TMax 100 (135)

Photo 1:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Lakeview Neighborhood

Yup, another view of the underside of the CTA elevated tracks. I love these old tracks!

Photo 2:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Streeterville Neighborhood

This is one of the lanterns next to the main entrance to the Drake Hotel (completed in 1920 and designed by Marshall & Fox) in the Streeterville Neighborhood (a few blocks north of the John Hancock Building). Given the name of the hotel, the motif of the lanterns sure is appropriate, ain’t it?

Photo 3:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Edgewater Neighborhood

Now part of the Chicago Parks District as an indoor recreational facility, the building was originally built as an indoor ice skating rink (completed in 1916 and designed by Carpenter & Weldon; formerly the Winter Garden Ice Skating Rink, then the Broadway Armory); considering that the building was completed during the height of World War I, it is not known whether or not the building was ever used for its original intended purpose. Following the WWI, then Illinois National Guard modified the building into an armory and training facility, though it was also opened to the public as a recreational facility.

Enjoy.

Leica IIIf, 28 November 2011

More photos from my Leica…can’t say much today…having computer troubles, so I may be distracted for a little while resolving that. Fun stuff, I swear.

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Photo Information:

Location: Chicago, Illinois; Edgewater Neighborhood (Photos 1 & 2), Gold Coast Neighborhood (3 & 4)
Camera: Leica IIIf
Lens: Leitz 135mm f/4 Hektor (Photo 1); 50mm f/2 Summitar (Photos 2, 3, & 4)
Film: Kodak TMax 100 (135)

The first two photos are parts of building façades in the Edgewater Neighborhood, while the latter two are of corner buildings in the Gold Coast Neighborhood on Division Street (at Clark and Dearborn, respectively).

Enjoy.

Canon AE-1P, 27 November 2011

Yes, I still have some more shots to share from my Canon…have I mentioned how many frames I have to work with when I shoot 135 film?

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Photo Information:

Camera: Canon AE-1 Program
Lens: Canon 50mm f/1.4 FD (Photo 1); 70-210mm f/4 FD (Photos 2, 3, & 5); 24mm f/2.8 FD (Photo 4)
Film: Kodak TMax 100 (135)

Photos 1, 2, & 3:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; River North

These three photos are shots of the inimitable Merchandise Mart (completed in 1930 and designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst, & White). I say “inimitable” because really…how many office / retail buildings do you know of that contain over 4 million square feet of rentable space – and do so with such style (in this case, Art Deco style)?

Photo 4:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Chicago Loop

This building is also one of my favorites, the Reliance Building (completed in 1895 and designed by Burham & Root); the building is one of the earliest expressions of what would become the norm with tall buildings, namely, possessing a steel load-bearing internal frame and having a façade dominated by glass, and not masonry. The façade also contains the first full expressions of the famous Chicago Window (i.e. a large, fixed center panel flanked by two smaller operable windows).

Photo 5:
Location: Chicago, Illinois; Chicago Loop

This is the Steuben Club Building (completed in 1929 and designed by Vitzthum & Burns), located on west Randolph Street and now known by the creative name, 188 W. Randolph Street. I especially appreciate the limestone details at the top of the tower; the building itself is currently undergoing renovation into condos or lofts (I forget which), hence the scaffolding around the sides of the building (visible on the left-hand side of the photo).

Enjoy.

Leica IIIf, 26 November 2011

I’m switching gears a bit here, since I have plenty of other photos to post – have I mentioned lately that I have a massive backlog of photo scans to work through?

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Photo Information:

Location: Chicago, Illinois; Edgewater Neighborhood
Camera: Leica IIIf
Lens: Leitz 50mm f/2 Summitar (Photos 1 & 3); 135mm f/4.5 Hektor (Photos 2, 4, & 5)
Film: Kodak TMax 100

The subject of Photos 1 & 2 is Granville Pictures, a frame shop located (appropriately enough) at Broadway and Granville in the Edgewater Neighborhood (north of my home neighborhood of Uptown). I particularly liked the old signs hanging over the storefronts, as well as the clock on the corner of the building; the building detailing isn’t so bad, either. The subject of Photos 3, 4, & 5 is the Broadway Bank Building (completed in 1925 and designed by R. Bernard Kurzon; formerly Riviera-Burnstine Motor Sales), located on Broadway & Elmdale – also in the Edgewater Neighborhood. One can infer that most of the first floor space behind the storefronts was once an open floor space to accommodate the car displays for which the building was originally designed. Based on the older photo in the AIA Guide to Chicago, there was once a large sign bolted to the corner of the building; you can see the attachment points in Photo 5.

As you should be able to infer from the title of this post, I shot these photos with my Leica IIIf, an older screwmount camera (one of the last of the Barnack line of Leica designs). When I’m shooting 135 film, I do sometimes prefer using this camera (or my Contax IIa, which is roughly equivalent in terms of size and features) to my SLRs (like my FM-2 or AE-1 Program), due to the former being much more compact (and lighter) than the latter. For those of y’all who aren’t familiar with these cameras, the Leica is a rangefinder camera, which means that it lacks two features that add substantially to the weight and complexity of any SLR: 1) they lack the reflex mirror common to all SLRs; and 2) they also lack the large pentaprism viewfinder, which is a massive piece of mirrored glass. This does add some minor disadvantages to the rangefinder cameras, the most significant of which is that the viewfinder does not show what the lens itself is “seeing.” As such, it can be difficult to compose a shot, but this is generally only a problem the closer one gets to the subject of the composition (which includes telephoto shots). That being said, since I generally shoot from some distance away (most of my subjects, in case you haven’t yet noticed, are buildings and such), it usually isn’t much of a problem for me.

Enjoy.