From Photo Opp to the Olde Oneida Bridge

Just two weeks after a similar event, Photo Opp hosted another photo walk. This time, at their home base in Appleton, because they were being featured on an episode of the podcast Negative Influence with Justin Allen. That attracted a larger-than-normal group, particularly of folks new to Photo Opp. He must have a good listenership. While the introduction and tour took place for newcomers, I set off with several regulars. They were headed for the Flats, the industrial area along the Fox, which I briefly passed on a previous Appleton photowalk. I was equipped with 60mm Paterson the Pinhole Camera, 67 degree angle of view, for what I expected to be architectural views from across the street, and the Diversity 30, 90 degree angle of view, for everything else, because I'd just done some maintenance on it and I'm very fond of the design.

It was relatively late on a sunny summer evening. My first stop was for the low light streaming through the trees in City Park.

I caught up with the group three blocks later at College Ave. I knew that the western sun would be raking the shiny new Trout Museum. Friday night traffic was busy on Appleton's main drag. Conveniently, the cars waiting at the top of the Drew Street hill would be just out of frame, and those given the green light on College weren't even close to getting recorded in a several-second exposure.

I caught up to the group, and we walked down the hill together. Despite being on a driveway leading to a parking lot on a weekend when school wasn't in session, I had to get out of the way of several cars, apparently failing to close the shutter before moving.

The group was about to turn onto the bridge a block away, but I stopped again for the shadows on one of the buildings of the historic Ravine and Rag Mill, now the Lawrence University Power Plant.




The tower of the Ravine and Rag Mill. The rest of the three paper mills have been renovated into fancy apartments. I wonder if somebody lives up there?

The Lincoln Mill across Olde Oneida Street.

The Fox River Mill juts out into the river.

There's still a channel between them, but I don't think the river flows through it anymore.

There's a private terrace for the residents, which seems to be a popular spot on a warm Friday evening.

Not sure what these doors were for, two stories above the Fox.

I hadn't seen my group since they turned onto the bridge, and discretion indicated it was time for the return trip. I decided to go up a stairway that I wasn't sure where it led. Halfway up, stopping to take a long-exposure pinhole photograph seemed a good idea. The turnbuckles keeping the cable balusters taut stood in as a subject.

The view from the top. Google Maps describes this walking route as "mostly flat."

The back of the YMCA is across a parking lot from the top of the bluff.

I thought this was one of those ghost murals until I saw the date.

A large blank wall decorated with a mural and some lights and wires.

It's in a back alley that goes through the Y.

The back door of Brokaw Hall, which is quite Academic Georgian from the other side.

I don't think I meant to feature the sign so prominently. This was another situation where despite the back alley and slow speed limit, I kept having to move when vehicles approached. Dehydration might have become at issue by this time as well.

I encountered the group I had left with on College Avenue, but they were gone again when I stopped for the ironwork and plantings on the sidewalk.

The Trout Museum and the Lux residence hall of Lawrence University atop it from the other direction. The sun hasn't set, but it's gotten less contrasty. Think they named it that because there's light up there longer?

The door light in the gloaming shadows caught my eye. (Gloaming shadows!? Where did that come into my head from?)* I had a similar experience on the other side of this church, the last time we photowalked from Photo Opp.

Everyone regrouped on the steps of Photo Opp while it got dark. There was one frame left. After noticing the two young women to my right had been in conversation for some time, I casually opened the shutter, despite the now quite long exposure. As if the shutter were a remote control, one of them said, "I guess I have to go now." There was some shifting as goodbyes were expressed, and she leaned into her purse for her keys for a few seconds.

Paterson the Pinhole Camera has two .30mm hand-drilled pinholes, on the axis and 13mm above it, 60mm from a 6x6cm frame. The Diversity 30 has two .23mm hand-drilled pinholes, on the axis and 11mm above it, 30mm from a 6x6cm frame. The film is Kentmere 400 semistand developed at 1:100 with some really old Rodinal that has some solid crystals rattling around at the bottom of the bottle.

*editorial tip-of-the-red-pen to typist-gadgeteer-philosopher Joe Van Cleave and his unedited train of thought approach, after editing this post for two days.