Asbestos, Mold, Mildew, Oh my.
TrulyAlaskan
Registered Users Posts: 76 Big grins
I put some of these in a different thread but after all of the curiosity, here's a little detail on the building and shots....
Here are some shots from the Buckner Building in Whittier AK. Once the largest building in Alaska, it was built by the military to house nearly every resident of the port town of Whittier, Alaska. It was designed to be a "city under one roof" and includes everything a "normal" city would have; Theater, Medical Ward, Cafeteria, Staterooms, and of course a jail... The town of Whittier is built around the ice-free port that houses more boats than it does people. Boasting a population of less than 300 people, Whittier is a modern day ghost town. In 1964 a 9.2 magnitude earthquake ripped the small city apart, killing 14 people and deeming the Buckner building unsafe.
Laced with asbestos, mold, mildew and various walking hazards, the building has remained an abandoned wasteland. All 5 floors are flooded from the melting of Whittier's average 253" of snow, leaving all floors an ice skating rink in the winter. Calcium deposits hang from the ceiling in the form of stalactites, graffiti and spray paint cover most of the walls, and almost every room has been hit with some form of a bat or axe.
Equipped with a full face respirator, steel toe boots, full coveralls, a hard hat, 80lbs of camera gear, and enough flashlights to light the entire city, we entered the building at the basement. Working our way through the building we captured what most people will never see; the inner workings of a trashed building. After 11 hours of walking and taking pictures, we barely scratched the surface on the amazing features of this building.
A word of caution to those of you interested in doing this; We received written permission from the now private owners of this building before entering. This building is UNSAFE to be inside. We had MULTIPLE ceiling collapses and wall failures while inside. Do not attempt this without permission and protective gear, you will get hurt and probably arrested! Before attempting this my tetanus shot was updated (as was my life insurance) and we carried multiple "animal and transient" protection devices (completely in compliance with Alaska's lack of a conceal and carry law.)
The following pictures are just some of many shots we took. All of these were taken with Tokina 12-24 lenses on various Canon bodies. All colors and effects were done while the shutter was open. The only PS that was applied was sharpening, RAW conversion, and occasional saturation reduction. Most of these shots range in time from 1-10 minute exposures.
Enjoy
Inside the medical ward radiation room.
One of the many stairwells
Shattered doors
Behind bars
Sorry for the watermarks... these days you can't be too careful
Here are some shots from the Buckner Building in Whittier AK. Once the largest building in Alaska, it was built by the military to house nearly every resident of the port town of Whittier, Alaska. It was designed to be a "city under one roof" and includes everything a "normal" city would have; Theater, Medical Ward, Cafeteria, Staterooms, and of course a jail... The town of Whittier is built around the ice-free port that houses more boats than it does people. Boasting a population of less than 300 people, Whittier is a modern day ghost town. In 1964 a 9.2 magnitude earthquake ripped the small city apart, killing 14 people and deeming the Buckner building unsafe.
Laced with asbestos, mold, mildew and various walking hazards, the building has remained an abandoned wasteland. All 5 floors are flooded from the melting of Whittier's average 253" of snow, leaving all floors an ice skating rink in the winter. Calcium deposits hang from the ceiling in the form of stalactites, graffiti and spray paint cover most of the walls, and almost every room has been hit with some form of a bat or axe.
Equipped with a full face respirator, steel toe boots, full coveralls, a hard hat, 80lbs of camera gear, and enough flashlights to light the entire city, we entered the building at the basement. Working our way through the building we captured what most people will never see; the inner workings of a trashed building. After 11 hours of walking and taking pictures, we barely scratched the surface on the amazing features of this building.
A word of caution to those of you interested in doing this; We received written permission from the now private owners of this building before entering. This building is UNSAFE to be inside. We had MULTIPLE ceiling collapses and wall failures while inside. Do not attempt this without permission and protective gear, you will get hurt and probably arrested! Before attempting this my tetanus shot was updated (as was my life insurance) and we carried multiple "animal and transient" protection devices (completely in compliance with Alaska's lack of a conceal and carry law.)
The following pictures are just some of many shots we took. All of these were taken with Tokina 12-24 lenses on various Canon bodies. All colors and effects were done while the shutter was open. The only PS that was applied was sharpening, RAW conversion, and occasional saturation reduction. Most of these shots range in time from 1-10 minute exposures.
Enjoy
Inside the medical ward radiation room.
One of the many stairwells
Shattered doors
Behind bars
Sorry for the watermarks... these days you can't be too careful
0
Comments
Can you post more or direct us to where they already are? PS -- I'm not seeing your watermarks, you might want to check that.
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www.browngreensports.com
http://browngreensports.smugmug.com
The mental institution sounds AWESOME! I would love to see those! While we got permission to get in this building, we have been in places that did not give us permission because there was no feasible way of getting in touch with the owners. We posted a public notice in both the newspaper and on the building itself 2-3 weeks before entering and have never had a problem with the law.
