Dawg House Diner in Dwight on Route 66

Rob — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:18:14 +0000

The Dawg House Diner in Dwight Illinois on Route 66 is part of a collection of HDR photography included in our Road Trip 2011 Calendar now available for sale, just in time for and making nice holiday gifts.

Every picture tells a story and this one is no different. After the first 8000 miles of our 17,000 mile journey, I came to realize that when Darlene photographs her subject, any sort of thing can happen. From the Texas neighborhood watch that approached us within 2 minutes of arriving at the ward lefrance pumper, to a skateboarder taking his goldfish out for a ride, coasting through our shot while the shutter was open.

After a few days in Chicago visiting historical Al Capone sites including his grave site, touring the filming locations of the Blues Brothers and some geocaching, we decided to spend a day on Route 66 in Illinois. It was on our last day in Chicago when waiting to cross the street to the Museum of Art, we noticed the Route 66 mile zero marker on it’s post on the side of the street. We had been to a few parts of Route 66 while in Arizona a few months earlier and thought “We simply have to see Illinois’ section while so close”.

We started out early and made our way from the Leisure Lake RV Resort near Joliet Illinois, through Joliet and south west to Dwight.

Dwight Illinois

Dwight has an enormous amount of history aside from it’s involvement in Route 66. Downtown Dwight boasts the First National Bank building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905 and the Keeler Institute (now the Fox Development Center) which includes some amazing stained glass windows. I mean really amazing.

It’s also home of one of the oldest operating gas stations along Route 66, the Amblers Texaco gas station. It’s been restored to very near it’s original condition and serves as a welcome center for Dwight. we bought and mailed some postcards from here.

but I get ahead of myself.

The Dawg Diner

We came into Dwight from the north east and one of the first things we saw was this classic American diner. A little run down to say the least and for sale as I recall. Proudly displaying it’s Dawg Diner name on the side opposite from our picture, it stood there along the road in it’s red and white striped brilliance. (Update: Learned later that the most recent name of the diner in Dwight was Big Al’s Hot Dog’s)

We learned earlier from one of our RV magazines that it was national Pick Some Litter day and that RV’ers were encouraged to clean up any liter they found today. We cleaned up around the diner a little before setting up the tripod. It was a bit tricky to get a good angle because of an obstacle in our way (see video), but Dar did her best.

Using a wide angle lens includes objects very near the camera, so like I said, it was a bit tricky.

Video of Dawg Diner on Route 66

Road Trip Calendar

Have a look at the rest of the HDR Photography included in the Road Trip 2011 Calendar and then go ahead and order as many as you’d like using the buttons on the bottom of the page. Stunning imagery of places such as Rhyolite Ghost Town near Death Valley in Nevada, the Tombstone Boot Hill Hearse, a couple of shots of a classic fire truck from Corpus Christi Texas, two more all American diners from Rochester New York and Bisbee Arizona, a vintage corvette on a beach and more from Route 66.

The Dawg Diner was our introduction to Dwight Illinois, but we spent over 2 hours in the little town. Beautiful place and “not just a bump in the road.”

1956 Ward LeFrance Pumper – Classic Fire Truck

Rob — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:34:19 +0000

We drove past this fire truck just about every day when we were staying at Sea Breeze RV Park. Every time I went to the gym or we drove to Corpus Christi we saw it. It just sat there along the fence, under the tree, all alone, asking to be loved. We planned a couple of shots.. some basic ones, some using a special technique that would result in an HDR Photograph of a fire truck and then a technique Dar has used in the past called “painting with light.”

We drove up to the lot where the fire truck had been parked for what seemed like years. We got out and I began extending the legs of the tri-pod. HDR Photography requires that each shot taken has to be exactly from the same location but then with the different exposures and such within each photo. I am only beginning to understand the technique, so forgive me if I get some of it wrong.

As we took our time having a look, and choosing the angle, a fellow from across the street approached me.

“What Y’all doing?”, he asked.

Ah ha.. the owner of the truck obviously, living across the street, had parked the fire engine here and then forgotten about it. Barking dogs had roused his suspicion, and he must have looked out the window.

“Well, ” I began to say when another truck came around a corner a little up the street and then pulled across the road coming to a stop in front of mine.

I turned my head to see who I soon came to learn was Lupe J Jimenez, the actual owner.

In less than 5 minutes, one fellow was on his way across the street to check us out after having called the owner to say “there’s some people messing around with your fire truck, you better get your arse over here!”

Click the image of the fire truck for a larger version

While Dar continued to take photos, I introduced myself to Lupe and assured him that we were simply photographers wanting to capture this amazing classic vehicle. I couldn’t help but ask about the neighborhood watch they had in effect and comment on how well it worked.

“We all take care of each other”, he said, that much being obvious.

Fire Truck For Sale

We chatted about the history of the fire truck and what he plans to do with it. In short, we learned that he may have bitten off more than he could chew with this one, and is more interested in selling it than doing any sort of classic auto project. If you’re looking for a used fire truck for sale, I’ve been given permission to give you Lupe’s phone number and email address. You can reach him at 361-728-4373 or by email lupejj (at) charter (dot) com. Might be (dot) net though.

Before he left, we explained that we wanted to do a second set of images taken at night where we use the special “painting with light” technique, and that if he heard any reports of people around his fire truck with a lot of flashlights, not to be alarmed… it was just us again.

Painting With Light

Bear with me as I attempt to explain how this is done.

The photo above is a combination of about 7 different photographs. The tripod is set up and for between 1 and 2 minutes, the shutter is kept open. It’s completely pitch black out, with little or no ambient light. While the shutter is kept open, someone begins to light up or highlight sections of the truck with a flashlight… bringing attention to certain details. For example, the headlights and the chrome around the headlights or the hood ornament, the wheel wells and the door handles. Then the shutter is closed.

That’s right. There are people within that photograph. However, you dont see them because a) it’s pitch black and b) over a long exposure, the person actually becomes a ghost in the final image.

Then, it’s done again, but highlighting a different aspect. For instance, for 2 minutes in one of the shots, I’m behind the drivers side door waving the flashlight into the passenger area, through the front windshield (from behind) and then through the cherry on top of the cab. Then in yet another shot, Dar goes to the rear and lights up the rear wheels and the piping along the upper rear of the fire truck.

Details in the trunk of the tree and the lower branches are lit up in another shot as well.

The only real “trick” to watch out for is not to point the flashlight directly at the camera. Doing so results in a “hot spot” or “trace” effect.

During processing, all images are combined and the result is what you see above. A 1956 Ward LeFrance Pumper fire truck, in the dead of night, surrounded by darkness, but “pained with light”. Very cool stuff.

It took a day and a night to get the photographs we wanted and I would like to thank Lupe for allowing us access to, and his time spent with us, telling us about the fire truck. It was great getting to know the owner after having driven past it for so many weeks. By all means, please get ahold of Lupe if you’re interested in making him an offer. It’s not too often you find a classic fire truck for sale.

Young Snowbirds » hdr photography