I have been meaning to make a trip out to Fermilab (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory) for over a year and since I was headed in the direction of Plano on Saturday, and this was basically on my way, I figured now was as good a time as ever to stop by.
Fermilab is a particle physics laboratory and as much as I love all that geeky science stuff, anything related to physics is so far beyond my grasp that I can do nothing but be in awe of anyone who even remotely understands this stuff. Even being on these grounds was intimidating! I’m not even going to begin to try to explain what goes on here as I haven’t the slightest clue so if you’re interested definitely check out their site or the wikipedia page, I’m sure it’s fascinating if you can grasp it. I do know that beyond all the science research and programs, they routinely host lectures and arts performances.
My main reason for coming out here to photograph was because I’ve seem some pretty amazing images of Wilson Hall and was hoping to find my own unique take on the building. What I didn’t realize is that the grounds are enormous and there are a number of interesting buildings to photograph, many of which represent mathematical constructs. Even the power lines, which line up with Wilson Hall, are built to represent the Greek letter π. This is so cool! I seriously love that there was so much thought put into the designs of each building.
I spent a couple of hours wandering around to various buildings. It was an insanely windy day with a little more cloud cover than I was hoping for but I did what I could. I took far more images than necessary, as usual, so I’m only going to share the ones I consider the best here, if you’d like to see them all stop over by my Flickr set here. And after reviewing the map a little more thoroughly, I realize I missed a whole lot of the grounds, hopefully I can make a trip back here sometime soon.
The first images are of Wilson Hall.
The next couple are the Meson Detector Building (whatever that is!).
The next two are of the Silicon Detector Facility
I believe this is a pumping station.
The next few are of The Feynman Computing Center.
And these last few are the Broken Symmetry sculpture at the entrance.
Indiana Dunes & The Chicago Skyline
May 30, 2023
0 Responses
Angie,
Love your photos of Fermilab. I was out there last year and found some very interesting places to photograph as well,but when I went to return, I was told that they no longer allow photographers to shoot out there any more. It was weird, but stern. I assume you did not get chased out by that PR
lady as I did. Did you have to get any special permissions. Would love to go back. If you do let me know.
Candace Casey
Thanks Candace! That is strange. When I stopped at the security checkpoint they asked why I was there and I told them I wanted to take pics of some of the buildings and the guard seemed fine with it and I wasn't hassled at all when I was wandering around. But another photographer friend happened to be there later in the day and he was told he couldn't photograph, so I'm not sure what the policy is. I would love to go back as well, around dusk but that's when my friend was there and had issues so I wonder if it has something to do with the time???
This is crtsyal clear. Thanks for taking the time!