Some new photos from Fort Wayne

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Polaroid photograph of a large American flag covering one of the front windows of Heyerly's Bakery in the small town of Ossian, Indiana.

The bakery is in a long building on the corner of Mill Street and Jefferson Street (State Road 1), with an overhang that covers the parking area along the front. Heyerly's is usually very busy in the morning, as their donuts are very popular; so I was lucky to get this photograph with no cars in the way. The flag was on display for the Fourth of July holiday.

7-1-22
 
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Polaroid photograph of a bench with an advertisement for real estate agent Paul Saalfield, modeled after lawyer Saul Goodman's ads on the TV show Breaking Bad. "Better Call Paul."

When I was a young photographer, Paul Saalfield owned a local chain of photo labs called Stellhorn One Hour Photo (the original location was on Stellhorn Road). I met Paul a few times back then; he was a really nice guy with a great enthusiasm for photography. This bench actually had an ad for Stellhorn Photo for many years! After he closed the photo lab business, he became a real estate agent.

The bench is located at a bus stop on the corner of Getz Road and Wilkie Drive, behind the Time Corners Shopping Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

7-1-22
 
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Polaroid photograph of the front porch of my parents' house in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For the Fourth of July, my mom has added an American flag to her collection of antiques and decorative baubles on the porch.

7-2-22
 
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Polaroid photograph of a house on Metts Street, between Mill Street and Roe Street, in the small town of Ossian, Indiana. There is a handmade wooden American flag, a common type of folk art in Indiana, on the front porch above the glider bench.

7-1-22
 
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Polaroid photograph of two rocking horses, one of them a unicorn, and some little girls furniture left out on the roadside for the trash pickup. They're in front of a house on Sandpoint Road in my neighborhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The man who lived there told me that his daughter had more toys than they could fit in her bedroom, so they had to 'downsize' her stuff. I made this photograph in the evening, shortly before sunset.

7-5-22
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Polaroid photograph of two rocking horses, one of them a unicorn, and some little girls furniture left out on the roadside for the trash pickup.
​​​​​​….
The man who lived there told me that his daughter had more toys than they could fit in her bedroom, so they had to 'downsize' her stuff. I made this photograph in the evening, shortly before sunset.

7-5-22
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A shame. Sometimes I see things like this with a sign, “FREE”, or people take them to Goodwill.
 
Pál_K said:
A shame. Sometimes I see things like this with a sign, “FREE”, or people take them to Goodwill.
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Yeah, I don't know why he didn't donate them to a charity shop or sell them in a garage sale. The rocking horses and the furniture set out with them were all in really nice condition. Some people are dumbshits. I didn't say anything to him because I wanted his permission to photograph them.
 
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Polaroid photograph of a house with a life-sized plywood cutout of former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight on the side of the front porch. The street sign next it says "Bobby Knight Ct."

This house is on Metts Street in the small town of Ossian, Indiana.

Bobby Knight still has a fanatical following in Indiana more than twenty years after he was fired by Indiana University for his volatile temper. Among other incidents, Coach knight is probably best known for having thrown a chair across the basketball court during a game against Purdue in 1985, after arguing with a referee.

7-1-22
 
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This building is on the corner of Broadway and Summit Street in the small town of New Haven, Indiana. It is currently home to a store called Ruhl Furniture and Flooring. I loved how the tall brick building looked at night, lit only by the neon sign and the street lamps.

New Haven is a small town on the eastern edge of the much larger city of Fort Wayne. When I was young, New Haven was a couple miles east of the city, but both Fort Wayne and New Haven have grown and now have a long common border.

6-29-22
 
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Polaroid photograph of a giant teddy bear sitting in front of a fence next a house on Freeman Street, north of Covington Road, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The elderly woman who lived there had another one like it in her living room!

7-2-22
 
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Polaroid photograph of street signs that were bent and broken by the derecho, a storm with hurricane force winds, that hit northeast Indiana on the night of June 13, 2022. These signs are on the corner of Woodheath Avenue and Sandpoint Road in my neighborhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I grew up on Woodheath.

I made this photograph nearly a month after the storm, and the city government had not yet replaced the broken signs!

7-9-22
 
Ko.Fe. said:
Very good instant film scans. And impressive sharpness. Not a typical Fuji mushy blur.
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My son designed a scanning frame to hold the Polaroid prints slightly above the glass to avoid newtons rings. He has a 3D printer.


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My camera is a Polaroid SX-70, the folding SLR version, so it can be precisely focused, unlike the fixed-focus Fuji Instax cameras. Gives much sharper images!
 
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Polaroid photograph of a branch with buds and flowers on one of the Rose of Sharon bushes that grow in my front yard. I photographed it in the evening, shortly before sunset.

My grandmother, Stella Westerfield, planted these many years ago. My son bought the house after my grandma died.

7-10-22
 
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Polaroid photograph of a little white dog looking back at me from the passenger seat of a three wheeled motorcycle driving down Fourth Street, just west of Clinton Street, at the 2022 Three Rivers Festival in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.

I photographed it in the evening at sunset.

The Three Rivers Festival is a 10 day long festival held every year in July at Fort Wayne's Headwaters Park.

7-10-22
 
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Polaroid photograph of the Flying Circus ride in motion at the 2022 Three Rivers Festival in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. Riders sit in seats hanging from the ride on long chains; when it spins, the seats fly outward, almost horizontal!

I photographed it in the evening at sunset.

The Three Rivers Festival is a 10 day long festival held every year in July at Fort Wayne's Headwaters Park.

7-10-22
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Polaroid photograph of the Flying Circus ride in motion at the 2022 Three Rivers Festival in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. Riders sit in seats hanging from the ride on long chains; when it spins, the seats fly outward, almost horizontal!

I photographed it in the evening at sunset.

The Three Rivers Festival is a 10 day long festival held every year in July at Fort Wayne's Headwaters Park.

7-10-22
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I think you gotta be a little nuts to go on a thing like that.
 
These photographs and “backstories” which provide context are truly interesting to me. It must be my inherent historian/archivist nature.

Chris, as well as being an excellent photographer, you are an excellent ambassador for your town. What you’ve provided here would make a worthy book.
 
Pál_K said:
These photographs and “backstories” which provide context are truly interesting to me. It must be my inherent historian/archivist nature.

Chris, as well as being an excellent photographer, you are an excellent ambassador for your town. What you’ve provided here would make a worthy book.
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Thanks. I'd love to publish them someday. I love history, too. I have more than 200 books, mostly history books along with some art and photo books and a good amount of American, British, and Russian literature.
 
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