I have a whole gallery on my website, www.trulyalaskan.com that is filled with shots from this building and a bunch of others. I will be going back to this place next week sometime. I will post more pictures from that shoot too.
The watermark is being updated
Thanks for the compliments
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier
Heck, I need to figure one out and fire it up sometime.
Hehe, I just don't like the way it looks, it takes away from the image :cry
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier
Wow, glad to read that you used breathing ap. that Asbestos is deadly stuff that you never ever want to inhale.
Were you a bit scared of being in there? Looks rather spooky.
What is that shot with what looks like a Blue Coffin on a stand?
Third shot down in the second lot of images you posted.
What an interesting place to Shoot, but I'm not sure I'd like to go in there knowing what's in there.
Great post TrulyAlaskan
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Skippy (Australia) - Moderator of "HOLY MACRO" and "OTHER COOL SHOTS"
ALBUM http://ozzieskip.smugmug.com/
:skippy Everyone has the right to be stupid, but some people just abuse the privilege :dgrin
All photos are Copyrighted and Registered. Please don't use without permission.
5DSR 16-35 2.8L III 24-70 2.8L II 70-200 2.8L IS II
Skippy,
I approach all abandoned buildings like I approach all shipwrecks.... with extreme caution. I would rather be over prepared than under prepared. Believe it or not, I have a checklist that I follow before entering....
Scared? Actually yes. There are quite a few creepy parts of the building... but the worst is that bears tend to hibernate in abandoned buildings in the winter time to avoid having to dig a den. Thankfully Alaska is very friendly with the gun laws, and when I was walking, the .45 was a very nice to have on the hip.
The blue coffin looking object is actually a x-ray table. It's missing the actual tube, so it looks more like a torture table. It was a blast to shoot (with the camera.. gun never left the hip thankfully.)
I have been in this building now 3 times... one of the 3 was an overnighter... on the top... in -10 degree weather. See Whittier is located a bit south of Anchorage, but it is separated by a 3 mile long tunnel that only runs for a few hours a day. I got there one night, rather late... and the tunnel shut early. Since I had planned for just an occasion, I just slept on the top of the building with a couple friends who were on the shoot.
If you are ever in the area I would be happy to take you on a tour.
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier
I love abandoned buildings. I have been an urban explorer for almost 10 years now with around 200 building entries, 100 plus shipwrecks, and a few freshwater sunken buildings. Here is some friendly advice from my past experiences;
1. TRY to get permission. Seriously. This is a biggie, why try to be stealthy and get in trouble when most of the time people will say yes in the first place. Especially if you know what you are doing. Out of the 200 or so abandoned places that I've gone in to, 80% have granted me access, 3 of them GAVE ME KEYS! If there is no possible way to get a hold of the owners, post a notice a few weeks in advance. Put on it what you will be doing, when you will be there, and a number or e-mail for whoever cares to get a hold of you.
2.Go with more than one person, but not a whole group of people. I usually go with a friend or two. Groups are louder and draw more attention, and going by yourself is just stupid, you need someone to get help if you get crushed by debris.
3. Respect the property. If you are exploring the buildings, you will be viewed as an urban explorer. Abide by the code "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." It's people that start messing with things, breaking or taking objects that ruin UrbEx and make us all seem like vandals.
4. What to pack. Think about this for a minute. How big of a building are you going in to? A house? A school? A warehouse? An old rundown apartment complex? What hazards are going to be in there? The top 4: Mold, Rust, Asbestos, and Structural hazards. There are usually more, those are just the top ones. Here's what I pack for a big building...
Steel Toed boots, hard hat, coveralls, full face respirator (must be rated for asbestos,) Primary headlamp, secondary headlamp (both stay on the helmet,) backup headlamp, at least 3 flashlights, light canon (1,000,000 candle power,) gloves, backup pair of gloves, enough batteries to power a small city, MRE's (cliff bars, actual MREs, or anything that I could munch on if I needed to while waiting for help,) cell phone, GPS, handheld radios (if going with a couple people,) at least one animal/transient swatter (up here in AK we don't have a conceal and carry law, this is legal) and all 80 lbs of my camera gear
Again, this is for a big building that will take me all day to explore. If you're going into a house, I would lighten the load a bit.
5. What not to pack. SPRAY PAINT!!! Crowbars, an excessive amount of weaponry. I mentioned in #4 that I carry at least 1 firearm with me but I DO NOT recommend this. I explore mostly in the winter time due to the long hours of darkness. Brown and black bears sometimes get a bit lazy and hibernate inside the buildings. There is nothing worse or more deadly than a P***ed off brown bear charge you for waking it up (only had this happen 1 time and that was enough.) I have personally stumbled on multiple others sleeping the day away in a corner (that freaked me out.) All I'm saying is know your laws. Here I would get more of a lecture from the law enforcement if I didn't have a gun. Anywhere else would consider it a crime, and you'd be on the pavement.
