On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether youāre traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Aerochrome was a false color infrared film that was developed for the War Department during World War II as a counter measure for camouflage. Real vegetation would show up in bright red where camouflage would not. After the war it was used for scientific purposes (it could help detect the health of trees) and was eventually released to the public. It’s other worldly colors were particularly popular in the late 1960’s for pop art, including album covers.
It fell into disuse in the later part of the 20th century and was discontinued by Kodak in 2011. With the rise of digital cameras, infrared photography underwent a resurgence including Aerochrome via filters or post processing. Color infrared photos are an artistic expression, there’s not a right color choice and Aerochrome emulation is one choice. I’ve taken some of my infrared photos, shot with a 590nm filter that allows a good deal of visible light to reach the sensor since they work best for Aerochrome emulation.
This is the terminal building for Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, which was LA’s primary airport in the 1930’s and 1940’s. This building and a few hangers is all that is left of the airport which is now a business park. The primary tenant of the park is the Giant Evil Corporation which bought and restored the terminal building.
The Korean Comfort Women’s memorial in Glendale’s Central Park. It’s twin is in Seoul across from the Embassy of Japan.
Downtown Los Angeles; Kenneth Hahn Regional Park; San Gabriel Mountains.
Los Angeles City Hall.
The Kaiser House on Carroll Ave. in Angelino Heights.
The Crystal Lake Visitors Center at the Crystal Lake Recreation Area in the San Gabriel Mountains. The amount of snow when I visited was a bit of a surprise. The sky in the original photo was overcast and has been replaced.
The Convento at Mission San Fernando.
The Zen Rock Garden in the Japanese Garden at The Huntington.
Baud
Surreal.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Ain’t it?Ā A bit jolting to the senses first thing in the morning?
Rob
I love it! So, so red.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Rob: I do like the look of Aerochrome.
p.a.
L.A. City Hall is iconic for me, but not sure why. Ā Dragnet?
There’s one small building left from the 40’s or 50’s at RI’s main airport; handsome, think pretty unadorned but vaguely art-deco.
There go two miscreants
These are pretty, but also a reminder that red is not a restfull color to the eyes! Although I think red palm trees would be pretty cool.
I love BiG’s fairly-frequent comment that “The sky was (unsatisfactory) and has been replaced.” It has a Monty Python interscene-card ring to it.
Matt McIrvin
Whenever someone writes “Giant Evil Corporation” the initials lead me to read it as the General Electric Company, not the Mouse. Probably because, growing up as the child of an employee, GE loomed so large in my childhood.
p.a.
@Matt McIrvin: Both my parents worked for GE, union members. Ā From the time when working people could earn a stable, secure living.
Benw
Cool stuff
WaterGirl
I like all the red! Ā Red is a happy color for me.
Ascap_scab
There’s gotta be a Sammy Hagar album cover in there.
Elizabelle
These photos were kind of wonderful.
Grand Central Airport’s wiki page. Ā Before it was the Mouse’s GC3 (Grand Central Creative Campus).
Laura Too
Cool effect!
stinger
Wow!
@There go two miscreants: The Notorious BiGCA is godlike in his powers.
UncleEbeneezer
Neat! Ā Thanks for the lesson and pix!
JanieM
I’m with Baud — surreal is the word. My brain keeps wanting to…adjust something. Very interesting effect.
TomatoQueen
All lovely (I love seeing the places where my parents grew up), and that last one is perfect (my father was a cataloguer at the Huntington in the late 50’s early 60s, so when I see your Huntington views, my early childhood memories awaken.
I have an amateur’s question:Ā I’ve just inherited omfg zillions of 35mm slides, mostly taken by my maternal grandfather who died in 1995, and some by my mother, so these slides are OLD.Ā In contemplating using a digital viewer on them, I see that the more expensive seems to mean the more bells and whistles. In spending $ on such a viewer, my goal would be to view all the slides omfg, save ones of interest, and create both a safe storage and a digital file.Ā Grandpa was primarily a portrait photographer, and he also did a nice line in spectacular views at Antelope Valley, oh wouldn’t I love to find one of those–which is why I am not hauling this lot to the dumpster. Do you have any advice, before I spend too much money?Ā Thank you in advance.
