Route 66 photographer passes away at 91

[CharlesDAMorgan]

A friend shared a link to an article about a photographer (actually a lawyer) Charles Custer, who recently passed away at 91. He and his wife travelled Route 66 in their twenties, photographing small town life. The results were recently printed, and are fabulous. I thought this might interest some.

Chicago Sun Times Obituary

 

[Brian Atherton]

Absolutely fabulous. Thank you so much for posting: Norman Rockwell in photos!

My wife and I had planned on travelling Route 66 from Chicago to the West Coast early next year. We live in hope...

 

[raydm6]

Just beautiful! Thanks Charles. So much detail and memories in those photos.

 

[John Bragg]

Thankyou Charles for sharing. Fascinating read and amazing photos. I would like to know how they lit the interiors. Not much evidence in the shadows of any flash use. Perhaps long exposures and very skilled development to handle long scale. I guess choice of developer is crucial.

 

[helen.HH]

Lovely , Thank You Charles !

Sweet picture of them on their honeymoon with their camera
Loved the hair salon shot

 

[leicapixie]

Sheer magic! The images are so clear and detailed.
The viewpoint and framing perfect.
It took me back to South Africa in the 40's..
My Dad de-commissioned, the war over.
About 1947 onwards as a 3 yr old accompanied my parents .
My dad selling very high end gold and diamond jewelry.
My 1st image done at about 5 of " Beaufort West" in Cape.
Parents not impressed with using the precious Brownie!
I don't think a "Box Camera " used for Route 66..

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Fascinating Leicapixie - any photos from that period (it's turning rapidly into far history).

I have no idea what they meant by box camera, but perhaps someone could enlighten us on the possibilities. There can't have been many Agfa panoramic cameras around!

 

[css9450]

I would like to know how they lit the interiors. Not much evidence in the shadows of any flash use. Perhaps long exposures and very skilled development to handle long scale. I guess choice of developer is crucial.

Is it possible what we're seeing has been "freshened up" with a little HDR?

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Thanks for posting, Charles. Those were refreshing. I am in the middle of a long road trip, and the cultural landscape is a lot more sterile these days.
Great shots though. Large format negs/sensor with a tripod hard to beat🙂

 

[raydm6]

Is it possible what we're seeing has been "freshened up" with a little HDR?

Yes something about the sharpness/contrast. But enjoyable photographs. nonetheless.

Also, the photos seem well corrected for perspective/distortion. Was he using a wide lens? Seems like an 8x10 camera but cannot tell what type of lens he used from his photo.

 

[Dan Daniel]

My wife and I had planned on traveling Route 66 from Chicago to the West Coast early next year. We live in hope...

Not to discourage you, but be ready for a very different experience than the wonderful photos show. I went cross-country a couple of times a few years ago and was on or parallel to Rte 66 for stretches of New Mexico and Oklahoma. When you get near cities and towns, it is some of the most depressing scenes you will see. Abandoned buildings, collapsing buildings, signs, etc. Motels that have been simply boarded up and walked away from again and again. Between the bypassing by interstates and by edge of town Walmarts and restaurant franchises and such, and the drop-off in road travel for most Americans, 'back roads America' is often bleak and deserted. The extremely bifurcated US economy means most vacations are by air, or simply don't exist. The middle class is gone and so are the tourist and small businesses that depended on them.

Best bet- get far from any interstate and travel backroads of all sorts. Stay away from most city or town of over 40,000 or so. And be prepared to be shocked again and again. Still lots of great places, great people, and great scenery. But also pockets of utter desolation and despair.

Worth a read, an interview with a photojournalist who has been traveling Ameranna backroads for almost a decade now: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/05/the-view-from-the-back-row

 

[VictorM.]

Lots more pictures here: https://www.okmorephotos.com/backtothepast

The Custers weren't amateurs using a 'box' camera. They used a large format Agfa view camera, probably with 5"X7" film (the pictures have a ratio of 1.4-almost perfect 5X7). The lens was likely a 135mm focal lens. This was a very common focal length at the time for 4X5 press cameras. On 5X7 it would give a wide angle view close to a 28mm on 35mm cameras. The vignetting would have been because the lens wasn't intended for 5X7. There are shadows that show they also used fill lighting of some kind. Very skilled and professional.

Dan has it right. In 2000, I rode my Honda 750 Sabre along about two thirds of old Route 66. There isn't much left of the old road but there's still interesting sections to be explored.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Fascinating images. Thanks for posting this.

