I grew up in Northwest Indiana. On a decent travel day, I could be in downtown Chicago in about an hour—although that doesn’t happen often with the region’s traffic.
I recently learned of a YouTube video of the city during the 1930s Depression. What makes this video dynamically different from most of the footage people have seen is the effort put into it by a Cape Cod photographer, Christopher Seufert.
Seufert restored the original black-and-white video footage, bringing the frame rate up to current standards, adding a suitable audio track, and artistically colorizing the footage, among other enhancements.
Looking at the buildings in the video versus those I know of making up the city is quite a contrast. Looking at the people in the video is even more dramatic than the people you see around town in 2025.
This project reminds me of the importance of photographing not just our close friends and family but also the community in which we live. What you and I consider a snapshot of the mundane and boring will give our grandchildren and great-grandchildren a glimpse into our lives and the world in which we live.
I know the argument…everyone has a phone with them 24/7, thanks to the ubiquitous smartphone that is never further than arm’s length away from most of us. But what differentiates the photos I take versus those you take is YOU!
We each have a different perspective on life. Some people travel to foreign lands. (I’m looking to you, former exchange students who have lived with us!) Some people never leave the county they were born in. These “mundane” images won’t necessarily go viral on your social media post, but they will provide an insight into who you are and the type of life you have for those who follow you.
