CHICAGO CALLING - 9 days, 70 rolls 120, 60 selects, 1 book

[NY_Dan]

News: Just out is my book, Chicago Calling.

The whole book may be viewed in full-screen Preview mode from this link:
http://www.blurb.com/books/5416200-chicago-calling-dan-wagner

You can also download the eBook for free from this link:
http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/p4f77767aa5872908fe5b


Chicago Calling is a collection of photographs taken from June 1-9, 2014. Earlier in the year, while visiting Chicago on a two-day agency assignment, I was frustrated that I had no time to shoot for myself. The city’s faces and places demanded further exploration. Flying home to New York, I knew I would return soon. I had a bad case of Chicago calling.

The only cure would be to come back with my cameras fully provisioned with heaps of black and white film. Over nine days of shooting I walked the streets of Chicago until my legs crumbled beneath me. I partook of touristy adventures such as visiting the Hancock and Sears (aka Willis) Towers, and an architectural riverboat tour. Were nine days enough to slake my thirst for Chicago? Not really – but they were all I had.

I hope Chicago Calling will give you a case of Chicago calling, too.

1 July 2014
Dan Wagner


Often on RFF people post threads regarding a planned trip, and ask for thoughts regarding what equipment to bring, where to go and more. These adventures are indeed daunting. For my short trip to Chicago, I thought about the photos I wanted to take, and roughed out in my mind how I might approach something as expansive as trying to capture a slice of a major city -- it's people, places, and something unique to it that appealed to my eye. I did my best to pre-visualize the experience. There were also practical consideration. I knew I would be walking for 8-hours or more each day, so weight was a major factor.

After careful consideration I decided to bring the following: LowePro Nova bag (very light, sturdy, and only cost about $65), Rolleiflex 2.8f, Rolleiwide, Hoods and yellow filters for all cameras, Fuji GSW690II, Vivitar 285 flash, 80 rolls of Tmax 400 120 (used 70), and no exposure meter. When in doubt I used my iPhone Light Meter App. To keep things manageable, on an average day I would bring the 2.8f, and the Rolleiwide or Fuji 690 and 10 rolls of film.

Between 6/11 and 6/29 I processed all 70 rolls, made my first edit with the aid of a Tamron Fotovix IIX-S (shows negs as positive on a monitor), scanned about 200 negs (Nikon Super Coolscan 9000) to 29" 300dpi, PhotoShopped about 150 scans, and final edit was 60 photos. The challenge of doing a project like this start to finish in one month is, well you get the idea. 🙂 It would have been great to have had more time, and what I saw made me want to see more, I had a supply of flashbulbs with me, but didn't have the chance to shoot with them -- nonetheless, I managed to see a fair amount, and if the chance to visit again presents itself, I now have some bearings to build upon.

Hope you like the book, and I look forward to some questions and interaction. Many of the photos have a story connected to them, so if anyone wants to read an anecdote or two, just mention the photo and I'll tell you the story that went with it - the cover photo has a cool story. Thanks for looking.

By the way, if you download the free eBook or view the complete preview, please post below -- so I can get an idea of how many RFFers made use of this feature.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Details, Details, Details. Who is publishing? Where is it available? Shot it all with 120 film, what camera, if I may?

Love the cover photo above.

Best,
-Tim

 

[smk]

Very nice work, thanks for sharing.

Savvas

 

[Timmyjoe]

Hey Dan,

Thanks for the info. Hectic project.

I liked the structure section of the book, and the section with the little girl and her caregivers. I'm a bit jaded on Chicago street pics. Nice work, and Wow, that's one heck of a work ethic getting all that film developed and scanned and adjusted in such a short period of time.

And again, love the cover photo.

Best,
-Tim

 

[MrFujicaman]

I really like your book. However, I think the voice you heard calling you to return was the ghost of Vivian Maier...

 

[NY_Dan]

I liked the structure section of the book, and the section with the little girl and her caregivers. I'm a bit jaded on Chicago street pics.

And again, love the cover photo.

-Tim

I figured that some of the Chicago street pics would resonate differently for natives. A friend from Chicago liked the structure section -- he's an engineer.

The cover photo -- this was shot in Chicago's Chinatown district -- which compared to NYC's Chinatown is tiny. While looking for photo-ops, from about a block away I saw a man with a net on top of a truck. My photo radar pinged and it was off to the races as I hustled over as fast as I could. I circled the truck looking for the right angle and background. But the man was moving quickly so I didn't think I was going to get anything good. The man and his partner regularly drive their fish delivery truck from NY to the Midwest -- Indiana is their home base. There are about 8 huge plastic holding tanks, each supplied with aerated filtered water and hold from 300 to 1,500 fish each depending upon species and size. Most are farm raised fish. The stop in Chinatown was to supply the local restaurants. Anyway, at one point the man paused for a second to wipe his brow with his shirt and I was in a decent spot and grabbed the shot so fast I barely had time to take it in. I thought I had something, and was very glad this shot wasn't in the batch of 6 rolls where I diluted the developer too much (a confluence of distractions). His body language and the way he's holding the glasses are so natural -- that's what I like. I learned about their biz after taking the shot and a few others.

