My photo “Don’t Know How Much Longer I Can Wait” was added to Flickr Explore

Don't Know How Much Longer I Can Wait - a photograph of a brightly lit interesection in the rain

I believe for the first time since Flickr parent SmugMug tweaked the algorithm, a photo of mine made it into Explore December 30th, 2023.

I took this photo December 28th, 2023, and developed it in my digital darkroom the next evening.

Photo Gear

  • Nikon D7000
  • 35.0 mm f/1.8
  • ƒ/2.8
  • 1/50 (the slowest shutter speed I can reliably use without a tripod)
  • ISO 400

Location: At the intersection of Lincoln, Halsted and Fullerton, in Lincoln Park, Chicago. I chauffeured to a local physical therapist1, and while waiting the hour for the appointment to be over, I walked around the area. It started raining pretty hard, and I was nervous that my camera might get wet but kept on walking, headphones on, listening to music, including to the Bob Dylan outtakes/alternate takes from the Time Out Of Mind Recordings. By the time I took this photo, I was pretty well soaked, but continued on for another mile or so. In my car, I had a raincoat, and a plastic protective sleeve for my camera, however was too lazy to trudge back to properly gird myself against the elements.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

At least I got a few good shots of the amazing city light during a rain storm out of it…

Darkroom (digital): Won’t bore you with every detail of what I did in Photoshop, but I do remember I used a graduated neutral density filter (in emulation) to balance the light, and Alien Skin’s Fuji Reala film (in emulation).

Footnotes:
  1. torn rotator cuff, yikes []

It All Spoke Together – Triptych

I took this photo in the Cook County Forest Preserve somewhere in 2015, and processed it in my digital darkroom on October 22nd, 2021.

I like some aspect of all three versions, and instead of discarding 2 of the three, decided to publish all three as a sort of triptych. If and when I print them, I’d like to make a 3d triangle sculpture, and hang it on a thread so it can rotate.

These are the thumbnails, but the image is better when bigger, imo.1

It All Spoke Together - original

The original version of the photograph. I especially like the golden reflections of tree trunks in the pond. Also the faint reds of the leaves at the bottom right.

It All Spoke Together - tinted

The tinted version speaks a different emotional language, achieved by using cross-processing2 of Ektar film. Maybe I’d use this as my LP album cover, when I release that sometime in the future.

It All Spoke Together - mono

The black and white version, using Fuji Neopan 16003 is more stark, yet beautiful because of it. There aren’t quite enough visual clues to ascertain exactly what this is a photo of until the viewer studies it for a moment.

  • 35.0 mm f/1.8
  • ƒ/3.5
  • shutter speed 1/50
  • ISO 100
Footnotes:
  1. Click it to see a slightly larger version at Flickr []
  2. in emulation []
  3. in emulation, of course []

Lobby Ceiling Millennium Biltmore Hotel was uploaded to Flickr

Los Angeles

1923 standards are different…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Biltmore_Hotel

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2jZnF92

I took Lobby Ceiling Millennium Biltmore Hotel on January 31, 2013 at 12:37PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on October 26, 2020 at 09:32AM

Confutatis Maledictis was uploaded to Flickr

or something

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2jKPfRp

I took Confutatis Maledictis on September 24, 2020 at 03:23AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on September 24, 2020 at 08:50AM


Obviously, didn’t take this photo at 3:23 AM in my local time, but there is some bug in the system that insists upon subtracting 5 hours from this automated time stamp. Usually doesn’t matter, but this photo is not of a moon.

confutatis maledictis

According to Google Translate, this phrase means, “Doomed”, but I don’t think that is completely accurate.

Wikipedia has two translations of this phrase from the Dies irae:

When the wicked are confounded,
Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,
Call me with Your saints surrounded.
Once the cursed have been silenced,
sentenced to acrid flames:
Call me, with the blessed.

Truthfully, Mozart’s Requiem came on my iTunes shuffle this morning, and I liked the phrase. Only later did I wonder what confutatis maledictis really means, and researched a bit (including asking my brother who studied Latin in school).

Name The Thing Without Naming It was uploaded to Flickr

reflection, Chicago’s Loop

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2jGABiX

I took Name The Thing Without Naming It on April 09, 2017 at 05:42AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on September 14, 2020 at 12:41PM

The Streets Are Filled With Vipers was uploaded to Flickr

Alley, Wicker Park

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2jFEwyV

I took The Streets Are Filled With Vipers on September 26, 2015 at 12:28PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on September 11, 2020 at 05:32PM

Random Acts of Malevolence Against the Haymarket Riot Memorial was uploaded to Flickr

Pointless destruction.

Does the orange paint symbolize anything? The only orange thing I can think of is the current resident of the White House. This did happen after Trump promised that Saturday night was going to be MAGA Night, whatever that means.

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2j7QBQz

I took Random Acts of Malevolence Against the Haymarket Riot Memorial on June 01, 2020 at 03:35AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on June 01, 2020 at 10:34AM

Hands Beginning To Tremble was uploaded to Flickr

Fog, Chicago downtown

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2j4gd2S

I took Hands Beginning To Tremble on May 19, 2020 at 06:04AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on May 21, 2020 at 09:59AM

Answering Words That Shine And Expire was uploaded to Flickr

Underpass, West Loop

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2iUdmoF

I took Answering Words That Shine And Expire on October 16, 2015 at 06:14AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on April 25, 2020 at 10:29AM

Tempting You To Deny It was uploaded to Flickr

Freshly painted underpass, Fulton Market, West Loop, Chicago

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2iNUidu

I took Tempting You To Deny It on December 25, 2019 at 10:44AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on April 10, 2020 at 10:27AM

Irresponsible Rhetoric – Explored

Another photo of mine made it into Flickr’s Explore

Irresponsible Rhetoric

Columns, Federal Reserve Bank, LaSalle St. and Jackson, downtown Chicago

I took this photo February 2nd, 2020, and processed it in my digital darkroom on March 13th, 2020.

Equipment: Nikon D7000 18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

  • ƒ/4.2
  • 32.0 mm
  • 1/50
  • 200 ISO

Sort of an unusual angle, I suppose, and cropped so as to look like the columns are leaning to the right. I bumped up the contrast, and used a Kodak Ektar filter (emulation of film stock).

City Sonata Number Twenty Nine was uploaded to Flickr

Hipstamatic double exposure

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2izAJXj

I took City Sonata Number Twenty Nine on March 01, 2020 at 11:29AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on March 01, 2020 at 05:29PM

Pip checks out the N95 particulate respirator was uploaded to Flickr

happened to have a bunch from a long-ago project

embiggen by clicking
https://flic.kr/p/2iz4MDK

I took Pip checks out the N95 particulate respirator on February 29, 2020 at 08:36AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on February 29, 2020 at 02:42PM