Ah, Summer in the Midwest! Along Indiana State Road 15,
between Marion and LaFountain, I saw this utility pole and Windmill being engulfed in ivy.
(Mamiya RB-67, 90mm, F32, 1/30 sec., Kodak PRN, no filter).
Along Indiana
State Road 18, East of Marion, I found this barn and other outbuildings, being consumed by
Ivy. The original print looks 3-dimensional, probably because of the gray cloud at the
upper right. I can almost smell the country air when looking at this one. (Mamiya RB-67,
90mm, F22, 1/15 sec., Kodak PRN, linear polarizer).
In west-central Indiana, is Parke County. There are over 30
wooden covered bridges in the county, making it the most heavily populated (with covered
bridges) county in the United States.When I took this shot, I expected it to be one that
would never be printed, since the bridge was backlighted. As it turns out, it's the best
of all my covered bridge shots, since the backlight illuminates the bridge interior,
showing off the mechanical structure inside. (Mamiya RB-67, 90mm, F16, 1/15 sec., Kodak
TMX, Yellow #8).
In North Grove, Indiana, west of Marion, is this building.
I'm told that it used to be a train station. The tracks are long gone, and the current
owner uses it to store antiques. I thought the texture of the hundred-year-old bricks,
combined with the lone sprig of ivy growing up through the window bars was worthy of a few
frames of film. The color of the bricks in the original prints is a real eye grabber.
(Mamiya RB-67, 90mm, F22, 1/30 sec., Kodak PRN, no filter).
While visiting Parke County in search of covered bridges, I
found this old barn. The sides are warped, the roof is warped, there are shingles missing
from the roof and there are even some weeds growing out of the roof along the left roof
horizon. Weather, termites and simply old age will soon claim this one. I'd like to get
back there again and re-shoot it. It's a classic. (Mamiya RB-67, 50mm, F32, 1/8 sec.,
Kodak PRN, linear polarizer).
North East of
Marion, in the little burg of Linn Grove, stands this grain elevator. The main silo is
made of brick and the paint is peeling badly. The owner told us that he, and most other
grain elevator operators are going out of business. The farmers now truck their grain
directly to the companies where the elevator operators used to sell their grain. The
middle-man has been cut out and the elevators are being abandoned. (Mamiya RB-67, 50mm,
F32, 1/8 sec., Kodak PRN, linear polarizer).
This is my favorite
of all the shots I took last summer. It is the Glenmore Farmer's Grain elevator in
Glenmore, Ohio, in the northwest part of the state. I have a 16x20 inch enlargement of
this photo that is so sharp you can see the nail heads that hold the corrugated siding
material to the building, above the 'R' in Glenmore, on the 4th floor of the structure.
Every time I look at it I find some new detail that was captured on film. Take a close
look at the railroad tracks where they cross the road. The grooves where the train's wheel
flanges are supposed to pass are full of gravel. The tops of the rails are thoroughly
rusted. These tracks haven't been used in a long time. Soon, the railroad will tear up the
tracks and sell them for scrap steel. It is happening all over the Midwest. If you have
one of these buildings near you that makes a picturesque photo, I recommend that you shoot
it soon. Before long the tracks and building will be a lost part of American history.
(Mamiya RB-67, 90mm, F22, 1/15 sec., Kodak TMX, Orange #21).