Day To Night At Wrigley: A Photo Montage

If you've received the current issue of TIME magazine, you found within some fascinating day-into-night photos of various locations around the country. One of them was at Wrigley Field last summer, and the photographer, Stephen Wilkes, explains how this concept came about:

"I've been a baseball fan my whole life; I've followed the Cubs and always wanted to make a photo of Wrigley Field," explained Wilkes. "Finding out that the ballpark will look different by this time next year, with the addition of Jumbotrons, was the impetus ... I wanted to shoot the stadium before it undergoes any changes. From there, it evolved into a bigger article," showcasing half-a-dozen of the photographer's other "Day to Night" pictures that span Coney Island to the Western Wall. Writer Josh Sanburn thoroughly described Wilkes's process: He narrows down 1,500 frames to the 50 that he layers to form one seamless picture.  

Wilkes learned that the Cubs would be playing a rare double-header, which would prove to be the perfect opportunity for the Wrigley Field image: "I could have the players' warm-up on the 'Day' side and for the 'Night' side, the game would still be going on." He returned to Chicago two weeks later and positioned himself atop Wrigley View Rooftop, a brownstone close-by. "Cub fans are unbelievably loyal and what fascinated me is the neighborhood camaraderie surrounding the games ... that's why I worked outside the stadium looking in," he said. "It's more than a picture of a great ballpark; it tells the story of a great neighborhood."

The day-night doubleheader was the one against the Brewers on July 30. I've found myself in this photo, and for those of you who know where I sit, you can see that as well. It's a fascinating look at how a well-known location looks during the day and at night. The link above shows several other locations where Wilkes did the same thing, including Washington, D.C. and Times Square in New York City.

Here's the TIME magazine article, which helps explain how Wilkes set up and did these photos; here are more of Wilkes' photos and here's his website. Finally, here's a larger version of the photo at the top of this post (opens in new window/tab).

Enjoy. Even if you're not big on print media, it's worth getting a copy of the magazine for the print version of this cool photo.