Hi from the Northwest Suburbs (Chicago)

[Timmyjoe]

Been interested in LF photography for nearly 50 years, but never got around to it. The last couple of years I've been playing around with a Kodak Medalist II with a sheet film back, shooting 2.25" x 3.25" and a bit of 6.5cm x 9cm. It wet my whistle and since 4x5 film is the same price as 2.25" x 3.25", I figured I'd finally take the plunge. I know I have a lot to learn, but I'm looking forward to it.

Best,
-Tim

[Jac@stafford.net]

NW RR Suburbs? You probably have peers in this group. Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Palitine or way up into the hinterland?

[Tin Can]

I drove taxi in Arlington Heights during the 1979 blizzard, in a Dodge Omni.

Old people could ride anywhere in the rather long town for $1, I got 50 cents after payout. Never a tip. Those old folk knew how to stretch a dollar for an up to a 12 mile slow ride.

But an Omni was good in the deep snow and almost fun for a couple rides.

3 times I got a dispatch to pick up 6 stewardess to take them to O'Hare airport. ORD. The first time I tried to refuse as the car only had seat belts for 4. Dispatch said go do it. NOW!

Fortunately this was still the era of tiny young women stews. 4 in the back and 2 in the right front seat. Cozy, as I tried to not get us all killed. Not exciting one bit.

This was job 2 after quitting school bus training in deep snow. I really needed a job! The big bus was a handful in snow and I soon realized I sure didn't want the responsibility for 60 kids. Imagine 60 screaming kids and deep snow. I don't need to imagine as when I was 8 a Minnesota school bus did a 360 on a downhill snow covered road. We stopped hanging over a T intersection. OK...

I quit.

My car then was a 1964 Dodge Dart Slant Six with a long hood. Cost almost nothing, no required insurance in those days. The snow was piled so deep all over the NW burbs that at every intersection one could not see cross traffic. So you slowly edged in and hoped for the best.

Same year I was cross country skiing on top of cars buried in parking lots so deep I never came close to scratching them.

I now live much farther south.

Welcome Tim!

[diversey]

Welcome! Show us your Chicago LF photos.

[Timmyjoe]

I drove taxi in Arlington Heights during the 1979 blizzard, in a Dodge Omni.

I'm originally from Ohio, and right after your blizzard of 1979, I gave my buddy from Miami University a ride home from college to Rockford. We came thru Chicago right after the snow stopped falling. 90/94 wasn't too bad, but by the time we got to Rockford, it was hard to even get off the expressway. I had my 1976 Pinto station wagon with snow tires at the time, and I remember driving around the streets of Rockford the following days, each street was a deep trench in the snow, piled up six to eight feet on both sides. And helping my buddy's dad shovel the snow off the roof of their house. You didn't need a ladder to get up there, you just walked up the snow.

That was the most intense snow I had seen until about fifteen years ago, when my wife and I were living in Portland Oregon, and we had to go thru the Cascades to get to an important event in Bend. Naturally it was winter, and naturally the snow was deep. Had to have chains on our four wheel drive vehicle, and even then, the mountain passes were barely passible. The snow was so deep on the sides of the highway (15 to 20 feet high) the snow plows had these hyper powered blowers that shot the snow up over the 15-20 feet walls of snow. It was impressive to watch but rather scary to drive in.

One of the reasons I've wanted to get into LF photography had to do with Portland, and driving our two family cars back to Chicago when we moved back in 2008. If you ever have the chance to drive US-30/I-84 east out of Portland, in the early morning as the sun is rising, make sure you have a camera. I didn't and will always regret it. The sun coming up between the walls of the Columbia River Gorge/Canyon, as the mist rises from the river, is just spectacular. Someday I'll get back out there and get the shot.

Best,
-Tim

[Timmyjoe]

Welcome! Show us your Chicago LF photos.


Haven't taken any yet. Just putting together a camera package. Hope to do some test shots in the next few weeks.

Best,
-Tim

[Timmyjoe]

NW RR Suburbs? You probably have peers in this group. Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Palitine or way up into the hinterland?


