Along those shores, he noticed a series of permanent duck blinds in the shallow waters along the shore. He came back the next day, camera in hand.

“I love all the variety,” Jordano said. “They’re all different even though they’re made from the same material. Every hunter has his own design. Each is so unique. I thought they were works of art.”

The results of his short documentary project are on display at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum.

“I shot them all in the same day.” he said. “I went for a 12-hour hike on the river. The really amazing thing though, the light never changed all day. It was almost like working in a studio; it was that consistent.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Chicago-based photographer Dave Jordano talks about his exhibit "Duck Blinds" at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum Saturday in Fort Dodge. Jordano photographed the series in one day along the northwestern shore of the Mississippi River in Illinois.

Some of the duck blinds ended up looking like various objects and animals.

“Number 31 looks like a pig,” he said. “That one looks like a car.”

Jordano’s documentation of the creations is not just a series of beautiful photographs, it’s a document of what once was.

“The DNR has banned their use and all these structures were dismantled,” he said.

Jordano began his photography career in 1977. He was one of the top three commercial photographers in Chicago. He actively worked until 2014.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Jeannette Jordano wore a blaze orange/green camo dress for the artist talk by her husband, Chicago-based photographer Dave Jordano, at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum Saturday in Fort Dodge.

“About 2000 I got back into documentary photography and fine art,” he said. “I fell in love with photography again then. Whatever happens is fine.”

Since then, he’s published three books of documentary photography — two focusing on Detroit, his home town, and another on the interiors of African American churches in Chicago.

“I hope all my work integrates itself,” he said. “I would like people to see it and go, ‘It was Dave’s work.”

“Duck Blinds” is on display until April 18.

Other current Blanden exhibits include “Breaking The Grid” by Michael Moore and “Harmonizing Dimension: Exploring Motion, Time and Rhythm” from the Blanden’s permanent collection.

More information on Jordano’s work can be found at www.davejordano.com