The Chicago Fog

A few days ago it was really nice in Chicago with a nice warm temperature and cool breeze blowing in from the West. However, with the wind came a thick layer of fog that rendered it nearly impossible to see in front of you. The buildings were nearly impossible to see and they looked like giant monoliths that peered out from the haze. It sort of reminded me of The Fog and The Mist and it’s kind of creepy; it’s pretty creepy when you see a boat just disappear as it pierces through a wall of fog. So naturally I couldn’t resist taking a few picture and the only editing that I did was turning them black and white. I think it looks better that way.

The Shopping Center Cemetery

I’ve been to many cemeteries and seen many cemeteries in my life. I’ve seen some that were out in the middle of a cornfield. I’ve seen one that’s right across from a hamburger stand, I’ve seen one that’s right in the backyard of an apartment complex and I’ve even been inside one that’s haunted. But never in my life have I seen a cemetery that was right in the middle of a shopping center. However, if you ever have a chance to visit Palatine (a suburb of Chicago), you must see this to believe it. The Salem Cemetery is now part of the Palatine Township and it’s one of the most bizarre places I’ve seen. I’m sure that because it is a cemetery, the contractors couldn’t tear it down so they built the streets, restaurants and shopping marts around it… the result was this:

Note: You can't really see the space the cemetery occupies but you can clearly see the shopping center behind the gravestones.

The reason why I know of this place is because there is a nice 50s style diner that is situated on the other side of the gravestones. If you look really carefully in the second picture, you can see my parents waving at me, letting me know that the diner has been closed for the evening. Imagine, eating at a nice restaurant with the family only to realize that you parked right on top of a cemetery. I have to agree with Amanda; it bares an uncanny resemblance to Poltergeist. But what about the actual cemetery? Well, I did some research and this is what I found.

“The community became part of newly formed Palatine Township in 1850 as German immigrants arrived. In 1862 they erected the Salem Evangelical Church, whose 40-food-square church cemetery at the corner of Kirchoff and Plum Grove Roads still stood in 1998, a bit of history amid bustling traffic and a strip shopping center.”

- Encyclopedia of Chicago

“Salem Cemetery was established as a family cemetery in the 1850’s by Frederick and Dorothea Thies. It was deeded to the Salem Evangelical Church in 1922. Palatine Township was given custody of the cemetery in 1974. The cemetery, located at Plum Grove and Kirchoff Roads, consists mainly of member of the Thies, Normeier and Eseman families.”

- Palatine Township

Indicated by the pink point, you can see the cemetery is literally between a busy street and a parking lot. A truly odd spectacle. For more pictures (ones I didn’t take) visit page 1, page 2 and page 3 of the Barrington Local History’s Flickr stream.

Photos of Autumn and Halloween

Before Halloween, around mid-fall, I found my dad’s old cameras. They haven’t been used in about 16-20 years so I decided to put them to use. He taught me how to use the Nikon N2000 and on Halloween eve and night I went around Evanston taking pictures of things that really show what autumn and Halloween is all about. Some of the pictures don’t seem to show autumn but rest assured, they were photographed during the season. I am leaving out a lot of pictures out because they got exposed to light or they were blurry. So, I hope you enjoy these pictures taken from my Nikon N2000.

Now I knew that I would run out of film well before the trick or treating stopped so I did bring my digital camera with me as well. Below are the pictures I took with the digital but again; I’m leaving a few out because they just looked too blurry or too non-organic if you know what I mean. Likewise with the Nikon, I’m very fond of how some of these photos came out. Hell, I even had a few people asking me if I wanted to take a picture of their Halloween setup. I hope you enjoy.

The Dark Photography of April Taylor

I few days ago I was contacted by one April A. Taylor, who must have heard that I support independent horror themed photography (at least I’d like to think so) and after I trolled around her site and took a look at her photography I was stunned. To describe her photography is quite hard and many of those who covered it stole the words right out of my mouth, however I still want to express my opinion. Her photography is shocking in the sense of how graphic the pictures are. Each photo looks as though it was taken on an old camera, which is probably wasn’t, but it gives the illusion that the photos are grainy, raw and vintage. The angles are incredibly stylized, which only enhances the beauty of each photo; it sort of reads like a comic book. The subject of each photo is incredibly haunting and very morbid… as one has already stated it’s “quite disturbing” and I couldn’t agree more.

Rather than bore anybody with just one paragraph stating my opinion on April’s photography, I think I will pick out some choice selections from her ‘Dark Art’ section. That way I can expand on some specific thoughts.

A Twisted Fairytale

The picture on the front of the webpage immediately captivated me and I had to find out where it was from. I found out that it was from a photo compilation known as A Twisted Fairytale. Now, in honesty, I’m not sure if it tells a story but I love the way the model was photographed. With the filters and the grain, it gives the photos this vintage and rugged look as though it was taken during the 1800s… a perfect period in which a fairytale could have been set.

Loss of Innocents

This compilation looks as though it’s set during the post-apocalypse. Each photo was taken crooked, giving them a distorted look and causing emotions of awe and weirdness. The filters give the photos this grungy and almost desolate look to the photo. I also like how the model is wearing a gas mask; typifying the existence of the nuclear apocalypse. The compilation is named Loss of Innocents and I think that is a perfect title because even in today’s day and age, innocents is gone and when something happens as cataclysmic as a nuclear bomb… innocents (what little of it is left) would be whipped out.

She’s Dead

This is one of the more disturbing photo compilation and I think that’s partly due to the fact that the lighting and makeup make the model look as though she is dead. The compilation looks like typical post-mortis photography but there is something about it that’s very disturbing and quite haunting. Perhaps it’s the attention to detail like the ice or maybe the fact that the model is wrapped in plastic…. I’m not sure. Personally, the photo above is my favorite because in evokes shivers and makes the picture feel cold.

Forest of the Undead

In this compilation it looks as though there is a story being told and I think the story here is similar to Near Dark only in opposites. Here, the girl has fallen in love with somebody and he is turned into a zombie. They seclude themselves from other people by living the forest and she provides him with food, even if it means herself. I like the way these were shot because it gives the stills a sense of grindhouse with the grain, over exposure and rich colors.

Again, these are just my personal favorite compilations but if you want to look at more of her work, please visit her webpage here.