Some new photos from Fort Wayne

In the US, occasionally I will see homes in neighborhoods where a flag of another country is displayed - presumably where the owners came from. The flag of Mexico is probably the most common, though sometimes I will see the UK flag or the Canadian flag. I saw one from Ireland as well.

Looking at drawings of flags of the world, I see quite a few nations feature stylized lions. Far less common are flags with leopards or jaguars.
 
Here in Massachusetts, it is common to see one of the four major sports teams flag (Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, Patriots) displayed proudly.
 
I will include a flag in a picture if it adds artistic value to the composition.

Personally, I no longer have any pride related to any flags, pins, buttons, lawn posters... nothing, nadda.

I pledge allegiance to the health and happiness of my wife and our shared life together. Waving a flag won't make me feel pride , it'll make me feel foolish.

Good deeds, pride in being a good person, like the song says... what's so funny 'bout peace love and understanding?

Mike
 
Yokosuka_Mike said:
I will include a flag in a picture if it adds artistic value to the composition.

Personally, I no longer have any pride related to any flags, pins, buttons, lawn posters... nothing, nadda.

I pledge allegiance to the health and happiness of my wife and our shared life together. Waving a flag won't make me feel pride , it'll make me feel foolish.

Good deeds, pride in being a good person, like the song says... what's so funny 'bout peace love and understanding?

Mike
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The American flag is prominent in my work because most of my work is social documentary of the Midwestern United States. To not include it would be to leave out a lot of the story of the place.
 
3-5-23-eaglemarsh-3.jpg



I photographed this scene on a foggy March morning at Eagle Marsh, a restored wetland on the western edge of Fort Wayne, Indiana. This tree was growing on a piece of dry land surrounded by water and cattails on the south side of Engle Road in the main part of the marsh, which is just outside the city limits.

The fog was staying close to the ground, and was strongly backlit by the bright morning sun.

This is the last of three landscape photographs that I made at Eagle Marsh on that foggy morning.

3-5-23
 
4-24-23-eaglemarsh.jpg




I photographed this scene on a hazy April morning shortly after sunrise at Eagle Marsh, a restored wetland on the western edge of Fort Wayne, Indiana. This tree was growing on a piece of dry land surrounded by water and cattails on the south side of Engle Road in the main part of the marsh, which is just outside the city limits.

4-24-23
 
4-22-23-daffodils-1.jpg



These daffodil flowers grow along the side of my driveway. My house used to be my grandparents' house. My grandma, Stella Westerfield, planted these decades ago; they've been there as long as I can remember. They were the first flowers to bloom here at the beginning of spring.

This is the first of two photographs that I made of these flowers on an April morning. There was still some dew on the leaves and flowers.

4-22-23
 
Pál_K said:
In the US, occasionally I will see homes in neighborhoods where a flag of another country is displayed - presumably where the owners came from. The flag of Mexico is probably the most common, though sometimes I will see the UK flag or the Canadian flag. I saw one from Ireland as well.

Looking at drawings of flags of the world, I see quite a few nations feature stylized lions. Far less common are flags with leopards or jaguars.
Click to expand...
I live in a rather deep blue state, but nonetheless you see a lot of American flags out at any time of year. Irish flags around March 17, and Puerto Rico flags are pretty common too here in Hartford (large population of Puerto Rican heritage). One house near me must be home to some serious vexillologists, because in addition to their US and Ukraine flags, they have a new national flag seemingly every day. Today it's Japan. Some of them are pretty obscure -- Vanuatu, Montserrat, Bhutan. I have an atlas so I can look them up -- Fun With Flags.

Lapel pins are a whole other matter -- they seem to make a more intentional statement. But wearing a lapel pin or flying doesn't make you more patriotic, I think. One time at work they were handing out US flag lapel pins and the plastic packaging said "Made in China."
 
Oh, and Chris -- some more great work. Loved the snow sliding off your back door awning, among many other pictures. What do you use when you're not doing Polaroids? I personally prefer the sharpness for this kind of documentary work.
 
KoNickon said:
Oh, and Chris -- some more great work. Loved the snow sliding off your back door awning, among many other pictures. What do you use when you're not doing Polaroids? I personally prefer the sharpness for this kind of documentary work.
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I've used a number of different camera systems over the years. Right now I use Olympus Micro Four Thirds gear for most of my work. I sold off my fullframe digital gear several years ago and bought the m4/3 stuff because with all of my health issues, it was hard for me to carry such large and heavy equipment. I like to carry a camera everywhere I go, in case I see something interesting. The big Canon I had before was getting too hard for me to handhold without shaking, too.
 
I have Oly micro 4/3 myself -- an EM10 (first version) and several lenses, none of them the pro line. I know you are a bear on decentered lenses, but I have no complaints with this gear whatsoever. Fine images.
 
KoNickon said:
I have Oly micro 4/3 myself -- an EM10 (first version) and several lenses, none of them the pro line. I know you are a bear on decentered lenses, but I have no complaints with this gear whatsoever. Fine images.
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Some of my lenses are the expensive Pro lenses, which makes the poor quality control even more infuriating. I have:

• 7-14mm f2.8 Olympus Pro
• 12-40mm f2.8 Olympus Pro
• 60mm f2.8 Olympus Macro
• 45mm f1.8 Olympus
• 45-150mm f4-5.6 Panasonic

The flower photo was done with the 60mm macro and the last few Eagle Marsh landscapes were done with the Panasonic 45-150. That lens is the cheapest I have; it was $150 brand new. It is extremely sharp, even wide open. The downside to it is that it vignettes so severely that even the automated vignetting correction does not fix it. If you stop down to f11, it disappears completely, so that is how I always use it. I want to get the new Olympus 40-150mm f4 Pro lens, which doesn't have that problem. Have to wait to make some money for that, though. Its a fairly expensive lens, I think around $900.
 
5-6-23-tree-1.jpg



This maple tree grows behind a house on the north side of Knoll Road, between Ardmore Avenue and Smith Road, just outside Fort Wayne in rural Allen County, Indiana.

It has the most perfectly round crown I have ever seen on a tree, like the trees that little kids draw! I photographed in the warm light just after sunrise. This is the first photograph that I made of it. The second was made just 5 minutes later, but the warmth of the light had faded by then.

5-6-23
 
5-6-23-tree-2.jpg



This maple tree grows behind a house on the north side of Knoll Road, between Ardmore Avenue and Smith Road, just outside Fort Wayne in rural Allen County, Indiana.

It has the most perfectly round crown I have ever seen on a tree, like the trees that little kids draw! I photographed in the morning. This is the second photograph that I made of it. The first was made just 5 minutes earlier, in the warm light just after sunrise. That light lasted just minutes and was gone by the time I made this photograph!

5-6-23
 
waynedale-memdayparade-1.jpg



Crosses and American flags to commemorate Memorial Day fill the lawn in front of Waynedale United Methodist Church on Old Trail Road in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. I photographed them while waiting for the Wayndale Memorial Day Parade to begin.

The annual parade runs north along Old Trail Road, from Waynedale United Methodist Church to the Prairie Grove Cemetery, in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

5-29-23
 
waynedale-memdayparade-2.jpg



A red 1957 BMW Isetta 300, adorned with American flags, waits for the 2023 Waynedale Memorial Day Parade to begin. The parade's staging area was the parking lot of Waynedale United Methodist Church on Old Trail Road in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

I had never heard of the Isetta before; and it was interesting that BMW, a company usually associated with expensive luxury cars, would have built a tiny no-frills economy car like this.

The design is strange; to enter the car, the entire front opens. It does not have side doors like a conventional car. The car is powered by a tiny one cylinder engine that generates just 13 horsepower! To put that in perspective, my riding lawnmower has a 20hp single cylinder engine.

The annual parade runs north along Old Trail Road, from Waynedale United Methodist Church to the Prairie Grove Cemetery, in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

5-29-23
 
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