This day-trip with Jack was one where we both unknowingly wanted to go to the same location. Jack and I have gone on a few photo adventures since crossing paths on Twitter and realizing we both live in the same area of Illinois.
In this video, Jack and I drive to Rantoul, IL where the former Air Force base where the Tuskeegee Airmen originated (though they moved to Tuskeegee, AL and took their name instead of Rantoul). It’s been a location on my list of spots to shoot in Illinois for a while, and it delivered some great opportunities for interesting photographs.
On the way, Jack and I stopped at Thomasboro, a small town between Champaign, IL and Rantoul, IL. We got the ball rolling there — getting the first frame of the day done always keeps things moving. We spotted one other location to stop at right on the north end of Champaign to go back to on our way back.
At the end of the trip, I was nearly driving on empty and needed gas — but if you’ve ever driven through rural midwest, it’s a lot more challenging to find a gas station that you’d expect. I wound up sputtering in to Farmer City, IL, between my home base of Bloomington and Champaign. Across from Casey’s I stopped at (you’re not really midwestern if you don’t choose Casey’s over every other gas station), there was a motel that was being beautifully back-lit by the sunset light. Knowing full-well that I didn’t have the means to get the best shot possible, using Fuji Pro400H and my Mamiya 645E, I decided to try out an idea I’ve had about shooting this camera hand-held with slower shutter speeds. I metered the scene, f/5.6 and 1/60, which is quite a bit less than ideal, and then after focusing and double-checking, i flipped the “mirror-up” lock up. Unlike the RB67, where if you have the mirror-up lock set, it won’t open the shutter, the 645E still opens to the shutter to reduce shutter-shock. This trick worked swimmingly, and I fired off a second frame just in case. I’ve used this method a few times since with my 1/60 and 1/30 shutter speed metered shots, but anything slower I’d absolutely need a tripod.
As COVID still reigns in the Midwest and throughout the country, my ability to do these collaborative trips is little to none. And despite a recent negative COVID test, I still don’t feel fully comfortable shooting photos with people for quite a bit. My hope is that by spring people will have gotten themselves in gear to finish battling this virus, and social endeavors can resume with this upcoming post-pandemic normal.