Learn Before You Leap

I like photography. I like how one can capture a moment that will evoke thought and feeling among those viewing my work. I like using my lenses to show things that might otherwise be overlooked. What I don't like though, is the notion that the more one spends on equipment the better the photographer will be. That, my friends, is just marketing B.S.
Photography is about light, and how you arrange objects in that light to create a pleasing image. Owning thousands of dollars worth of equipment is no guarantee that one will be a great photographer. Yes, good equipment can be beneficial,but only if you know what to do with it. Hand a child 10,000 dollars worth of gear and what you will get is a snapshot. Hand a pro a 150.00 camera and you will get a gorgeously lit and composed photograph. Many people who have seen my images have asked me what kind of camera I use. I answer with "a DSLR". Invariably the response will be "what brand and which lens?" When I tell them,they are amazed that I use a camera body bought used, my close-up shots are done without a "macro" lens and my most expensive lens cost me 200.00 NEW!
The point I am trying to make here is that photo enthusiasts who are unhappy with their work tend to think upgrading their equipment will solve their woes. They would be better served by purchasing a few books about photo techniques and applying them to their work. After all, improvement comes from pushing the shutter button, not from pushing a credit card across a counter, and that is something camera manufacturers would like you to forget,believe me!

The picture here was done with a Canon Rebel XTi and the basic 18-55 Kit lens. Shot just before sunrise on a cool morning with mist rising from the water, the image has a kind of prehistoric quality to it.

Diggers....A Tribute

The life of a canal digger on the I&M was one of hardship. Mostly Irish,these were men who left their homeland in search of a better life in America,only to find conditions that were,to say the least,apalling. Taking on a job that other men would not tackle,these immigrants worked up to a 16 hour day shoveling mud and breaking rock to create a prism 28 feet wide at the bottom and 60 feet wide between the banks. For this, they were paid (or promised at least) 1.00 per day,though in reality 80 cents was common,and as the State ran out of money they were paid in "Scrip",a promissory note redeemable for canal land. Even scrip lost it's value, at one point in time only returning 40 cents on the dollar. The only constant in their work was a daily allowance of 4 oz. of whiskey,which they believed kept them from becoming ill. Any luxuries such as blankets and candles were offered to them by the contractors, and their cost was deducted from their pay,often leaving them with nothing on payday. Living conditions were no better than squalid, sometimes 2-3 families to a shanty,and disease was rampant. Near Lasalle, hundreds were stricken by Malaria as well as heat stroke while they struggled to dig through low-lying swampland in temperatures reaching over 100 degrees. Though these hardy souls faced unthinkable conditions,there was only one strike in the 12 years it took to complete the work,not counting the years from 1842-1845 when the State suspended all work on the canal due to bankruptcy. All in all over 1000 men perished from their labors,most buried in unmarked graves along the route or in the few cemeteries that existed at that time,though most families were too poor to create a monument for the grave. To me,the canal is their monument, an everlasting tribute to the men who gave their blood,sweat,tears and sometimes lives to dig the 96 mile long ditch that would forever change the face of Northern Illinois.

Split Rock

Split Rock,located about 2.5 miles west of Utica,IL is a water gap (a pass in a ridge through which a stream flows) created between 1836 and 1842 during construction of the I&M Canal. It was probably the biggest challenge facing William Gooding,Chief Engineer of the canal. Using only primitive black powder,picks, and shovels,workers cut through what was a solid plug of sandstone. The excavation revealed an important geological formation called the "LaSalle Anticline"in which the layers of rock are angled sharply downward due to folding. 
In September of 1851 the "Rock Island and LaSalle Railroad Company" (later to become the Chicago,Rock Island,and Pacific Railroad) began construction of a tunnel (the first R.R. tunnel in Illinois) through the north bluff. In 1882 part of the canal was filled in to make room for a second set of track running parallel to the original track, and part of the bluff was also removed. A third track was added in 1952,for which more of the base of Split Rock was removed. At that time the original track through the tunnel was abandoned. 
Around 1903, another rail line,the "Chicago,Ottawa,and Peoria" built 2 bridges to allow their tracks to cross the canal and the Rock Island tracks. A notch was cut in the east face of the southern outlier,and concrete abutments added to the north bluff to facilitate this. In addition, a beer garden and dance pavilion were built atop the north bluff and stairs added to allow passengers on the C,O,and P easy access to them.