Out by the hinterlands. We're not too far from the Barrington stop. We live in the village, on the "bad side of the tracks". ;-)

Best,
-Tim

[Timmyjoe]

Okay, just for fun I will post one sorta LF thing. A couple years ago when I first got the Kodak Medalist and the Sheet Film Back, I was looking around on eBay for 6.5x9cm sheet film that might work with it. And I found someone selling some boxes of Kodak Super-XX sheet film from the late 1930's. I thought it would be cool to look at how they did things back then, and the price was peanuts, so I bought a box. Turns out the expiration on the film was like six months before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, that's how old this stuff was. And it still worked.

193546

193547

193548

Now the image certainly won't win any awards, but I thought that it was so cool that film that had expired 78 years ago could still be used to make an image.

Best,
-Tim

[FrancisF]

Welcome, I think you will find this group the welcoming, supportive and well informed for all you online needs. There are local groups to meet up with in person when you have interests. I recommend checking out the Midwest Large Format Asylum. Nice bunch

https://www.facebook.com/groups/275113417230/

[Timmyjoe]

Thanks Francis.

Best,
-Tim

[Jac@stafford.net]

I'm originally from Ohio, and right after your blizzard of 1979, I gave my buddy from Miami University a ride home from college\

I lived in Gambier for a few years.

[Richard Wasserman]

A slightly belated welcome! I'm about 30 minutes east of you

[Timmyjoe]

Thanks everyone.

Well, I made my first two LF images today. Of course I don't currently have any way to scan or print the negatives, but they do look nice. Was able to acquire two Nikkor-W lenses in really nice shape (a 135mm & a 210mm), a few old Fidelity Deluxe film holders, and some Tri-X 320. Quite the fun experience.

Best,
-Tim

[Peter De Smidt]

That’s great, Tim. Good job!

[Chuck Pere]

I'm east of you in Prospect Heights. I second checking out the Midwest Large format group. I at least attend their annual portfolio review get together and it's always a fun time. Maybe we need a NW burbs lunch meeting some time.

[Bob Salomon]

I drove taxi in Arlington Heights during the 1979 blizzard, in a Dodge Omni.

Old people could ride anywhere in the rather long town for $1, I got 50 cents after payout. Never a tip. Those old folk knew how to stretch a dollar for an up to a 12 mile slow ride.

But an Omni was good in the deep snow and almost fun for a couple rides.

3 times I got a dispatch to pick up 6 stewardess to take them to O'Hare airport. ORD. The first time I tried to refuse as the car only had seat belts for 4. Dispatch said go do it. NOW!

Fortunately this was still the era of tiny young women stews. 4 in the back and 2 in the right front seat. Cozy, as I tried to not get us all killed. Not exciting one bit.

This was job 2 after quitting school bus training in deep snow. I really needed a job! The big bus was a handful in snow and I soon realized I sure didn't want the responsibility for 60 kids. Imagine 60 screaming kids and deep snow. I don't need to imagine as when I was 8 a Minnesota school bus did a 360 on a downhill snow covered road. We stopped hanging over a T intersection. OK...

I quit.

My car then was a 1964 Dodge Dart Slant Six with a long hood. Cost almost nothing, no required insurance in those days. The snow was piled so deep all over the NW burbs that at every intersection one could not see cross traffic. So you slowly edged in and hoped for the best.

Same year I was cross country skiing on top of cars buried in parking lots so deep I never came close to scratching them.

I now live much farther south.

Welcome Tim!

I went to work as a salesman for Simplex Speciality Co. and they told me to pick out a car and they would buy it. After much back and forth they finally agreed to a Plymouth Horizon. But for some strange reason I would usually walk right past it when returning to the car after a sales call. This was really baffling until one stop I walked past it and when returning I finally saw why.
In the front it had the Dodge logo from the Omni and, on the back, the Plymouth Horizon logo!

I thought that I probably ended up with a car worth more then usual so I called Chrysler in Detroit and told them what I had. They said “oh, you got one of those also”!