West of the Rockies
Mick is gonna needĀ a LOT of black paint!
Tom Hamill
Airport used in Casablanca, if I recall correctly.
Just Chuck
I keep reading the name of that film as Adrenochrome.
“You took too much man, too much…”
Mom Says I*m Handsome
Ouch.
Once the Rona is over and I have my 2-hour commute back, Iāll be diving into āSupernova In the Eastā, Dan Carlinās āHardcore Historyā series on the war in Asia. Ā It clocks in at twenty (20!) hours, and Iām sure will at least touch on the topic of comfort women. Ā Such a gross aspect of war…
(Iām a recent convert to Dan Carlin, whose epic long-form podcasts about conflicts are eye-opening in ways that a two-hour doc canāt deliver.)
BigJimSlade
Aw, you didn’t make any of them look like an album cover, like, with a swirly Jefferson Airplane, or Procol Harum, or The 13th Floor Elevators over it ;-)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@p.a.: LA City Hall has been in so many movies and TV productions it’d be hard to say which one.
The interesting thing about the air terminal building is its a mix of the Spanish revival style that was popular with train stations in that time period and art deco.
@There go two miscreants: We sometimes have palm trees that are yellow, but those are usually ex-palm trees who have joined the choirs invisible.
Some photographers are vehemently opposed to sky replacement.Ā Ā I’m not, but feel that if I’ve replaced the sky, it should be disclosed.
@Matt McIrvin: “Giant Evil Corporation” is the phase a local BJ commenter uses to describe that company.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Benw: Thanks.
@WaterGirl: Not a fan of red, but I do like the Aerochrome style.
@Ascap_scab: I’d be happy to license one of these photos to Mr. Hagar.
AlaskaReader
When I think of evil corporations I think of Monsanto but Bayer bought Monsanto so now it’s Bayer that’s the most evil corporation.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle: Disney has done a nice job of refurbishing the old terminal building and offer free tours with a reservation.Ā I’ll probably make a reservation when things get more back to normal.Ā I did visit on Sunday and took more Aerochrome shots of the building for my m patrons.
@Laura Too: Thanks, I really do like the look of old films.
@stinger: Thanks, I’m not sure how the Hue/Saturation control makes one godlike.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@UncleEbeneezer: Glad you like ’em.
@JanieM: The switch in color is one of the things I’ve liked about Aerochrome.
@TomatoQueen: Glad the shots of The Huntington envoke good memories, I was there on Monday to shoot IR and will be headed back later today for fall color.
You might enjoy the music video for Duran Duran’s Ordinary World, it was filmed all over The Huntington in the early 1990’s
I’ve never used a digital viewer for slides, when I decided to scan mine about 6 years ago, I got a scanner; but then I wanted everything.Ā I’d go cheap and look at the reviews.Ā Since you have a lot of slides it might be useful to get something that would autoload.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@West of the Rockies: Heh.
@Tom Hamill: From what I understand, that’s true; though the Wiki for the airport doesn’t list Casablanca as one of the titles filmed there.
@Just Chuck: OMG, now QAnon will be after me.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mom Says I*m Handsome:
That was pretty much the point.
@BigJimSlade: Photoshop does have a radial transformation filter.Ā Don’t make me use it.
@AlaskaReader: A long time commenter here at Balloon Juice would refer to Disney as “The Giant Evil Corporation”.
Tom Hamill
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
My cousin, whose BFF worked at Disney Animation, gave me a tour around there and I recall him mentioning this.
TomatoQueen
@?BillinGlendaleCA:Ā Thank you thank you. And for the Duran Duran hint also. (Hello to Pinkie and Blue Boy.)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TomatoQueen: Just got back from The Huntington, all the galleries are closed due to the ‘Rona.Ā I’ll give your regards to Pinkie and Blue Boy once normal times return.
@Tom Hamill: I read it somewhere when I was researching my intro for pics I took for my patrons, but I noticed it wasn’t in the Wikipedia entry.