Shredded Wheat at Photo Midwest

At the beginning of June, I conducted a camera-making workshop at Photo Midwest in Madison. As usual, I built a camera along with the participants, out of an economy-sized box of shredded wheat cereal. The oversized circular bowl would make the camera look really wide-angle. Someone was coming to show me the scanning system, so I couldn't go out to take photographs. For the camera photograph above, instead of using AI, I just photographed it in front of my TV displaying Apple Maps Look Around view of their building. Not even any regular digital trickery. Did ya notice?

The camera sat around for a week while I pursued another project. It even went on an inspirationless bike ride. The only thing around the house that got my attention was the short-side lighting on the Pumpkin Queen's regal expression.

A Photo Opp photo walk in Neenah came to my rescue. 

This bright yellow Deuce Coupe had gotten my attention as I parked its distant descendant.

The featured performer of the evening was the atmosphere, with a continual parade of dramatic clouds over The Fox, with the occasional sunbeam highlighting the Neenah Paper Mill. Since 1874, a paper mill has been on this island between the lock channel and the river, with a few power channels running through it.

Despite their dramatic dark appearance, the clouds were much brighter than the landscape, which really pushed the latitude of the film. Having all the dynamic range in the world makes a different picture.

A stairway up to an observation platform.

These three monumental office buildings dominate downtown Neenah. With only a very wide-angle camera without a rising front to control converging verticals, the buildings and I just leaned into it.

The to-be-expected double exposure. The first was of the historic backs of the storefronts on Wisconsin Ave. while Fox Valley Photo comrade Tim Matey was shouting from the top of the eight-story parking structure behind me: "It's out of focus!" Trying to come up with a clever retort, I forgot to wind the film. After climbing the stairs for the view of the weather over The Fox as it spreads into Little Lake Butte de Mort, I discovered (duh) that it was surrounded by an eight-foot chain link fence! There was a gap, but it was in front of a large semicircular drain structure. Another photo walker helped me hold the tripod to the wall as I extended it outside the fence as far as I could reach to operate the shutter. Looks like the Mother Ship about to land in Wisconsin. And without any AI - or I of any kind, either in the sense of the pronoun or the abbreviation.

Another view was available as the fence went down along the ramp to the next level. It never rained, but it looks like the east side of Menasha got a little.

Oh look, an odd little rectangular structure with a funny hat at the top of the stairwell!

Seduced by those window-striped buildings again. Would you have noticed it was also a double exposure if I didn't bring it up?




Back in the park, looking east from the observation deck, the rain well over Lake Winnebago by now. 

I'm a sucker for a neoclassical portico with a semicircular roof, especially raked by the setting sun under the storm clouds. One of the staff was next to me while I took the photograph. He asked what the deal was with all the photographers. He never mentioned the cardboard box.

The Bowl of Shredded Wheats has an approximately .23mm pinhole (I always forget to record it in a workshop demonstration), .30mm from a 6x6cm frame. The film is Kentmere 400 semistand developed in Rodinal 1:100.