urban decay

Neighborhood Walk

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Despite the rain, I was able to get out for after work, with my camera today, and make a few images from scenes around my neighborhood. Rainy days can provide creative opportunities in the form of reflections.

1/200 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/100 sec at f/3.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/100 sec at f/3.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/400 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/80 sec at f/3.2, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Water Tower

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I’ve often considered working on a water tower series. I ought to do it. I find their stance, shape, and vintage signage so photogenic. It seems most of them are quite old; their paint bleached by the sun. The one in my images below, is no longer in use and has developed some great colors through it’s decay. The underbelly of that tank specifically. To me, those interesting colors are part of the allure of the urban decay genre, and why I enjoy shooting it so much. I like the thought that these complimentary colors, tones, and textures developed organically, so very slowly over time. Perhaps, just waiting for me to come along this afternoon and freeze the scene.

1/500 sec at f/5.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/800 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Return of the MACK

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Merry Christmas folks! Winter Storm Elliot swept across the states this week dropping the temperature down to 8° F this morning! Winter’s colder temperatures usually discourage me from getting outside and shooting. It’s usually just too cold for me to stay still making images. However, I’ve really been wanting to get out and shoot. Despite the cold temps, the morning light got me out of bed, into my long underwear and out the door. I’ve been meaning to take a walk down the tracks in my neighborhood to see what there is to see. I thought I’d return home with some boxcar photos but instead I found an old MACK truck and had fun shooting it! I really love it’s tomato soup tone and Fujifilm’s Classic Chrome film simulation is so fun to shoot in! What do you think?

1/320 sec at f/2.0, ISO 160, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/60 sec at f/3.2, ISO 250, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/150 sec at f/3.2, ISO 160, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/60 sec at f/4.0, ISO 320, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

The Javelin. ...Again.

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Again; the Javelin. This car is parked around the corner from my house, and I can’t seem to pass by it without snapping some images. Still, I seem to always leave this scene feeling a little frustrated with the way I’m framing my shots. Either I am realizing the constraints of using a 35mm focal length or I am just really not seeing an interesting/enticing angle. Nevertheless; here are a few more snaps from this misty, rainy morning. (Oh, and I’m ticking the box for today, on my daily photo posting challenge!)

1/240 sec at f/3.6, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/450 sec at f/4.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/340 sec at f/4.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

Berries on a wire

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I decided to challenge myself to post one photo every day. Starting today. This is it. Here we go. Today I’m posting up these two images which I’m going to give my sister credit for naming: Berries on a wire.

The goal here is to get my creative juices flowing again. I feel like the wheels of this creative wagon have been stuck in a muddy rut for ages. Completely jammed up. No movement. Just rotting away.

Time to bust loose.

1/1400 sec at f/2.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/680 sec at f/2.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

Stewart's Drive-In

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Passing through New Jersey, I stopped to take some photos of this iconic drive-in. Those classic colors really popped against the blue sky. Opening in 1947, Stewarts has been in business for over 75 years. They’re currently closed for the winter but will reopen in March and you can count on me stopping by again to support the business and enjoy a burger! This drive-in is not to be confused with the commercial chain of gas station and convenience stores; Stewart’s Shops (Which, as an upstate New Yorker, I also really dig).

Stewart’s Drive-In, located at: 4524 US-130, Burlington, NJ, United States, New Jersey. Visit their FaceBook page here.

Yeah, I’ll definitely be ordering a Root Beer with my meal. Stewart’s is famous for their homemade root beer floats!

Four.

Tyler Art School

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This morning, I popped into an abandoned art school a few minutes away from our house in Elkins Park. Stepping through a busted out window, and through a haze of buzzing flies, I was immediately glad that I’d at least packed my asbestos mask and flashlight; there was plenty of dust throughout the dimly lit and boarded up building. In search of an interesting scene, I climbed the dark staircases between the identical dorm room layouts on each of the four floors. I found myself wondering why this school closed down. The rooms were small, even by older standards. A set of twin beds, stand up closets & drawing desks with tilting desk tops, rounded out each room. I’d have loved to go to art school; I wish I did sometimes. A cafeteria & dining hall occupied the first floor. A lounge on the second floor held two pool tables and a foosball table. seemed like a nice set up. At age 43 this morning, I found myself standing in the damp darkness, huffing noisily through a sweaty asbestos mask and missing dorm life. ha!

When I got back to the house I was eager to process these images. Through a quick search of the Tyler Art School I gleaned that it was donated to Temple University in 1934 by the family of financier George Elkins. Temple recently sold the site to an International Evangelical organization, previously busted in an embezzlement scheme… woah!

1/80 Sec, at f/9.0, ISO 2000, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1.8 Sec at f/9.0, ISO 125, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1.1 Sec at f/7.1, ISO 1000, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1/13 Sec at f/10, ISO 1250, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1/13 Sec at f/9.0, ISO 2500, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII