Category: Photography

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My photo “Don’t Know How Much Longer I Can Wait” was added to Flickr Explore

Seth Anderson0 comment

Don't Know How Much Longer I Can Wait - a photograph of a brightly lit interesection in the rain

I believe for the first time since Flickr parent SmugMug tweaked the algorithm, a photo of mine made it into Explore December 30th, 2023.

I took this photo December 28th, 2023, and developed it in my digital darkroom the next evening.

Photo Gear

  • Nikon D7000
  • 35.0 mm f/1.8
  • ƒ/2.8
  • 1/50 (the slowest shutter speed I can reliably use without a tripod)
  • ISO 400

Location: At the intersection of Lincoln, Halsted and Fullerton, in Lincoln Park, Chicago. I chauffeured to a local physical therapist1, and while waiting the hour for the appointment to be over, I walked around the area. It started raining pretty hard, and I was nervous that my camera might get wet but kept on walking, headphones on, listening to music, including to the Bob Dylan outtakes/alternate takes from the Time Out Of Mind Recordings. By the time I took this photo, I was pretty well soaked, but continued on for another mile or so. In my car, I had a raincoat, and a plastic protective sleeve for my camera, however was too lazy to trudge back to properly gird myself against the elements.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

At least I got a few good shots of the amazing city light during a rain storm out of it…

Darkroom (digital): Won’t bore you with every detail of what I did in Photoshop, but I do remember I used a graduated neutral density filter (in emulation) to balance the light, and Alien Skin’s Fuji Reala film (in emulation).

Footnotes:
  1. torn rotator cuff, yikes [↩]

The Weight Of The World’s Woes Rested Heavily Upon His Brow

Seth Anderson0 comment

The Weight Of The World's Woes Rested Heavily Upon His Brow

A Hipstamatic photograph of a solitary leaf that fell on my car’s sunroof during last night’s rain.

Lowy Lens and BlacKeys B+W Film

As far as the sentiment, you can probably guess as to its meaning without me being explicit. Right?

Keep My Real Life Shining

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Keep My Real Life Shining

Cloud Gate, aka The Bean, a favorite subject of tourists and photographers.

(click to embiggen)

  • Nikon D80
  • Lens 18.0-135.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
  • ƒ/8.0
  • 28.0 mm
  • 1/250
  • 100 ISO

I took this photo February 4th, 2007, and processed it in my digital darkroom in July, 2023. I remember it being a very cold day, and that my iPod battery died from being too cold, and then so did my Nikon D80 battery. Still took a bunch of photos before this happened though.

Decorum Was Uploaded To Flickr

Seth Anderson0 comment

Decorum

I liked how this Hipstamatic snapshot of the sun setting over Fulton Market turned out. I don’t recall using this particular set of lens/film1 previously, but it resembles a woodcut to me, especially if you embiggen by double clicking on the image.

Hipstamatic 367 / iPhone 13 Pro

9mm f/2.8

John S Lens, Uchitel 20 Film.

Footnotes:
  1. which is how Hipstamatic handles filters [↩]

Some Photos From Frostpocket Circa 2014

Seth Anderson0 comment

For some reason, I was exploring photos I took during a visit to Frostpocket, circa 2014. I wish it was more accessible, and friendlier for drop-in visits, because Frostpocket really is a beautiful hundred acres.

Anyway, all of these photos were processed in my digital darkroom today, but taken in September 2014.

Click to embiggen, if you wish…

Red Maple In The Rain

Red Maple In the Rain

It did rain many of the days I was there, but not hard enough to keep us inside.

Stories We've Heard So Many Times Before

Stories We’ve Heard So Many Times Before

Leaves in water is a cliché, but still fun to photograph.

Act As If You Had Never Been Away

Act As If You’ve Never Been Away

Easier said than accomplished. Especially when the wind blows your subject around and you can’t get a proper focus quickly enough.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Moss And Stone

Moss And Rock

and George’s shoe…

Wingham Classic

Wingham Classic

In Phil’s house. Presumedly wood burning, and presumedly worth something now that it is such an antique.

Birch Roots

Birch Root and Rock

I didn’t get a great photo of this but it was nonetheless impressive. Life is for the living, even birch trees attempting to get nutrients out of a rock.

One Door Will Open

One Door Will Open

The lovely colorful chaos of nature.

Mycology Test
Mycology Test

I have no idea what this fungi is, nor would I attempt to eat it, but it is aesthetically appealing.

It All Spoke Together – Triptych

Seth Anderson0 comment

I took this photo in the Cook County Forest Preserve somewhere in 2015, and processed it in my digital darkroom on October 22nd, 2021.

I like some aspect of all three versions, and instead of discarding 2 of the three, decided to publish all three as a sort of triptych. If and when I print them, I’d like to make a 3d triangle sculpture, and hang it on a thread so it can rotate.

These are the thumbnails, but the image is better when bigger, imo.1

It All Spoke Together - original

The original version of the photograph. I especially like the golden reflections of tree trunks in the pond. Also the faint reds of the leaves at the bottom right.

It All Spoke Together - tinted

The tinted version speaks a different emotional language, achieved by using cross-processing2 of Ektar film. Maybe I’d use this as my LP album cover, when I release that sometime in the future.

It All Spoke Together - mono

The black and white version, using Fuji Neopan 16003 is more stark, yet beautiful because of it. There aren’t quite enough visual clues to ascertain exactly what this is a photo of until the viewer studies it for a moment.

  • Nikon D7000
    35.0 mm f/1.8
  • ƒ/3.5
  • shutter speed 1/50
  • ISO 100

Footnotes:

  1. Click it to see a slightly larger version at Flickr [↩]
  2. in emulation [↩]
  3. in emulation, of course [↩]

How Long Must I Keep My Eyes Glued To The Door

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How Long Must I Keep My Eyes Glued To The Door

I took this photo on August 6th, 2021, and processed it in my digital darkroom on August 12th, 2021.

ƒ/1.8 at 1/160

35.0 mm prime lens

ISO 125

I think this was embedded in a church wall, but I could be wrong. Maybe it was a former priest’s apartment? I cannot recall. Somewhere in the Gold Coast, probably on Dearborn, if memory serves.

Is the face a Christ? Seems like it could be, though the broken nose reminds me of the Egyptian sculptures, and the conspiracy that the noses were broken off because they were African, or other reasons.

I liked the inherent decay of the sculpture1 and the expression of this man. So seriously sad.

I was listening to my vinyl collection; tonight I played Bob Dylan’s often disparaged album, Street-Legal, which I happen to think is pretty good. By the way, Jerry Garcia recorded a good cover of Señor (Tales of Yankee Power), as did Willie Nelson with Calexico, if you are keeping track.

Senor, senor, do you know where she is hidin’?
How long are we gonna be ridin’?
How long must I keep my eyes glued to the door?
Will there be any comfort there, senor?

This seemed appropriate for a Christ embedded on a stone wall…

Footnotes:

  1. wabi sabi [↩]

A Desperate Plan

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 A Desperate Plan

…click to embiggen

There is a short story waiting to be written about this moment in time. The dog walker’s expression is one of surprised guilt, but why? Is the smoker following him? His bodyguard? Or an innocent bystander?

Alleys are the beating heart of a city.

I took this photo on on March 2, 2018, and processed it in my digital darkroom on March 11, 2021.

ƒ/4.8
60.0 mm
1/125

Above Ground Sounds

swanksalot0 comment

Above Ground Sounds was taken on January 7, 2016, and processed in my digital darkroom December 22nd, 2020 at 4 AM when I couldn’t sleep.

Above Ground Sounds

Click here to embiggen. You probably should.

Approaching Northwestern University campus from the south, in Evanston one sunny winter day, I liked how the over-turned dumpster echoes the buildings in the background. Everything1 is technically wrong with this photo, but I like it nonetheless. The cropping is weird, the angle is a little off, who cares. I think it would make a great album cover – there is even some empty space for lettering.

Footnotes:
  1. well, many things at least [↩]

Lobby Ceiling Millennium Biltmore Hotel was uploaded to Flickr

eggplant0 comment

Los Angeles

1923 standards are different…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Biltmore_Hotel

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2jZnF92

I took Lobby Ceiling Millennium Biltmore Hotel on January 31, 2013 at 12:37PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on October 26, 2020 at 09:32AM

Confutatis Maledictis was uploaded to Flickr

eggplant0 comment

or something

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2jKPfRp

I took Confutatis Maledictis on September 24, 2020 at 03:23AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on September 24, 2020 at 08:50AM

Obviously, didn’t take this photo at 3:23 AM in my local time, but there is some bug in the system that insists upon subtracting 5 hours from this automated time stamp. Usually doesn’t matter, but this photo is not of a moon.

confutatis maledictis

According to Google Translate, this phrase means, “Doomed”, but I don’t think that is completely accurate.

Wikipedia has two translations of this phrase from the Dies irae:

When the wicked are confounded,
Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,
Call me with Your saints surrounded.		 Once the cursed have been silenced,
sentenced to acrid flames:
Call me, with the blessed.

Truthfully, Mozart’s Requiem came on my iTunes shuffle this morning, and I liked the phrase. Only later did I wonder what confutatis maledictis really means, and researched a bit (including asking my brother who studied Latin in school).

Name The Thing Without Naming It was uploaded to Flickr

eggplant0 comment

reflection, Chicago’s Loop

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2jGABiX

I took Name The Thing Without Naming It on April 09, 2017 at 05:42AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on September 14, 2020 at 12:41PM