Name: How ‘Rephotography’ is Capturing Chicago in the Age of COVID-19
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How ‘Rephotography’ is Capturing Chicago in the Age of COVID-19

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Toggle main menu visibility| April 21, 2020 8:21 pmWith Chicago’s‌ ‌typically‌ ‌bustling‌&nbsp;‌streets‌ now‌ ‌mostly empty‌ ‌due‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌stay‌-at-home order, photographer‌ ‌Mark‌ ‌Hersch‌ ‌decided‌ ‌to‌&nbsp;‌take advantage of the times.&nbsp;‌He’s now giving old photos new life with a practice called “rephotography,” which he describes as “‌taking‌&nbsp;‌a‌ ‌picture‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌same‌ ‌subject‌ ‌at‌ ‌two‌ ‌different‌&nbsp;‌points‌ ‌in‌ ‌time.&nbsp;“Most‌ ‌times,‌ ‌those‌ ‌images‌ ‌are just‌ ‌seen‌ ‌side‌ ‌by‌&nbsp;‌side,” he said. “‌I‌ ‌wanted‌ ‌to‌ ‌take‌ ‌it‌ ‌one‌ ‌step‌ ‌further‌ ‌and‌&nbsp;‌merge‌ ‌the‌ ‌two‌ ‌images‌ ‌together‌ ‌to‌ ‌really‌&nbsp;‌provide‌ ‌a‌ ‌mind‌-blowing‌ ‌opportunity‌ ‌to‌ ‌see‌&nbsp;‌these‌ ‌two‌ ‌eras‌ ‌side‌ ‌by‌ ‌side‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌same‌&nbsp;‌image.”His‌ ‌photos‌ ‌contrast‌ ‌the busy streets‌ ‌of the‌ ‌early‌ ‌1900s‌ ‌with ‌the‌ ‌empty‌ ‌streets‌ ‌today‌ ‌to‌&nbsp;‌fully‌ ‌capture‌ ‌Chicago‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌age‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌&nbsp;‌pandemic.‌ ‌We‌ ‌hit‌ ‌State‌ ‌Street‌ ‌to‌ ‌see‌ ‌exactly‌&nbsp;‌how‌ ‌he‌ ‌does it.“I‌ ‌really‌ ‌wanted‌ ‌to‌ ‌recreate‌ ‌this,‌ ‌but‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌life‌&nbsp;‌of‌ ‌me‌ ‌I‌ ‌couldn’t‌ ‌figure‌ ‌out‌ ‌how‌ ‌to‌ ‌get‌ ‌this‌ ‌shot‌&nbsp;‌because‌ ‌it‌ ‌was‌ ‌taken‌ ‌from‌ ‌an‌ ‌elevated‌&nbsp;‌position,” Hersch said.‌ “‌It‌ ‌wasn’t‌ ‌until‌ ‌I‌ ‌came‌ ‌out‌ ‌here‌ ‌to the location and‌&nbsp;‌realized,‌ ‘Well‌ ‌of‌ ‌course‌ ‌it’s‌ ‌taken‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌&nbsp;‌State‌/Lake‌ ‌overpass‌ ‌over‌ ‌State‌ ‌Street‌ ‌on‌&nbsp;‌the‌ ‘L’ ‌line.’”Using‌ ‌images‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌archives‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Library‌&nbsp;‌of‌ ‌Congress,‌ ‌Hersch’s‌ ‌method‌ ‌provides‌ ‌a‌ unique‌ ‌intersection‌ ‌of‌ ‌history,‌ ‌photography‌&nbsp;‌and‌ ‌architecture.‌&nbsp;“The‌ ‌city‌ ‌has‌ ‌done‌ ‌a‌ ‌pretty‌ ‌good‌ ‌job‌ ‌of‌&nbsp;‌preserving‌ ‌some‌ ‌of‌ ‌its‌ ‌architectural‌ ‌heritage,” Hersch said.‌&nbsp;‌“‌I‌ ‌like‌ ‌to‌ ‌catalog‌ ‌and‌ ‌showcase‌ ‌what‌ ‌the‌&nbsp;‌city‌ ‌has‌ ‌done‌ ‌to‌ ‌preserve ‌that‌ ‌heritage. For‌ ‌purposes‌ ‌of‌ ‌showcasing‌ ‌the‌ ‌changes,‌&nbsp;‌I‌ ‌like‌ ‌to‌ ‌have‌ ‌images‌ ‌that‌ ‌show‌ ‌street‌ ‌scenes‌&nbsp;‌of‌ ‌people‌ ‌in‌ ‌their‌ ‌period‌ ‌dress,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌&nbsp;‌automobiles‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌day‌ ‌or‌ ‌streetcars‌ ‌or‌ ‌trains‌&nbsp;‌or‌ ‌horse-run‌ ‌carriages‌ ‌that‌ ‌really‌ ‌speak‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌&nbsp;‌era.”Hersch‌ ‌says he‌ ‌works‌ ‌hard‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌sure‌&nbsp;‌he‌ ‌not‌ ‌only‌ ‌takes‌ ‌the‌ ‌images‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌right‌&nbsp;‌angle,‌ ‌but‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌right‌ ‌time‌ ‌of‌ ‌day.‌ ‌Every‌&nbsp;‌detail‌ ‌is‌ ‌vital, he says.“I‌ ‌sort‌ ‌of‌ ‌look‌ ‌at‌ ‌this‌ ‌as‌ ‌part‌ ‌art part‌ ‌science,” Hersch said.‌ “‌The‌ ‌science‌ ‌part‌ ‌is‌ ‌what‌ ‌we‌ ‌call‌ ‌in‌&nbsp;‌photography,‌ ‌getting‌ ‌the‌ ‌angles‌ and the focal lengths‌ just‌ ‌right so that everything matches up.‌ The‌&nbsp;‌art‌ ‌part‌ ‌is,‌ ‌which‌ ‌parts of each ‌image‌ ‌do‌ ‌I‌ ‌want‌&nbsp;‌to‌ ‌reveal? ‌That’s‌ ‌my‌ ‌job‌ ‌to‌ ‌do‌ ‌that‌ ‌to‌ ‌tell‌ ‌a‌&nbsp;‌compelling story.”As‌ ‌Hersch‌ ‌zooms in on this once-in-a-lifetime&nbsp;‌backdrop,‌ ‌he‌ ‌says‌ ‌he‌ ‌hopes‌ ‌his‌ ‌photos‌&nbsp;‌remind‌ ‌people‌ ‌the stay-at-home order will eventually end.“I‌ ‌want‌ ‌my‌ ‌images‌ ‌to‌ ‌really‌ ‌provide‌ ‌a‌ ‌sense‌&nbsp;‌of‌ ‌hope,” Hersch said. “‌That‌ ‌even‌ ‌though‌ ‌we’re‌ ‌practicing‌&nbsp;‌social‌ ‌distancing and keeping our distance from people, we‌ ‌can‌ ‌look‌ ‌at‌ ‌these‌&nbsp;‌images‌ ‌and‌ ‌say‌ ‌someday‌ ‌these‌ ‌streets‌ ‌will‌&nbsp;‌again‌ ‌come‌ ‌to‌ ‌life‌ ‌just‌ ‌as‌ ‌they‌ ‌are‌ ‌and‌ ‌were‌&nbsp;back ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌turn‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌century.”‌&nbsp;‌Check out Hersch’s full series,&nbsp;“”Follow Angel Idowu on Twitter:&nbsp;Angel Idowu is&nbsp;the JCS Fund of the&nbsp;&nbsp;Arts Correspondent.Neighborhood:&nbsp;Tags:&nbsp;&nbsp;

Toggle main menu visibility| April 21, 2020 8:21 pmWith Chicago’s‌ ‌typically‌ ‌bustling‌&nbsp;‌streets‌ now‌ ‌mostly empty‌ ‌due‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌stay‌-at-home order, photographer‌ ‌Mark‌ ‌Hersch‌ ‌decided‌ ‌to‌&nbsp;‌take advantage of the times.&nbsp;‌He’s now giving old photos new life with a practice called “rephotography,” which he describes as “‌taking‌&nbsp;‌a‌ ‌picture‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌same‌ ‌subject‌ ‌at‌ ‌two‌ ‌different‌&nbsp;‌points‌ ‌in‌ ‌time.&nbsp;“Most‌ ‌times,‌ ‌those‌ ‌images‌ ‌are just‌ ‌seen‌ ‌side‌ ‌by‌&nbsp;‌side,” he said. “‌I‌ ‌wanted‌ ‌to‌ ‌take‌ ‌it‌ ‌one‌ ‌step‌ ‌further‌...

How ‘Rephotography’ is Capturing Chicago in the Age of COVID-19

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