Today, the tunnel remains,the roof black with carbon deposits from countless locomotives. The pavilion is but a memory,crumbling concrete foundations serve as the only reminder of what was once here. The stairs are hidden under tangled tree roots, and the bridges torn down after the C,O, and P went out of business. I make the trek to Split Rock at least once a year, and make the climb to the top of the north bluff. There I sit,reveling in the silence, looking out over the Illinois River Valley and imagining what it must of been like a century and a half ago,thinking about the ghosts of people I never knew,people who lived, worked,played and traveled through this same area I occupy presently. In time I will be a ghost too,and perhaps then I can meet the people who took the canal from a dream to reality.

Crossing The River

When a canal had to cross a waterway such as a river,the engineer had a few options. The usual way was to build an aqueduct to carry the canal over the river. Where the I&M Canal met the DuPage River at Channahon,IL an aqueduct was not possible,due to the fact that the river and canal were almost at the same level. So the solution here was to dam the river to create an almost perfectly still pool of water at the point where the canal was to cross. Locks were then built on both sides of the river,one to lower boats going downstream to river level,and one to lower boats exiting the river to canal level. To enable mules and horses to cross,a floating towpath was constructed. The picture which accompanies my blog shows Lock 7 in the foreground,the DuPage River in the middle and Lock 6 can be seen in the background. The dam was built southeast of the crossing. The floating towpath is long gone,replaced by a walking and bicycling path for modern day people to enjoy.

The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same

Change is inevitable, it is a part of our everyday lives. We all learn to deal with change, some of us better than others. I, for one, tend to hold on to the "old", perhaps longer than I should. CD players, cell phones, flat screen T.V.'s.....you name it, I was probably among the last to jump on the bandwagon so to speak. After all, change for the sake of change is not always better, sometimes it is fueled by corporate greed. Take DVD players for example. We got along fine with VHS until the market was saturated, so along came the DVD player, suddenly we all had to go out and spend money on them,though our VCR's were fine. Yes, the quality was better, but the desire for the latest thing was a powerful force,and electronics companies knew (and know) this. So when I come across a place where change is not so noticeable, I cherish it. The picture which accompanies my post is of the Seneca grain elevator. The top image is a postcard from 1910 and the bottom image was made by me in 2007. Yes, some change is evident, but a person living in 1900 and brought back today would still be able to recognize his or her hometown. So change things if you must, but let's not destroy the evidence of our past in the name of "development".

Been Here Before

Ever visit a place and feel you are somehow connected to it? The I&M Canal is such a place for me. Upon my first visit I was overcome with emotion, actually choking back tears. Believe what you want about reincarnation, but how else can I explain the feelings I felt? It was as if I was coming home after a long absence. I also cannot get near a mule without becoming emotional, somehow, someway I was connected to this 96 mile ribbon of water. Hence my name "Muledriver", as I feel I was one of the many boys and young men (many orphaned or runaways) employed to guide mules pulling the barges up and down the canal. Since that first visit I have walked and photographed every inch of what is left of this historic canal. I never get tired of seeing it, I treat it as an old friend. The accompanying photo is of the Fox River Aqueduct, a 464 foot long bridge that carried canal boats across the Fox River at Ottawa,IL. The photo mirrors one from about 1920,though at the time I did not know about that photo. I am walking in the footsteps of those who came before me, and I feel honored to do so.

Historical Meandering

Wandering through an area steeped in history is a wonderful way to see where we have been and where might we be headed. I, for one, love to walk the old towpath of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The canal, which was completed in 1848 and de-commisioned in 1933 provides a rare glimpse into an era where most everything was done by the hand of man. Hand cut stone locks can still be seen and inspected up close, while one can imagine wooden canal barges being towed by mules at a leisurely 3 mph. You can almost hear the shouts of boat captains and the sound of water spilling into or out of a lock. Yes, walking the canal can really set you back 150 years to a time that man will never see again. In these days of ever changing technology, a look back at 19th century technology is an eye opening experience that should not be missed.