Some new photos from Fort Wayne

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

More from Tuesday morning

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A Chevrolet Corvette from the early 1980s with a large American flag draped down its back end waits for the beginning of the 2021 Waynedale Memorial Day Parade in the parking lot of Waynedale United Methodist Church. The church is the staging area for the annual parade.


The parade runs north along Old Trail Road, from the church to the Prairie Grove Cemetery, in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.


Waynedale was a small town until it was annexed by the city of Fort Wayne in 1957. The area still looks like a small town.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Richard Robinson stands behind his "Veterans For Earned Healthcare" art car. He drove the car in the 2021 Waynedale Memorial Day Parade.

Mr. Robinson is a local veteran who has campaigned to keep the Fort Wayne VA Medical Center open. The Department of Veterans Affairs has considered closing it as a cost-cutting measure. The car is covered in signs demanding better healthcare for veterans, American flags, POW-MIA flags, crosses, and signs listing the awards the car has won. A mannequin dressed as a soldier sits in a wheelchair atop the car.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Looks like a critter in a cage at the rear of the car. I almost don't want to ask what it is!
Clearly, Mr. Robinson believes that "more is more"! A man after my own heart...
Another great shot, Chris!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Looks like a critter in a cage at the rear of the car. I almost don't want to ask what it is!
Clearly, Mr. Robinson believes that "more is more"! A man after my own heart...
Another great shot, Chris!

It is a stuffed toy animal. I can't remember what it is, I think a raccoon. I have no idea why it is there!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Another photo from the Waynedale Memorial Day Parade a couple weeks ago in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. A skeleton with an American flag and wearing a COVID-19 mask waves at the crowd from the passenger seat of a Ford Mustang Convertible.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Kids scramble to grab candy thrown to them by a woman wearing an American flag dress in the 2021 Waynedale Memorial Day Parade. Candy is a longstanding tradition at the parade; many participants throw candy to the children watching the parade.

The golf cart that the woman is riding belongs to Amvets Post 33 in Waynedale.

The annual parade runs north along Old Trail Road, from Waynedale United Methodist Church to the Prairie Grove Cemetery, in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

[Lou Iaquinto]

Thanks Chris.
I always enjoy your shots and commentary on life in your community.
Take care,
Lou

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Thanks Chris.
I always enjoy your shots and commentary on life in your community.
Take care,
Lou

Thanks, Lou. 😀

The "Veterans For Earned Healthcare" art car at the 2021 Waynedale Memorial Day Parade.


The car was created by Richard Robinson, a local veteran who has campaigned to keep the Fort Wayne VA Medical Center open. The Department of Veterans Affairs has considered closing it as a cost-cutting measure. The car is covered in signs demanding better healthcare for veterans, American flags, POW-MIA flags, crosses, and signs listing the awards the car has won. A mannequin dressed as a soldier sits in a wheelchair atop the car.


The car's name comes from Mr. Robinson's belief that veterans have earned the right to free healthcare by their service to the country.


The annual parade runs north along Old Trail Road, from Waynedale United Methodist Church to the Prairie Grove Cemetery, in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Here's a crop showing some detail of the signs on the car

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This building stands on the corner of Jefferson Street (State Road 1) and Craig Street in the small town of Ossian, Indiana. It was originally built for Lodge #719 of the Independent Order Of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization. The gable stone near the top of the building says: "IOOF 719."


In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, fraternal organizations like the Odd Fellows, Moose, Red Men, and the Freemasons were very popular in the small towns of the Midwest. Most of the small-town lodges of these groups closed long ago, but many of their buildings still stand.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Wonderful, Chris! The same reserved eloquence I see in the best of Walker Evans' work. I wonder if he would still consider color to be "vulgar" after seeing your use of it...
On that note, I have a freezer full of Provia that's sat untouched for a number of years. I think your postings are pushing me to thaw some out and load up the Hassie. You're a bad influence!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Wonderful, Chris! The same reserved eloquence I see in the best of Walker Evans' work. I wonder if he would still consider color to be "vulgar" after seeing your use of it...
On that note, I have a freezer full of Provia that's sat untouched for a number of years. I think your postings are pushing me to thaw some out and load up the Hassie. You're a bad influence!

You should get the film out and shoot it! My own color work is all digital now, and has been for the last ten years. There are no E-6 labs left anywhere in Indiana, and the last time I shot transparency film, in 2011, I sent 40 rolls of it from a long trip to New Mexico to a lab in Chicago that was well regarded and they scratched a lot of my film. That was the last straw. I already used digital for my commercial work and got great results, so I just went to it for my fine art work, too.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Sending film out for processing is always anxiety-inducing. However, in 50-odd years of sending out color, I've only had a few bad experiences with Kodak's Kodalux processing, back in the late seventies. I believe they farmed that out, but I don't know to whom. In any case, since Kodachrome disappeared, I've shot Fuji and purchased Fuji mailers, which go to Dwayne's in Parsons, KS. Not one problem, ever! I really worry more about USPS than the processing itself.
I'm a cranky old guy who just loves the film experience. You won't find me participating in any film vs digital debates; it's a waste of time and effort. I see work in film I admire, as well as work in digital which I admire as well. Yours is a case in point.
So the Provia is thawing as I type. The first local ranch rodeo in 15 months is happening this weekend, and I have a new Texas Leica that I bought during lockdown (and haven't used yet) for just that sort of event. Environmental portraits in color with a 6x9 are a new challenge I'm setting myself as the world slowly comes back to life, without masks. Gotta push myself a bit!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I made this series of abstract images of the sky Monday evening.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Maples United Methodist Church is located on Church Street in the tiny town of Maples, Indiana. The small white church's front doors are flanked by tall bushes; and like many of these old churches, there is a pointed-arch window above the door.


The town of Maples, located in southeast Allen County, only has six streets! The town has a grain elevator, a bar, and this church.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This window is on the side of First United Methodist Church, located on the corner of Walnut Street and Williams Street in the small town of Bluffton, Indiana. Someone has written "Satan Was Here" on the window!


The graffiti reminded me of a story that my grandpa used to tell. One Sunday when he was a teenager, he and a couple of friends went to a church in Fort Wayne at the invitation of the pastor, who was a neighbor of his. The minister began the service by running around up and down the aisle in the church, shouting and waving his hands. One of the church's regular members told them that the pastor was chasing the devil out, and that he began each service this way! Grandpa noted that the minister at the Lutheran church he normally attended did not have to chase the devil out before the service; and he reasoned that there must be something wrong with a church where that was necessary, since Satan normally wouldn't dare show his face in a church!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I made this abstract photograph of the sky over my neighborhood early this morning.

 

[MrFujicaman]

This window is on the side of First United Methodist Church, located on the corner of Walnut Street and Williams Street in the small town of Bluffton, Indiana. Someone has written "Satan Was Here" on the window!


The graffiti reminded me of a story that my grandpa used to tell. One Sunday when he was a teenager, he and a couple of friends went to a church in Fort Wayne at the invitation of the pastor, who was a neighbor of his. The minister began the service by running around up and down the aisle in the church, shouting and waving his hands. One of the church's regular members told them that the pastor was chasing the devil out, and that he began each service this way! Grandpa noted that the minister at the Lutheran church he normally attended did not have to chase the devil out before the service; and he reasoned that there must be something wrong with a church where that was necessary, since Satan normally wouldn't dare show his face in a church!

Strange...I don't remember ever being in Bluffton IL!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This is the second of the series of abstract photographs that I made of the sky early yesterday morning.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This is the third of a series of abstract photographs that I made of the sky over my neighborhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana.