Chicago on film

After so many years of wanting to, I finally had a chance to spend a few days in Chicago!

W and I had the best tour guide, my good friend Don, who used to live there.

We wandered around downtown, taking in the architectural sights.

But one of the biggest parts of our trip was a visit to Oak Park, to see Frank Lloyd Wright's first home and studio, along with many of his early creations.

What is this I found in the office? An L C Smith!

Throughout the neighborhood there were several houses designed by Wright.

Including some outstanding works.

One of the best, though, was getting to see Unity Temple. It was a truly radical design, especially for conservative Oak Park, when it was constructed in 1905.

The interior is also striking, but much more serene and comfortable compared to the imposing exterior.

Another highlight was the Nathan Moore house, which is one of Wright's rare ventures into English style—and he pulled it off masterfully, of course.

Back to another shot of his home and studio.

We traveled almost exclusively on the L, which is the only way to really get around the city.

The lobby of the Carbide & Carbon building.

And finally, the federal prison in Chicago.

These photos were taken in October 2017 with my Yashica Electro 35 using Ilford Delta 400 and Kodak Gold 200 film.

Alpina ephemera

On my trip back to Washington (as seen in two of my recent photo posts), I was able to visit my friend Scott (of Click Clack Ding!). He'd bought quite a big lot of Alpina ephemera from Germany (seriously, a lot of cool stuff, which will eventually be posted to his blog) and was generous enough to let me take any duplicates he had and post them here for you!

In addition, here are two photos with his Alpina collection, showing some of the other ephemera.

Another trip back (part 2)

I spent quite a lot of time in Tacoma on my trip, so most of today's photos were taken there. First, here are some photos I took at Point Defiance Park.

There were raccoons beside the road, begging to be fed, as usual.

View from the point looking out at Puget Sound.

Gig Harbor and the Olympic Mountains.

At some points the trail atop the cliff is quite close to the edge.

Here are the Tacoma Narrows.

More raccoons!

Tacoma Narrows bridge view from a neighborhood.

A better shot of the bridges.

A nice little mural in the Oakland/Madrona neighborhood.

Hilltop neighborhood.

Part of a mural there.

Boarded-up houses with "By Order of the City of Tacoma Do Not Occupy" signs are common.

You need to "Turn Wheels to Curb" so if your brakes fail the car doesn't roll down the hill.

Looking down 11th Street towards the Murray Morgan bridge.

Tacoma's Fire Station Number One.

The Rialto Theater on 9th Street.

Storm clouds brewing on the way to Olympia.

What's left of the unfinished Satsop Nuclear Power Plant.

Two cooling towers loom over pastoral farmland.

Foggy oceanside at Westport.

You can just make out the lighthouse through the fog and trees.

A view of Mount Saint Helens through the clouds driving south on I-5 back to Portland. I drove through an incredible thunderstorm, the biggest one Washington has seen in recent years. (For those in the eastern regions of the country, though, it would have been an average storm)