I know this is a couple days late, but… I wanted to do this post for Father’s Day. Hopefully, its still relevant and meaningful.

My father is the first person to get me interested in photography. When we went on family vacations, my Dad would always bring his still and video cameras. As time passed, I took more and more photos, always using the direction and help from my Dad.

My father has been taking photographs for years. In fact, many of his photos are in the form of 35mm slides that must be viewed with a projector. Recently, he and I undertook a project to scan his 35mm slides so that they could be better preserved and easily shared.

Below are two shots my father took that I think are pretty cool.

The first one is a shot he took in 1958, of the skyline in Chicago. If you look closely, you can see the then newly erected Prudential building. Also, take note of the cars in the foreground. Pretty cool trip through time.

Chicago Skyline in 1958
I like this shot for many reasons. First, because of the way the buildings cascade down from the left to the right, leading up to the main road. And I like it because we can see the main road, from the end where it hits the circle from which my dad is taking the shot, all the way into the distance. Lastly, I like how the shot is off-centered, but with a purpose. The composition allows you to see the buildings and sky, the long distance in the road, the cars in the foreground, and the lake to the right. Any other composition, and you may lose the details of any of the above.

Oh, and the last reason I like the shot… the ledge in the foreground from which the shot was taken is almost completely symmetrical on both sides. Pretty impressive, given that my dad only needed one shot to get it right.

This next shot is of Washington, D.C. in 1962, from the view atop the Washington Monument.

Washington, D.C. in 1962
I like this shot, again, for its symmetry. But also simply because its an old school look at a city I am partial to.

If you look on the right side of the shot, you can see a dilapidated old building. My hopes are that they renovated, or better yet, tore down that building. In the distance is a building that is letting off quite a bit of smoke. Perhaps that’s a sign of more relaxed environmental regulations of the time. It also looks like there’s some construction happening right below the Monument where the National Mall starts. I think its pretty cool that the Mall was (seemingly) still in construction.

Through this post, I wanted to share the source and inspiration behind my passion for photography. I really owe a lot of my passion for photography, amongst countless other things, to my Father. So with that, I would like to wish a happy (belated) Father’s day to all the Dads out there… and to my Dad too.