An Afternoon (Roll 2): May 2010

May 1, 2010

by Posted in 35mm Film, Red Filter
an afternoon 2
An Afternoon (Roll 1): May 2010
Hometown: May 2010

Second roll of Petri camera 35mm film from 5/1/2010. My last photos from my college days in Chicago! I would be graduating soon (a wild few days not pictured here or anywhere, thankfully) and then quickly whisked back to Wisconsin immediately afterwards. So these are the end of a chapter. They also include a few shots using the red filter, which I’m not sure if I’ve ever used again.

A bright, crisp image taken from a dorm window on the upper floor of Columbia College Chicago at 59 E Van Buren St, facing east toward Lake Michigan. A tall beige brick building on the left side dominates the frame with evenly spaced windows, many of which reveal hints of interior objects. Below, a flat rooftop stretches out with some ventilation structures, and beyond that lies a dense area of lush green trees. The blue lake stretches far into the distance under a sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. The vivid greens of the treetops contrast strikingly with the calm, cool blue of the water, highlighting the freshness of a clear spring day. Taken on 35mm color film with a Petri camera. Similar to the first shot, this photo captures the view from the dorm window at Columbia College Chicago, 59 E Van Buren St, overlooking the same rooftop but framed differently, giving more focus to the concrete and gravel texture of the rooftop. The bright lake and tree-filled park are more centrally aligned, and the sky is once again a bright, slightly cloudy blue. A tall, darker brick building on the right creates a contrasting element. The image has a fresh, airy quality, typical of 35mm film's natural color rendering.

An indoor shot within a Columbia College Chicago dorm room, 59 E Van Buren St. The foreground is dominated by a blurry, blonde-haired girl named Andria, wearing a red shirt, partially out of focus to the left. In the background, a young man named Andrew grins brightly while giving a thumbs-up, wearing a navy blue polo shirt. The room is filled with personality, with Christmas lights draped over a wall lined with dozens of photographs capturing friends and memories. The walls also feature colorful, hand-drawn tree murals, giving the room a casual, artistic vibe. The depth of field is shallow, giving emphasis to Andrew while Andria remains a soft blur, conveying the lively, social atmosphere of the dorm.

andria + andrew

An outdoor shot taken on a city sidewalk in Chicago, featuring Andria and Andrew walking together. Andria, on the left, looks sideways with a slight, amused smile, wearing a dark jacket with a textured pattern and long blonde hair. Andrew stands to the right, slightly ahead, wearing a navy blue polo shirt, red backpack, and black sunglasses, looking somewhat aloof. The background shows urban architecture with tall glass buildings, American flags hanging on poles, and some greenery, hinting at a typical bustling downtown environment. The lighting casts soft shadows, highlighting the casual, friendly interaction between the two. A blurry shot of downtown Chicago, taken from behind, with Andrew slightly off-center wearing his red backpack. The scene captures the sense of movement and activity on a sunny day. Tall skyscrapers loom on either side of the street, reflecting light and casting long shadows onto the sidewalk. Pedestrians move through the frame, their forms blurred and softened by the camera's motion. The sky above the buildings is bright and clear, indicating good weather.

A posed shot taken on a Chicago bridge, featuring Andrew and another young man (me! Ethan!) both wearing sunglasses, leaning against the railing. Andrew is on the left with a red backpack and a navy polo shirt, arms crossed, looking slightly serious. The other man (me), wearing a bright red "Columbia" hoodie and also with arms crossed, mirrors Andrew's stance. The architectural lines of a modern office building dominate the background, with glass and metal textures reflecting the afternoon light. The composition has a casual, confident energy, enhanced by the symmetry of their poses.

andrew + myself

An indoor shot from the same Columbia College Chicago South Loop dorm room, 59 E Van Buren St, but with a dramatic red filter over the lens. The window grid is silhouetted against the bright red hue, creating an eerie, almost post-apocalyptic effect. The trees and rooftops seen through the window appear deeply tinted in crimson, blending with the saturated tones. Shadows stretch across the rooftop, and the natural light is harshly altered by the filter, creating a surreal and distorted perception of the usual view. Another indoor shot in the dorm room, once again using the red filter, capturing several potted houseplants on a windowsill. The foliage of the plants appears ghostly and pale against the vivid red light, their usual green completely transformed. The glass window behind them is hazy, and the soft focus blurs the urban scene outside, giving a dreamlike, almost unsettling ambiance. The plants are varied, with both leafy and spiky shapes, and their silhouettes are sharply contrasted against the window’s glow. A photograph taken through a red filter using a Petri 35mm film camera, capturing the CNA Building in Chicago, South Loop, on 5/1/2010. The building’s signature bright red facade appears even more saturated, blending into a surreal, abstract form. The repetitive square and rectangular windows are stacked vertically, giving the impression of an endless grid. A lens flare near the center adds a glowing orb, enhancing the sense of disorientation and otherworldliness. The image lacks a clear spatial reference, making the building appear as if it’s floating through space or submerged underwater. Another shot of the CNA Building taken with a red filter on 35mm film, further abstracting the structure into an alien, surreal landscape. The window grid appears softened, with hints of motion blur creating a drifting, weightless sensation. The vivid red dominates the image, almost dissolving the building’s form into pure geometric patterns. The disconnection from recognizable landmarks gives it an ethereal, dreamlike quality, as if the building is suspended in a vast, otherworldly void. Interior shot of a dorm room at Columbia College Chicago, located at 59 E Van Buren St, taken with a red filter on a Petri 35mm film camera. The room is dimly lit, and the red tint casts an eerie glow over the space. A wire shelf on the left holds various small objects and containers, adding texture to the shadowy composition. The windowsill is lined with miscellaneous items, vaguely visible through the intense red filter. Andria sits on the right, partially shaded, her face faintly visible with long hair flowing down, leaning on her hand in a contemplative pose. The image feels muted and dreamlike, as if caught in a strange, distorted memory. A film glitch or camera malfunction on a Petri 35mm film camera resulting in a soft, smooth gradient of pale light blue. The entire frame is almost monochromatic, with no discernible details or shapes. The subtle grain from the film texture adds a gentle, hazy atmosphere, giving it a calm, minimalist aesthetic reminiscent of an overexposed sky. Another film error image from the same camera, displaying a more saturated sky blue tone across the frame. The gradient shifts slightly from a deeper hue at the top to a lighter, almost white-blue at the bottom, creating a calming, abstract visual. The subtle texture from the film grain adds depth despite the complete lack of content. A similarly abstract film error image, showcasing a gradient of bright cyan to light turquoise. The smooth color transition lacks any discernible shapes or forms, evoking a sense of vast openness or a blank, washed-out sky. The film texture remains consistent, adding a soft, grainy overlay to the pure color field. An abstract blue gradient produced by a film malfunction, blending light turquoise into a soft sky blue. The subtle shifts in hue create a peaceful, minimalist visual, reminiscent of a calm ocean surface or an empty summer sky. The lack of any solid form or object makes it appear like a fleeting impression of color. Another glitch or exposure error image, featuring a blend of pale blue and light green. The transition between the hues is smooth and gradual, creating a gentle, airy feel. The greenish tint suggests a slight shift toward a more earthy tone compared to the previous pure blue images. The texture remains consistent with the typical film grain pattern, adding an organic touch to the otherwise abstract composition.

Goodbye Chicago and goodbye college!

I was very sad to leave, so taking two rolls of film in a single day with these friends was definitely a sign that I knew I’d be missing all this very soon.

And although I ended up going back to a tech school in a year, I didn’t know that at the time (and it was certainly nothing like a real school, either, but that’s another story).

I miss being able to see Lake Michigan from my dorm bedroom window – even if it was partially obscured, hey, it was great.

I’m glad I got a good shot of Andria and Andrew in front of my photo walls. When I first moved into a dorm I taped up all my photos of high school friends and people I knew to the walls–I don’t think I felt lonely, but keeping up with my photos is always important to me (hence this very website!). When I moved dorms the first time, I quickly learned how annoying it was to remove every single photograph individually. So you can see that these are hung up on bigger pieces of paper, which are easier to move and transport.

Lots of old memories in those old photos, which I don’t think I’ve ever put online in any other way (at least not since the 2000s early days of Facebook albums, now all deleted). Early girlfriends, online friends, high school friends, teachers, parties, movies, plays, trips, so much.

The other big papers hung up were quickly-drawn backgrounds for a stop-motion dinosaur x bear porno. Good times in film school.

The outside walk here was to walk Andrew to Union Station so he could go back to his home town, a train ride away in Illinois. Then Andria and I hung out a little longer and I broke out that red filter.

I think I must’ve gotten it for free because I certainly didn’t have a great use for it, it doesn’t really do all that much–I don’t know what the use cases would be for it. It sure does make things red! Oh boy. I made the cover image of this album a red shot of Andria since it was my one and only opportunity to highlight the red filter in a cover.

I did enjoy taking red filter shots of the CNA building, which is already completely red. It gave it such a cool effect, it’s like you’re in a submersible underwater and finding it deep in the ocean or something. Turned the skyscraper into something totally alien.

The final few shots are simply exposed film that I’m so glad the development company kept and gave to me. So many of them assume they’re not on purpose and cut them out. I want to see ALL the errors, I even make a note of it when I get film developed these days. Such wonderful and unique blues, and a lovely way to end my time in Chicago… for now.

An Afternoon (Roll 1): May 2010
Hometown: May 2010

Comments are closed.