The Veteran
Back in 2010, the Illinois Railway Museum started a series of WWII reenactments. Entitled "The Anzio Express & North Platte Canteen," the reenactments depicted soldiers boarding at their local depot before departing for war, the rail yard battle of Anzio, Italy, the troops returning from war, and finally a "canteen," whereby housewives of any given town greeted returning troops at their local depots with home-cooked food. These "canteens" were set up at depots all across the country, with the first one in North Platte, Nebraska.
In this particular scene, the troops have returned from the front lines and are now waiting at the depot to "go home." After the troops boarded the train, then the depot platform would be transformed into a canteen, with tables set up and food brought out for the reenactors. The platform was then cordoned off so as to allow the returning troops to have no interference from the public, as well as to keep the public away from the food.
The gentleman depicted here is a WWII reenactor named Malte Grohnert who has appeared in some movies and television productions.
"Vintage"
This image is being submitted as part of the #Flickr21 Photo Challenge, celebrating Flickr's 21st anniversary on February 10, 2025. The theme for the 13th day of the 21 day photo challenge is "Vintage." This image is quite fitting for this particular theme. Not only was this taken at a WWII reenactment, but it also took place at the oldest operating passenger depot west of Pittsburgh. East Union Depot, as it is now known, was built in 1851 in Marengo, IL, the next town to the west of Union. It remained in operation until passenger service ceased after WWII. It was acquired by the museum and moved to IRM in 1967. Since then it has appeared in several period movies, most notably the baseball movie "A League of Their Own."
The depot was the reason why the WWII Reenactment took place at the museum. It would serve as an authentic vintage backdrop for the "Departing For War" and the postwar "North Platte Canteen" scenarios. Museum volunteers and reenactment coordinators decked out the depot, both inside and out, in reproductions of vintage WWII posters. The famous Uncle Sam army recruitment poster is visible in the top center of the frame.
And since there was nothing in this image to date it to 2010, I wanted to "vintage" it up as much as possible. Through a series of Photoshop techniques, I desaturated and sepia-toned the background. Then through selective-coloring, I desaturated the reenactor and added noise to replicate film grain to give this image that "filmic" look. I doubt I could recreate this process now. I did not label my Photoshop layers then as I do now, nor did I record the steps. I wish I had though, because this would have made for a great Action, as the result came out pretty good. To date this is still one of my favorite "photoshopped" images.
The Veteran
Back in 2010, the Illinois Railway Museum started a series of WWII reenactments. Entitled "The Anzio Express & North Platte Canteen," the reenactments depicted soldiers boarding at their local depot before departing for war, the rail yard battle of Anzio, Italy, the troops returning from war, and finally a "canteen," whereby housewives of any given town greeted returning troops at their local depots with home-cooked food. These "canteens" were set up at depots all across the country, with the first one in North Platte, Nebraska.
In this particular scene, the troops have returned from the front lines and are now waiting at the depot to "go home." After the troops boarded the train, then the depot platform would be transformed into a canteen, with tables set up and food brought out for the reenactors. The platform was then cordoned off so as to allow the returning troops to have no interference from the public, as well as to keep the public away from the food.
The gentleman depicted here is a WWII reenactor named Malte Grohnert who has appeared in some movies and television productions.
"Vintage"
This image is being submitted as part of the #Flickr21 Photo Challenge, celebrating Flickr's 21st anniversary on February 10, 2025. The theme for the 13th day of the 21 day photo challenge is "Vintage." This image is quite fitting for this particular theme. Not only was this taken at a WWII reenactment, but it also took place at the oldest operating passenger depot west of Pittsburgh. East Union Depot, as it is now known, was built in 1851 in Marengo, IL, the next town to the west of Union. It remained in operation until passenger service ceased after WWII. It was acquired by the museum and moved to IRM in 1967. Since then it has appeared in several period movies, most notably the baseball movie "A League of Their Own."
The depot was the reason why the WWII Reenactment took place at the museum. It would serve as an authentic vintage backdrop for the "Departing For War" and the postwar "North Platte Canteen" scenarios. Museum volunteers and reenactment coordinators decked out the depot, both inside and out, in reproductions of vintage WWII posters. The famous Uncle Sam army recruitment poster is visible in the top center of the frame.
And since there was nothing in this image to date it to 2010, I wanted to "vintage" it up as much as possible. Through a series of Photoshop techniques, I desaturated and sepia-toned the background. Then through selective-coloring, I desaturated the reenactor and added noise to replicate film grain to give this image that "filmic" look. I doubt I could recreate this process now. I did not label my Photoshop layers then as I do now, nor did I record the steps. I wish I had though, because this would have made for a great Action, as the result came out pretty good. To date this is still one of my favorite "photoshopped" images.