Saying Goodbye To Heavilon Hall

This past summer we went up to Heavilon Hall as part of a walk on campus. I knew that the days for the old hall were numbered so I wanted to make some photos of it. What better way to do that than with my three camera project? Heavilon Hall has had a crazy history. The first version of the building burned down four days after it opened in 1894. Famously the day after the fire Purdue president James Smart declared that they will build the new version “one brick higher” than the last version. That building lasted until the 1950’s when this version that I know was erected. Both my wife and I had classes here when we were students at Purdue. Down the road our kids will have a chance to have classes in whatever is taking its place. This was good timing for a photo session with the building because a couple of days later the fencing was put up around Heav Hall so they could start tearing it down. Here is what my three cameras saw one last time in front of Heav Hall.

Canon 60D And Canon 18-55mm Lens

This is the first camera that I really made campus photos with. I thought that it would be fun to get it out a bit this summer to make some new photos with it. This camera and lens combo is what I had when I started this blog nearly thirteen years ago. It is still a really good camera. When I was upgrading years ago I was offered peanuts for it. I decided to keep it rather than give it away. It still makes good photos so I really need to keep having fun with it.

Sears TLS With Santa Gold 200

This is part of the roll of film that was very hit and miss for me. Some of the roll is perfect, and other parts of it look like it was melted during the developing process. I think that maybe it happened when the back layer was washed off of it prior to it being loaded for me. Here the imperfections kind of give the photo an older look. If it was my only photo of the building I would not like it so much, but as part of a set I kind of like the older vibe that it gives off.

Canon AE-1 With CineStill 50D

This camera might be my most maddening camera. I get great results with it sometimes, and others it just doesn’t seem to be functional. On this day this photo from closer up to the building came out just fine. I stepped back to the same distance as the photos above, and the photos didn’t turn out. It is a good looking camera so it may just keep looking good on my shelf.

Sony A7RIII (Infrared)

In the summer I break out the infrared camera to take advantage of the spectrum of light that it sees. In the summer the light is bad for much longer than any other time of the year. This camera excels in that midday light. It works for a lot of photos in the summer. Here I don’t know that it worked so well for me.

The Last Photo

Here is a photo made with my Sony A7RIII and my Sony 24-105mm lens just a few days after this project. The fence was up around the building and the demolition had begun. I may make some photos of the partial building, but this was probably my last photo of this old building intact.

Wrapping Things Up

This week with it being the first week of classes at Purdue I thought that it would be fun to have a Purdue theme in the afternoon. This was a fun post to start off with. It is sad to see a building go, but on this campus you start to realize that it is always changing. There will be a new building that takes its place here to photograph. I think that you could probably tell in my write up about it that the photo with the Canon AE-1 is my least favorite of the bunch. This is also a time when the infrared camera just didn’t do it justice either. I really like the way that the photo with the old Canon 60D looks. For some reason though the older film look of the damaged film and the Sears TLS camera just sticks out to me. Maybe it is just different enough to catch my eye. Which photo is your favorite?