Some new photos from Fort Wayne

bobbyrab said:
Chris would you say your photographs are a good reflection of large swathes of Fort Wayne, or are you drawn to the more depressed areas. I always get a great sense of loss in your images, of a town the economy has passed by, and wondered how you feel about the document your making.
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There is a small wealthy area in the city. The middle class and upper middle class areas are mostly outside the city limits in the suburbs. Interestingly, the very wealthy do live in the middle of the city. There aren't many of them, though. The ones who have fled the city are people who think they have money (and want others to think it too) but who really don't.

If you go out in the suburbs where the big fancy houses are, you'll find that many of them have very little furniture in them, and much of it is old stuff from the Salvation Army. I've seen this myself in the homes of people I knew in college (I went to Indiana University's Fort Wayne campus), and my father, grandpa, and uncle saw it a lot while working (they all worked for utilities; dad for the phone company, uncle for the electric company, grandpa for the gas company). These people cannot afford furniture because they have such high house payments!

I've thought of that a long time, and wish I could find a way to document it.
 
junkyard-farmhouse1.jpg


This abandoned farmhouse is just outside Fort Wayne. The house, which has been abandoned for a few years, is surrounded by a huge number of old junk trucks. This old Cadillac Fleetwood that sits behind the house with a Ford F-150 pickup is the only car there!

I photographed it yesterday evening about an hour before the sun set, after a day of rain.
 
paulding-rd-flag.jpg


Driving down Paulding Road on the southeast side of Fort Wayne, I noticed this old, torn up, dirty American flag nailed to a utility pole. I went back in the evening to photograph it as the sun was setting. The man who lived in the house nearby told me that he found the flag in the street, being run over by passing cars. He didn't want to throw it away, so he hung it from a nail on the pole.

I made this photograph yesterday evening.
 
"The man who lived in the house nearby told me that he found the flag in the street, being run over by passing cars. He didn't want to throw it away, so he hung it from a nail on the pole."

Great story! I like your photographs and as european I find this project really interesting. It gives me a look into a reality which is not the same as the one we see thorough the movies...Thanks for that.
robert
 
batterytypehah! said:
Not to harp too much on the flag issue but one thing I found fascinating when I came to this country was that the largest flag in town invariably is at the car dealership. This seems to be true everywhere I go. Probably something about limits on the size of billboards, etc., but not on the height of flagpoles.
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This is so true. And the funny thing about it in my area is that the largest flag I've ever seen is over a Kia dealership. And Chris, even though I'm a big fan of black and white I believe I appreciate your color photos. They show more of a stark reality to you hometown.

Michael
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
...This old Cadillac Fleetwood that sits behind the house with a Ford F-150 pickup is the only car there!
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When we're bird hunting out west, we stop by farmhouses to ask if we can hunt their farm. The house is generally small, plain and tidy, out on a prairie. An older farmer has his pickup and his farm implements are scattered all around, but the wife often has a spotless Cadillac of varying age tucked away in a shed or barn. It's quite an extravagance and represents her only material reward for a hard life.

I worked at the Fleetwood-Clark St complex in Deeetroit that produced that car, which was 'an experience', itself.

Funny, the things a photograph can bring up.

- Charlie
 
great series Chris! home town series have always been a favorite theme of mine (George Tice being one of the best in the genre)

Interesting comments on the flag in this thread as well... and even in the US, the display of the flag is very regional. I'm in the central coast area of California, and the flag is rarely seen.. although when it is.. it's usually attached to a large 'monster' truck, with big wheels and a Confederate flag hanging in the rear window
 
Hi Chris thank you for posting these series of images of Fort Wayne, living
my side of the pond its been a very interesting series of images and comments.
I think your use of color was absolutely right it has added so much to the viewing experience, please keep posting on this inspirational thread.
Chris
 
Cpitch said:
Hi Chris thank you for posting these series of images of Fort Wayne, living
my side of the pond its been a very interesting series of images and comments.
I think your use of color was absolutely right it has added so much to the viewing experience, please keep posting on this inspirational thread.
Chris
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I want to say thanks to everyone who commented on the photo of the flag on the utility pole I posted last week. I haven't been on here much because I have been so busy with school. I have 2 weeks left and two papers to finish, then I'll be done with my MA.

I did find a few minutes to shoot something this afternoon. I start going crazy if I go too long without photographing!

value-city.jpg


The Value City Department Store chain went under in 2008, and the two stores they had in Fort Wayne closed sometime before that. This one is on South Coliseum Boulevard, on the city's east side. A Home Depot store just down the street closed a few years ago too, and that store had only been open a few years.
 
buy-american.jpg


Here's another one from yesterday afternoon.

I found this truck, with its exhortation of economic patriotism, in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The auto industry is an important contributor to the city's economy.
 
thiele-road-sunrise-1.jpg


The sun rises over a newly planted field on Thiele Road on the southern edge of Allen County, Indiana. I photographed this scene early this morning.
 
cemetery-playground.jpg


This playground and cemetery belong to Saint Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church on Thiele Road on the southern edge of Allen County, Indiana. The church is in front of the field in my previous photos.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
thiele-road-sunrise-1.jpg


The sun rises over a newly planted field on Thiele Road on the southern edge of Allen County, Indiana. I photographed this scene early this morning.
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Love this shot. Also love the one of the park bench.
Nice work. Flags would make a good theme for a photo essay. It seems Ft Wayne would give an interesting perspective.

Good luck finishing the MA.
 
sprokitt said:
Love this shot. Also love the one of the park bench.
Nice work. Flags would make a good theme for a photo essay. It seems Ft Wayne would give an interesting perspective.

Good luck finishing the MA.
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Thanks Sprokitt. I'm working on a paper that is due tomorrow afternoon, then I am done with my degree! :D
 
jefferson-blvd-flag3.jpg


I'm done with school. I now have a masters degree in liberal arts/history from Indiana University! Now I can catch up on all the old photos I shot while in school that need to be scanned. Here's one from October of last year.

This little Victorian house is one of several on Jefferson Boulevard in Fort Wayne's historic West Central Neighborhood that have the American flag hanging on their porches.
 
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