Some new photos from Fort Wayne

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

People watch the Fourth of July fireworks from locations all over downtown Fort Wayne and the surrounding neighborhoods, but the largest crowd gathers on the Courthouse Green.​

The tall building in the background is the Lincoln Tower. When it was completed in 1930, it was the first skyscraper in Indiana. The 22 story building remained the tallest building in the state until 1962, when Indianapolis finally built a taller building. It is currently the third tallest building in Fort Wayne.​

The tall building behind the Lincoln Tower is Fort Wayne's tallest building, the 27 story Indiana-Michigan Power Center (formerly known as One Summit Square). The fireworks are fired off from the top of the building.​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This patriotically dressed young woman was blowing giant bubbles in the crowd on the Courthouse Green before the fireworks began on the Fourth of July in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This is the Super Round-Up ride at the 2016 Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne.​

Riders stand inside the circular metal cage as the ride spins rapidly. Once it reaches enough speed that centrifugal force will hold the riders against the wall of the spinning cage, it tilts upward!​

This is a popular carnival ride. I have photographed them at previous Three Rivers Festivals, and at several carnivals in New Mexico during my time in the southwest. Some of them are simply called the "Round-Up" without the "Super." I don't think there is any difference, aside from the name!​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A carny leans against the pole holding up the tent over his balloon-dart game at the 2016 Three Rivers Festival. Players win a toy by throwing darts at the balloons.​

The man running this game was one of the more interesting carnival workers that I have met over the years. He had traveled all over the United States working in carnivals, and claimed to speak nine languages!​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This pickup truck was parked in a vacant lot on Fourth Street, west of Clinton Street, which served as a parking lot during the 2016 Three Rivers Festival in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.

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The bumper sticker on the tailgate features the Confederate battle flag with the caption: "Official Loser Flag Since 1865."


The American Civil War ended with the defeat of the Confederate army (The South) in 1865.​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A child inside a Zorb at the 2016 Three Rivers Festival.​

A Zorb is an inflatable ball that a person can get inside and roll around, like a giant inflatable hamster ball! They've been part of the festival for the last few years.​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Praise Fellowship is an old yellow brick church on the southwest corner of Third Street and Union Street in the small town of Mishawaka, Indiana.​

Like a lot of 20th Century churches in Indiana, the building is plain and unadorned, except for the cross made of glass bricks in the facade above the doors.​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This young man is wearing a rainbow colored hat shaped like the Poop Emoji, complete with the emoji's eyes and smiling mouth, at the 2016 Three Rivers Festival.​

He works for a company called Good To Glow, which has had people selling novelty hats and toys at the festival for the last several years. He mentioned that they had the Poop Emoji hat in brown, but the more realistically poopy-colored hats sold out quickly!​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I spotted this man and his hilarious t-shirt in the crowd on the last evening of the 2016 Three Rivers Festival.​

His shirt compares the presidencies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton = Blow Jobs. Obama = No Jobs.​

The Three Rivers Festival takes place for 10 days in July at Headwaters Park in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Two kids slide down the Fun Slide, a giant three-lane slide at the 2016 Three Rivers Festival.​

I couldn't help but notice the "I Love SPAM" bumper sticker that someone has affixed to the sign on the fence in front of the Fun Slide. During the first weekend of the festival, the manufacturer of SPAM was giving out free food made with the processed meat product.​

The name SPAM has long been associated with unwanted advertising emails. Now, the real world has been Spammed!​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The Tilt-A-Whirl is one of the more interesting carnival rides. The seat pods spin back and forth, changing directions rapidly as they move up and down around a circular path.​

I have photographed them at other carnivals in both Fort Wayne and in New Mexico, but this was the first year that I had seen a Tilt-A-Whirl at the Three Rivers Festival. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to photograph it. It was undergoing repairs, and didn't open until the last night of the festival.

The sun had set when I began photographing the ride, and the sky quickly darkened in the few minutes I spent shooting it!
​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

An angry-looking Donald Trump piñata in the front window of Laredo Mexican Restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana.​

Laredo is owned by Mexican immigrants, and has been in this tiny brick building on the corner of Broadway and Stophlet Street as long as I can remember. When I was young, the building was painted blue and there were more traditional-looking piñatas hanging in the windows of the otherwise plain, unadorned building.​

Piñatas are a traditional party game in Mexico. The paper mâché sculptures are filled with candy and small toys, then hung from a tree. Children take turns trying to break open the piñata with a stick while blindfolded. Traditionally, they were shaped like stars or animals. Today, piñatas made to look like cartoon characters are popular with children.​

Effigies of disliked politicians are often purchased by adults. Donald Trump is the Republican Party nominee for the 2016 Presidential election in the United States. He has angered many Mexicans with stridently anti-immigrant rhetoric aimed largely at Mexicans.​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The huge American flag at Glenbrook Dodge Chrysler Jeep flies at half-mast to commemorate the victims of the Islamic terrorist attack that took place in Nice, France the day before I made this photograph.​

The flag, the largest in Fort Wayne, has flown over the car dealership on Coliseum Boulevard since 2004. It measures 50x80 feet, and flies from a 232 foot tall flagpole!​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

SUBLIME, love this One Chris !

Thanks, Helen. I Got that effect by using a fairly long exposure time, I think 1/8 of a second. The longest I could get away with handholding, with the help of the lens's image stabilization! There were too many people there for me to try to set up a tripod. Would have liked to try a much longer exposure!

Still, I love this one, too. I think its one of my most beautiful color photos.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I'm still editing photos from the Fourth of July!

This patriotically-dressed young woman and her friends were playing "Heads Up!", a smartphone game based on the old game of Charades.

The smartphone version originated on the Ellen DeGeneres television show. A player holds the phone on her forehead with the screen facing the other players. It displays a word or phrase and the other players give hints to the one holding the phone, who must guess the word or phrase on the screen.​

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This store is on Pike Street (US-33) in the small town of Goshen, Indiana. The signs in the windows say they buy Gold, Silver, Jewelry, Coins, and Guns.

There is an American flag in the window, and a Gadsden flag. The Gadsden flag is the historical American flag with a rattlesnake that says; "Don't Tread On Me." In recent years, it has become a symbol for right-wing anti-government and libertarian political movements, such as the Tea Party.​

I photographed it Sunday evening.

 

[leica M2 fan]

I have been to this site several times and I don't remember ever posting anything.
Chris you have a treasure trove of places and things from around the area. Keep up
the great work.The pictures speak for themselves.

 

[Huss]

This patriotically dressed young woman was blowing giant bubbles in the crowd on the Courthouse Green before the fireworks began on the Fourth of July in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Really like this series.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I have been to this site several times and I don't remember ever posting anything.
Chris you have a treasure trove of places and things from around the area. Keep up
the great work.The pictures speak for themselves.

Thanks, Tony. This is a project that I have devoted 20 years to! Even though I have more than 2300 photos on my website, I am way behind in editing photos and scanning negatives (I shoot color with digital and black and white with film now). I have stuff from years ago I need to work on!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I photographed these pink orchids at the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory in Fort Wayne when I was 15 years old. They look like bug faces!