The State Journal-Register photo editor Rich Saal has captured history and placed it in an exhibit at the local library for all of Springfield to view.
Saal’s exhibit consists of 35 images titled “Springfield Photographs,” a collection of glass-plate photographs shot from 1929 to 1935 by photographers of the Illinois State Journal, which is the predecessor of the SJ-R.
The exhibit is part of Saal’s work toward a master’s degree in history from the University of Illinois Springfield.
“The images give you a great sense of the character of Springfield and what it was like at that time,” Saal told SJ-R reporter Kathryn Rem.
The photographs are on display through Aug. 3 at the Lincoln Library in Springfield. Saal, who has worked at the SJ-R since 1985, opened the exhibit with a public presentation May 1.
“I started looking at them and got the idea of scanning the original negatives into my computer,” Saal told Rem. “Some had deteriorated, but the vast majority were in good shape.
“I’d come across an image and think, ‘Wow, this is cool.’ ”
Along with the exhibit, Saal has published a book of the images and has created a website, www.springfieldphotographs.com, with the assistance of SJ-R photographer Justin Fowler.
Additional information about the project may be found at www.sj-r.com/blogs/photo, the “Behind the Curtain” blog written by the newspaper’s photography staff.
The State Journal-Register photo editor Rich Saal has captured history and placed it in an exhibit at the local library for all of Springfield to view.
Saal’s exhibit consists of 35 images titled “Springfield Photographs,” a collection of glass-plate photographs shot from 1929 to 1935 by photographers of the Illinois State Journal, which is the predecessor of the SJ-R.
The exhibit is part of Saal’s work toward a master’s degree in history from the University of Illinois Springfield.
“The images give you a great sense of the character of Springfield and what it was like at that time,” Saal told SJ-R reporter Kathryn Rem.
The photographs are on display through Aug. 3 at the Lincoln Library in Springfield. Saal, who has worked at the SJ-R since 1985, opened the exhibit with a public presentation May 1.
“I started looking at them and got the idea of scanning the original negatives into my computer,” Saal told Rem. “Some had deteriorated, but the vast majority were in good shape.
“I’d come across an image and think, ‘Wow, this is cool.’ ”
Along with the exhibit, Saal has published a book of the images and has created a website, www.springfieldphotographs.com, with the assistance of SJ-R photographer Justin Fowler.
Additional information about the project may be found at www.sj-r.com/blogs/photo, the “Behind the Curtain” blog written by the newspaper’s photography staff.