Best,
-Tim

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Lots more pictures here: https://www.okmorephotos.com/backtothepast

The Custers weren't amateurs using a 'box' camera. They used a large format Agfa view camera, probably with 5"X7" film (the pictures have a ratio of 1.4-almost perfect 5X7). The lens was likely a 135mm focal lens. This was a very common focal length at the time for 4X5 press cameras. On 5X7 it would give a wide angle view close to a 28mm on 35mm cameras. The vignetting would have been because the lens wasn't intended for 5X7. There are shadows that show they also used fill lighting of some kind. Very skilled and professional.

Dan has it right. In 2000, I rode my Honda 750 Sabre along about two thirds of old Route 66. There isn't much left of the old road but there's still interesting sections to be explored.

Thank you so much! An extraordinary collection of sheer wonder. Shame the journo got the details of the camera wrong.

 

[Mcary]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece of art and history.

 

[helen.HH]

Worth a read, an interview with a photojournalist who has been traveling Ameranna backroads for almost a decade now: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/05/the-view-from-the-back-row

Thank You Dan for the link.. fascinating article, good photos too

 

[oftheherd]

Thankyou Charles for sharing. Fascinating read and amazing photos. I would like to know how they lit the interiors. Not much evidence in the shadows of any flash use. Perhaps long exposures and very skilled development to handle long scale. I guess choice of developer is crucial.

I went back and looked more critically at the lighting rather that just the entire effect. I think there was both dodging and burning, either by the original photographer or the last printing probably after digitizing the photos. One of the shots, I think the 2nd, showed some shadowing on the bar stools against the bar, down low, which would indicate an added light source to the left of camera, and up a little high, in Charles' left hand. Flash powder was not in (popular) use in the early 50s to my recollection, but if he was looking to photograph older buildings he might have thought it interesting to use that lighting (if he could find the power and didn't mind having it in his car).

I was interested in the use of the term "redeveloped" in the article, as well as the term "box camera". I am not sure how re-photographing for a digital image to work from is redeveloping. Also, my recollection of a box camera would be a 120 or 620 small camera, probably with only a couple shutter speeds and apertures. Maybe my memory just fails me? What to some or our older members recall?

Regardless, thanks for the link. It was really interesting. Brought back some memories. It was also obviously a work of love for the original photographers and those who brought them back to life.

I really enjoyed them.

EDIT: I stopped at the end of Helen's post and began my original post. Then I had to leave my computer for some time. I see many others have noted what I did, and were able to bring up more interesting speculation then me. Great! As noted, interesting photos no matter.

 

[Brian Atherton]

Thank you Dan Daniel and others for the information about Route 66.

We are seasoned road travellers in the US, over the years having completed a north/south East Coast trip (twice) of the New England states from the Canadian border and into the South to Florida, the southern border states from Santa Barbara to Austin and back, various Mid West roads trips, the Pacific Coast Highway, and numerous trips to San Francisco.

Having spent the last couple of years researching and planning the trip, it is now on hold for the foreseeable future.

I found the photos fascinating, not least because of the staging and attention to detail. As has been pointed out, the photographer was far from an amateur with a ‘box camera’ but someone who knew exactly what he was doing, probably taking quite some time getting to know the shopkeepers and setting up the equipment etc. I would love to see his original prints rather than the ‘redeveloped’ ones.

 

[sepiareverb]

Thanks for that.

 

[Henry]

Thank you Dan Daniel and others for the information about Route 66.

We are seasoned road travellers in the US, over the years having completed a north/south East Coast trip (twice) of the New England states from the Canadian border and into the South to Florida, the southern border states from Santa Barbara to Austin and back, various Mid West roads trips, the Pacific Coast Highway, and numerous trips to San Francisco.

Having spent the last couple of years researching and planning the trip, it is now on hold for the foreseeable future.

I found the photos fascinating, not least because of the staging and attention to detail. As has been pointed out, the photographer was far from an amateur with a ‘box camera’ but someone who knew exactly what he was doing, probably taking quite some time getting to know the shopkeepers and setting up the equipment etc. I would love to see his original prints rather than the ‘redeveloped’ ones.

In the future, when you do take this trip, I think the warnings about what you might see are sort of missing what's really interesting along that route now. I lived in Tulsa for a while, and the part of it that 66 went through was fascinating. All those cities are, they're a different part of American than the parts that grew at different times. Seeing how the road changed those places, and changed them in relation to the rest of the country, is pretty fascinating in itself.