Don't bring anything that could make you look like a vandal.
6. Ok, I have my gear, I'm at the site, now what. Getting in... take the easiest way in. Mark it on the GPS (again, depending on the size of the building) do not pry, or remove any boards, nails, etc to get in. If you can't get in without breaking in, don't go there. Breaking and entering is a felony, trespassing is not. Once you are in, tread lightly, leave only your footprints. Pay attention to your surroundings, if it looks sketchy, it probably is, get out. Trust me, no building is worth getting injured over. Find landmarks and mark them on the GPS. Some GPS units will work indoors (mine will my buddy's won't) If yours doesn't, write down the landmark. (Turn left at the oven, through the orange door) this will help you get back out if you get turned around. You have no idea how easy it is to get turned around in a big abandoned building.
7. If you do get caught by someone, tell them the truth. "I was in taking pictures of abandoned buildings" DO NOT LIE TO THEM it will only hurt you. You may have to delete some photos, you may have to do some fancy talking, but it will keep you out of trouble. Again, get permission first and this won't even be an issue. I have had the police called multiple times (bright lights flashing in abandoned buildings seems to attract attention) but once they got there, I showed them proof that I was allowed to be there, showed them what I was doing... asked if they wanted to help.. and on a couple occasions gave them a mounted print or two to share with their police officer buddies.
I have found that most of the officers that I've met are really very curious on what it is that I'm doing. Take the time to show them, have them help a little bit if they want, and you would be amazed at the connections you can make doing this. Most of the buildings that I've explored have been shown to me by police officers, fire fighters, and even other abandoned building owners.
8. Have fun! Take photos! Share with all of us!
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier
http://chrismckayphotography.com
In this style of photography gruesome is a great word to be hearing!
Here's another shot of the Xray Table taken at a different time... under some different lighting...
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier
All photos are Copyrighted and Registered. Please don't use without permission.
5DSR 16-35 2.8L III 24-70 2.8L II 70-200 2.8L IS II
Truly wonderful work, and some terrific advice and explanations. There is an abandoned cement plant here that I'd love to explore. Also an old brewery that is under renovation for shops/condos, etc. I've been toying with the idea of shooting it before and during the transition. I talked to a security guard there one day and she told me the owner is usually around. I may follow your instructions and go for it.
Thanks for sharing your talent and advice!
Lauren
Lauren Blackwell
www.redleashphoto.com
redleash - Thank you Lauren! The Ghost Plane is one of my favoite shots as well, and I honestly didn't think that it would turn out the way it did. It was taken during our first "deep freeze" before the snow... -5, with a wind chill of -10.... I just happened to be in the area coming back from a flight, figured I would attempt to shoot it anyway. The camera was sluggish, it took around 10 minutes for the camera to process a 2 minute photo, a bunch of people were a bit curious over the orange flash, and right after this photo was taken, the wind picked up even more. So I got pretty lucky.
As for your abandonedments in the area my suggestion is to find the ower of both, get permission, and go to town shooting them. But I will give you the same warning I give all of the people that have come with me.... Abandoned buildings are very addicting. Once you get going, it's hard to stop. You will find yourself scouring the net for hours upon hours, looking for your next 'fix'. You will drive around town endlessly looking for buildings with potential... and even when you're out driving to dinner with friends, you will 'swing by' that old building just 'to have a quick look.' On a side note, I took a look at your gallery and all I can say is WOW! Your HDR images are amazing. I love the planes and the old buildings. The Hanger Hotel is my favorite, you need to get that into some avaition publications.
Thank you both again for the compliments! I am still rather new at documenting my explorations, but an old hand at actually doing the exploration. I love hearing feedback, both good and bad, as it keeps me headed in the right direction. I am always happy to help anyone out if they are thinking about working around abandonedments, above or below the waterline. My next big step is to try light painting underwater.... but there are a few things I'm working on before that will be a success.
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier
I'll keep watching for your posts and will definitely contact you for more tips if I decide to try for that old factory here.
Lauren
Lauren Blackwell
www.redleashphoto.com
Most of these shots seem to be done with gelled flashes perhaps? They do not look light painted to me, but I could be wrong with the long exposures you described. Maybe a bit of both.
A neat merging of two different areas of shooting. I gotta try this a bit anyway.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Thanks Pathfinder!
These shots are done with gelled flashes, flashlights, and a few times with a light gun. Light painting is a very broad category and while you don't actually see the flashlight, or the flashes in the frame; I still use stratigically placed light to illuminate the parts of the frame I want lit. Here's what Wikipedia says on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_painting Whatever it ends up being called, it is still a really fun way to photograph old buildings, cars and planes. You should try it sometime.
Abandoned Alaska - Night Photography from the last frontier