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Solargraph Sites for Players and Prayers

Two more sites mounted Anniversary Solargraphs on their rooftops to capture the path of the sun between the solstices. Thanks go to Bill Schlatterbeck of St. Pius X Catholic Church and to Pete Argueta of South Bend Cubs for facilitating the 6-month experiment. Pinhole cameras will hopefully reveal the sun arcing high in the summer and low in the winter with foregrounds of the respective sites.

St. Pius X

Student Jacob Cramer and Bill Schlatterbeck secured a vertical can to a light sensor's post atop the SPX Parish Education Center. The can is facing nearly east, so it will image mostly the morning sun. However, the foreground includes both the existing church and the new church under construction, which could make a nice photographic composition.

Bill and Jacob also taped a horizontal can to the south end of building, facing south.

Four Winds Field

At the ballpark, Pete Argueta turned the task over to Zach Zehendner, who guided me to the rooftop above the South Bend Cubs Front Office. We installed a horizontal can on the corner of the roof, which was easy enough. Next, we straddled the roof line and taped a vertical can to the base of a decorative Cubs flagpole. Two days prior, exceedingly high winds knocked a few flagpoles from their perches. Zach was no-nonsense with the duct tape, so I have high hopes that these cans will fare well, provided they don't get buried in winter snow--forgot about that possibility.

We then headed to deep center of Four Winds Field, and Zach led me to the best perch that looks south into the ballpark. When you go to a South Bend Cubs game--and you should, cuz they're a fun, family experience--see if you can spot the two cans about 405 feet from home plate. Look above the green ivy for a vertical can (again, lots of black duct tape covers the aluminum), and a horizontal can just west of that on top of the post that likely holds a camera.

Zach secures a solargraph in center field at Four Winds Field.
Zach removes the tape, or shutter, of the pinhole camera to begin the exposure.

Join Us

Wanna join the project to capture time during the Indiana Bicentennial in 2016? Got an interesting site for an Anniversary Solargraph? Contact me. For notes about other emerging solargraph sites, see blog posts with the Solargraph tag.

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