 

[NY_Dan]

Chicago, Jewelers Row, Dan Wagner Photography 2014

Chicago, Jewelers Row, Dan Wagner Photography 2014

Here's a photo from the Structure section of CHICAGO CALLING.

 

[NY_Dan]

I really like your book. However, I think the voice you heard calling you to return was the ghost of Vivian Maier...

Huh? What?

 

[mfogiel]

What I like, is that it is simple and (mostly) consistent - perhaps the intrusion of purely architectonic shots was not needed. It is a solid and witty "slice of life" work.

 

[shadowfox]

Excellent, Dan!
I tried to leave a comment on Blurb so it'll stay with the book page. But a glitch prevented me from doing that (it kept asking me to type a verification word that I can't see, go figures...)

Anyways, just want to say good job, you got my admiration from both your keen eyes in seeing interesting scenes, and your using film instead of digital. Definitely in my top five of interesting photobooks so far this year 🙂

 

[pjmacd]

Dan,

Excellent work! I live in the 'burbs of Chicago, and go into the city as often as I can to do some street shooting. You have shown me parts of Chicago I haven't seen before.

 

[stompyq]

I really like your book. However, I think the voice you heard calling you to return was the ghost of Vivian Maier...

What, now everyone who shoots with a Rolleiflex/TLR is copying Vivian Maier?? Was it really necessary that you insult the Op by adding that final little passing remark?

Anyway, really great work Dan. I enjoyed the book.

 

[raid]

Congratulations on this book, Dan. It can imagine the "walking" each day and the pressure (maybe) to catch some good scenes to be photographed.

 

[NY_Dan]

Thanks for looking and commenting everyone -- very glad to interact -- yes, walking 8 miles or so a day with gear is tiring, but I was really curious to see what was around the next bend -- pressure, yes, with only a limited time I didn't have the luxury of time that I have at home of knowing I can go to NYC often.

As for Vivian Maier -- her body of work is amazing. Her subject matter is universally appealing to photographers - it's humanity. And yes, black and white with a Rolleiflex has that look. I like focusing and composing on ground glass, the bigger the better -- that's what I loved about shooting 8x10, and what I love about the Rolleiflex. My earliest "hero" photographer was Avedon who also loved Rolleiflex cameras. Just because we all eat spaghetti doesn't mean we're all Italian. Is this even a good analogy? I have no idea.

Anyway, shooting humanity in Urban and other areas with black and white and a Rolleiflex will unavoidably yield comparisons with Vivian Maier and others. Many scholars are trying to put together "arguments" for Vivian being influenced by specific photographers at a museum show she attended. I like old films on TCM, Fred Astaire, David Janssen Fugitive episodes, Herb Ritts, Salgado, Avedon, Weber, and so much more - can elements of these photographers be found in my work and others -- sure, from time to time. I have photos I shot in 1971 of people in Brooklyn that could pass for a Maier or a Winogrand or whomever. To write I heard ghosts of this or that photographer -- that's fine -- but maybe the viewer is the one hearing ghosts and not me. Any reference to Vivian Maier with regards to a photo of mine is to me a great compliment. My huh? what? was tongue in cheek.

The 2 following photos, one by me and one by Vivian Maier will no doubt make many laugh (in the spirit of discussing comparisons) -- it had me laughing as I shot the photo (as I knew it could easily be used to advance one viewpoint).

The one by VM of two men looking at a coiled hose on a rain slick sidewalk was shot in NYC in the 1960's (I think), on Fifth Avenue around 86th st (I believe). It's actually one of my favorite VM shots. The one by me, and in my book (I put it there in small part to see if anyone would make the connection) is of a maintenance worker in Chicago fixing the base of a lamppost -- I was laughing (silently inside of course) as I shot it because it reminded me of VM's coiled hose photo. Mind you, I would have shot this photo whether I had ever seen a VM photo or not. Life is funny.

For what it's worth I greatly prefer VM's coiled hose photo -- although I do like the lamppost with the plastic filling in for a "human" shape that more or less occupies the same mass as a kneeling worker. The hand gesture of the worker in my photo is so much like the hand gesture of the man in the VM photo (on left) -- I often notice gestures and body language that are universal -- and these gestures somehow signal my shutter finger -- for instance a person with hands together and interlaced fingers is much more photograph inspiring (to me 🙂 ) than when the hands are merely clasped.

 

[kbg32]

Best image -

 

[Brad Bireley]

I enjoy your work Dan. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jsrockit]

I'll check this out later on a proper monitor. Keep pumping them out Dan!

 

[Bill Clark]

This looks like a fun project!

Kudos to you!

Formulating a theme, sticking with it, you have won the battle.

I really like how you used black & white!

Great job.

Thanks for showing your art here.

Best.

 

[MrFujicaman]

What, now everyone who shoots with a Rolleiflex/TLR is copying Vivian Maier?? Was it really necessary that you insult the Op by adding that final little passing remark?

Anyway, really great work Dan. I enjoyed the book.

Uhhh...stomppyq..it was not my intention to insult Dan. It is great work and I admire Dan's work here.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Very nice of you to do it on 120 film. Feels classic.