On a recent neighborhood art walk I visited the studio of photographer Dan Zamudio and got a chance to see his photographs of Chicago neon signs. The photos are taken with a plastic Diana camera, which induces a bit of lo-fi distortion to the images from the plastic lens.

Most of the photos are of lit neon against deep blackness, though some are of defunct signs shot in moody daylight, as if taken on a dreary rainy day. Some of the images are multiple-exposures of one or several signs, reminiscent of a film noir montage of some boozy spree from one cocktail bar to another.

With the jaunty angles, blurry edges caused by the toy camera, and multiple exposures, the series feels more personal than documentary recording of all the remnant neon signs around the city.

A book of the photographs was recently published by Wicker Park Press.