Film Photos from My Recent Chicago Trip

I should clarify. When I say Chicago, I really mean Chicago-Land. I spend very little time in the city of Chicago – as little as I can. When I’m there, I’m usually in the small suburban town of Wheaton. It’s about 30 miles west of the Chicago city center.

I was testing my Nikon FE2 with Kodak Portra 400 and my 50mm f/1.4 lens. This film is slightly more grainy than Portra 160, but much more flexible when taking some photos indoors and some out. I should also explain, I use Portra films quite frequently, mainly because I don’t have much choice at my local film store. They also carry some Fuji films, but I think they’re even more expensive than the Kodak. I will try running my tests with some other films if I have the chance.

Here we go. This first set of photos is mostly in the town of Wheaton itself. It’s a small town, so walking around isn’t too rigorous, just enough walking to get some exercise, but not so much that I need rest after.

Then, I finished this roll of film after I returned. I left the film in my camera on the plane, and the security people were telling the truth (why should I ever doubt them?) and the film was not fogged by their X-Ray machines! I still think I’ll employ my lead bag when traveling in the future, but if I forget a roll in my camera, or have a half used roll, like this time, it probably won’t be a problem.

These photos were all taken in Texas, mostly Austin. It’s fairly warm here (100+ F/38+ C) which is not unusual for us in summer. I’ve been trying to capture some photos of the heat – well this is the best I’ve been able to do so far, but I’ll keep trying.

There are a couple photos here of the misting machines in Austin. In hot, dry climates (at least in the US) restaurants and pubs use water misting machines to add a little humidity and cool the air for outdoor areas. It feels good, and evaporates so fast that you don’t feel the moisture, just the cool. I’ve seen this in other states, like Arizona and New Mexico, where it’s hot and dry.

There are also a couple indoor shots – one of my dog and one of my wife’s needle work. I like both of these because they demonstrate the shallow depth of field I like with this lens at f/1.4.

On my next trip, I’m planning to spend time with my nephew who lives in New York City and wants to somehow be involved in film making. He likes analog photography, so I’m looking forward to bringing a few of my film cameras and photographing with him. I may even bring some of my old medium format equipment. That would be fun! Look for those photos in a future post – and I hope everyone has a very nice weekend, photographing the cities and countryside wherever you are!